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When it comes to official business documentation (USA) between a company and a client who is either another company (B2B) or individual person (B2C), how can the company providing the invoices, prove that those invoices are really not yet paid?

Passed due date is obviously insufficient proof. Also payer's (client's) bank account statement, with missing relevant line(s), is insufficient as well because the payer could have paid with a different bank account.

What else could be done here? Is there any official definition of such USA document and where could I get it?

Giacomo1968
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Liam
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3 Answers3

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You can't prove a negative.

Therefore, you cannot prove that an invoice is unpaid; it is assumed to be unpaid on claiming so, and the payer has to prove that he paid. That should be easy for him, if they did pay.

Rupert Morrish
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Aganju
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    Hence, why you, as payer, need to ask for receipts, cancellation of the invoice (e.g. a "paid" stamp) or retain proof of payment (cancelled checks or bank transaction statements). – pboss3010 Oct 07 '19 at 12:25
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    +1, however you could theoretically prove the negative here. For example, production of a contract that states payment must be made to a particular bank account, and bank statements showing that no such payment was ever received there. – JBentley Oct 08 '19 at 01:47
  • I had to deal with a company that tried to claim I did not pay. I pulled out my bank statement showing otherwise and he had nothing to say. – Nelson Oct 08 '19 at 04:35
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    I had a recurring monthly cable internet bill; one month the amount credited was less than the actual cashed check. But the company claimed that any check I showed them was one credited in a different month, so it was tremendously difficult to fix. (Since then I always memo the specific bill date/ID on all my checks.) – Daniel R. Collins Oct 08 '19 at 05:03
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    It's perfectly possible to prove a negative. – Eric Duminil Oct 08 '19 at 09:13
  • @DanielR.Collins I am genuinely amazed that anyone pays for a monthly recurring bill by cheque! In the UK cheques are now extremely rare; some places do not accept them at all, and banks rarely issue chequebooks unless you explicitly ask for one. – JBentley Oct 08 '19 at 12:44
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    Seriously, could you please edit or remove the title? Especially with "obviously", since, well, it is wrong. – Eric Duminil Oct 08 '19 at 16:40
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    @EricDuminil it might be wrong in strict mathematical or philosophical sense (although you didn't link to any proof it is), but it is generally true in this particular situation, in this particular context - unless method of payment is specified (not always is), and is perfectly traceable without the chance of error (in practice never is), you can't prove a lack of payment beyond all doubt. With high probability, maybe, but that's it. – Mołot Oct 08 '19 at 17:11
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    @Mołot the linked article explains it better than I could. "you can't prove a negative" is itself a negative, so how would you prove it if it's indeed true? You're right, the content and explanation are perfectly correct. I just don't think that false claims should be written in bold letters. – Eric Duminil Oct 08 '19 at 17:50
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    -1 just for "Obviously, you can't prove a negative." That's misleading and perpetuates a common myth, even if it is the case you cannot prove the non-existence of payment in this case. "It's not hot" is easy to prove with a thermometer reading, "it's not past 5:00" is easy to prove with a clock, etc. Non-existence can be substantially harder to prove than negative statements in general, but is still possible with certain constraints. Almost any negative statement can be rephrased as a positive: "prove it was not paid" == "prove it is still unpaid", but that doesn't mean nothing is provable. – Steven Jackson Oct 08 '19 at 18:32
  • I kept thinking this seemed backwards, but the invoice itself satisfies 'the burden of proof'. – Mazura Oct 08 '19 at 21:06
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    @Eric Wow that article linked is incredibly terrible. It reads like something a first year philosophy student would write, utterly terrible logic used, particularly the unicorn example. – eps Oct 08 '19 at 23:18
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    @JBentley: "In the US, checks are still very popular for paying rent and are also highly used by the payroll departments of many organisations. The financial infrastructure of many US companies is built around the usage of checks." E.g., I'm not sure my landlord would accept any other form of payment for rent. https://www.cashbook.com/check-payments-in-the-uk-and-usa-in-2019/ – Daniel R. Collins Oct 09 '19 at 00:47
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    @DanielR.Collins There's incorrect information in that webpage you cited. The "Checks in the USA" section heavily implies that cheques are superior to ACH which is nonsense because most banks in the US process cheques using ACH in the first place. – Dai Oct 09 '19 at 02:05
  • @eps sure, it's not really serious. The point still stands, though. ;) – Eric Duminil Oct 09 '19 at 04:39
  • @StevenJackson It is indeed impossible to prove a negative, if you're talking about a true negative rather than simply restating a condition. Proving something is not hot is the same as proving that it is cold and proving that it's not past 5 is the same as proving it is before 5. Your argument is as vacuous as saying "well, I can't prove I didn't not pay it"... Proving that something did not occur is impossible, which is what is meant by the phrase in question. – Christian Legge Oct 09 '19 at 15:18
  • @scatter: Sorry, but your argument doesn't hold at all. I don't know how else to put it : please read some more about mathematics and logics. – Eric Duminil Oct 09 '19 at 17:14
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    @EricDuminil Are you saying that it's possible to prove that an event did not occur? Because that is my point. If so, please tell us how it can be done. – Christian Legge Oct 09 '19 at 17:17
  • @scatter George Washington never walked on Pluto. – Eric Duminil Oct 09 '19 at 18:13
  • @scatter You can prove a negative. You just proved it. Proving something is "not hot" (a negative) would be done by proving that the opposite is true. That is IIRC falsifiability, and so a statement (negative or positive!) that you cannot prove is unfalsifiable. For example: I can prove that I did not die yesterday by being alive today. That is an event you know did not happen (is falsified) by the fact I am typing this to you. I cannot prove, however, that I did not think of a pink elephant yesterday. That is unfalsifiable. – JustAnotherSoul Oct 09 '19 at 18:13
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    @EricDuminil that one is technically unfalsifiable. It's practically, but not logically impossible for him to have done so. Given that Pluto is a planet that can be walked on, George Washington was capable of walking, it is possible that George Washington walked on Pluto. It isn't plausible, nor likely, nor probable, and unless someone can show proof to the contrary we can safely presume he did not, in fact, bestride fair Pluto. But we can't prove he didn't. Who knows what bored aliens decided to show the man. – JustAnotherSoul Oct 09 '19 at 18:20
  • @JustAnotherSoul Ahah. Thanks for the serious answer to my tongue-in-cheek comment. I don't know then, George Washington never flew to Sirius in less than 3 years? – Eric Duminil Oct 09 '19 at 18:22
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You don't need proof. If you believe someone owes you, just bill them for whatever you think is owed.

The burden of proof is on them to show they paid. On the off-chance they have, any competent business will have no trouble showing this.

However, that should not be happening. Sometimes, that is a routine issue that is easily explained, like paper bills and paper checks crossing in the mail. If you are encountering this situation in other cases, then there is a serious problem with your bookkeeping system. Your own business records are not in order. You need to get them in order before you bill anyone else. Otherwise you will make a fool of yourself with your clients, and accounting departments will become reluctant to pay any of your bills.

Harper - Reinstate Monica
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    Is the word "dun" one that any business owner should recognise? I am not, and I do not. Just wondering whether this requires clarification. – Tom W Oct 08 '19 at 10:45
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    @TomW I understand what "dun" means in the context, but it is certainly not a word I would use myself. I suspect it may be regional. (See https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dun entry 3, meaning 1.) – Martin Bonner supports Monica Oct 08 '19 at 14:07
  • @TomW okay. . . . – Harper - Reinstate Monica Oct 08 '19 at 18:16
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    @Harper - missed an opportunity there. Ok, I'm dun now. – Mazura Oct 08 '19 at 21:03
  • Here is my bill to @Harper for 1 million (what ever) now prove you don't owe me... This answer is wrong, the proposed debtor has no obligation to prove they do not owe money. On the other hand if the debt was due, and both parties agree it was due, the debtor should be able to show it was paid. – James Jenkins Oct 09 '19 at 14:22
  • @JamesJenkins Keep in mind here, "proof" is only 51%, not "beyond reasonable doubt". And yeah, that's actually a very common scam. It's done because the accounting dept. either says no, or just pays it if they're not on the ball, which many aren't. So it's a no-risk gambit. More often it's done as part of an unordered-goods scam, for even more deniability. See also Molski... Or Righthaven/Prenda ... Statistically only about 1 person in 1000 will stand up and fight back. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Oct 09 '19 at 18:27
  • @JamesJenkins As to your bill, "Dear Mr. Jenkins. Our records show we did not order any such item. Goodbye." <D&D dungeon master> What will you do? – Harper - Reinstate Monica Oct 09 '19 at 18:35
  • @JamesJenkins You're mixing two different articles of proof here: 1) Did you ever owe a debt? and 2) Did you already pay that debt in full? OP's question clearly assumes that #1 is not in dispute. – tbrookside Oct 09 '19 at 23:16
  • @Harper You're showing a little too much confidence in the client. Many clients will claim to have paid invoices they did not pay. Very difficult clients - (ahem) deadbeats - may say things like "Prove I didn't pay you!" OP could easily be in that situation, even if his records are perfect. – tbrookside Oct 09 '19 at 23:18
  • @tbrookside yeah, but the foundation of my thinking is in the answer. Just bill them. (A client's protest that he paid, plus $6, will buy a small coffee at Starbucks). What matters is documentation. For instance, an image of a cashed check with the invoice number written on the check memo line, is pretty conclusive. That's why you write invoice numbers on memo lines / Paypal note fields, etc. All of it is posturing for the ultimate endgame, court. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Oct 10 '19 at 02:36
  • Slightly late, but i'm assuming to "dun" is part of the dunning process - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning_(process). Essentially the process of collecting money thats overdue from a company – Alex Robinson Oct 10 '19 at 09:30
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If the client is not willing to cooperate, which I'm assuming is the case, there is no way to prove it definitively. Any sane authority should agree that the burden of proof rests on the client to prove that it has been paid. If the client is unable to produce such proof, he is generally judged as not having paid.

Also payer's (client's) bank account statement, with missing relevant line(s), is insufficient as well because the payer could have paid with a different bank account.

And he could have also paid you cash, so even all their statements will be insufficient. However, you could produce your own statement in all accounts in which you receive payment, to show that no payment has been received by you.

Another way would be to get the client to confirm on record that they have not paid.

Money Ann
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    Of course, you don't need to prove it definitively, just "on the balance of probabilites" (that is, it is more likely that the client has not paid than that the client has paid). – Martin Bonner supports Monica Oct 08 '19 at 14:08
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    RE "Any sane authority should agree that the burden of proof rests on the client to prove that it has been paid." I actually have a bit of problem with this in that I think there is also at least equally as much responsibility to prove that the goods, service or whatever is being paid for has actually been delivered or completed. – R. Hamilton Oct 08 '19 at 19:37
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    @R.Hamilton Sure, and that's a defense the client is welcome to raise. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Oct 08 '19 at 23:03