Separate an inactive period from missing evidence

Build a continuous timeline before classifying the gap

List the complete period the requesting provider named, including the months before, during and after the interruption. Record the account and legal entity requested. Do not remove a dormant month to make the sequence appear continuous, or extend a neighboring statement so that it appears to cover missing dates.

Give each period a trading-status entry and a separate evidence entry. Trading status might be established from actual sales and operating records, reported by the owner but not yet corroborated, or unresolved. Evidence might be a complete original statement, a limited export, or a file that cannot be retrieved. These are descriptions of what you know, not replacement documents.

Establish the scope of an inactivity claim

Be precise about what stopped. No payments on one card account, no new orders through one storefront and no trading across the legal entity are different claims. Compare the available processor history with the relevant order or invoice records and any actual dated record of the interruption. If other channels continued, disclose them separately rather than presenting one quiet account as a business-wide shutdown.

Stripe’s balance report can cover a selected period and export itemized activity in settlement currency. When those records are available, they let you examine the named Stripe account over the requested interval. They do not establish activity on a different provider or channel. Preserve the selected dates and account context with the export so an empty selection is not mistaken for evidence about every account.

Inspect the type of activity rather than relying on one total. No new customer payments does not require every movement to be zero: refunds and other balance activity must remain described as such when present. Likewise, a zero net figure does not by itself show that no transactions occurred. The useful statement is the specific activity the records establish over the stated scope.

Explain inaccessible records without manufacturing inactivity

If the business traded but cannot retrieve the requested statement, record that trading continued and identify the missing evidence. If the owner recalls an interruption but no supporting records are available, preserve that as an owner-reported interruption with an evidence gap. Do not turn either case into a fabricated statement showing zero volume.

Keep an account left unused separate from one formally closed. Use the actual account record or closure notice for that distinction; silence in a statement folder proves neither. Stripe’s closure guidance says to export data before closing and that a closed account cannot be reopened. Those limits explain why record preservation matters, but a closure notice does not establish that earlier months had no activity.

For each missing record, state the known reason, its current custodian if known and the retrieval action still available. If the reason is unknown, say so. Existing invoices, orders or a provider notice may help explain the timeline, but label each as its real document type. None becomes a processor-issued zero statement because the original cannot be obtained.

Give the requester a complete and qualified answer

Present the continuity record with the original files you can actually supply through the requester’s authorized channel. Separate verified inactivity, continuing activity with missing paperwork, and periods whose activity remains unverified. Name any limited scope: one provider, one account or one sales channel. This gives the reviewer a concrete question to resolve instead of an unexplained blank month.

Ask which records, if any, the provider will consider for an inactive or inaccessible period and retain its written answer. Do not claim it must accept an owner explanation, order export or alternative document. For a Prism processing consultation, summarize the requested dates, interruption and remaining evidence gap without sending private statements through the public form. Scope, responsibilities, fees and terms are agreed before work; document sufficiency and eligibility remain the provider’s decisions.

Trading continuity record

Use a copy of this worksheet for each requested period, including quiet months. Compare the trading-status entry with the evidence entry: an unverified period stays unverified even when no file was found. Keep original documents unchanged and store only non-sensitive references here.

Worksheet entries are not submitted by Prism’s worksheet and are not saved by the site. Use record types, availability, anonymized observations, or match/mismatch results. Do not enter government identifiers, customer names or addresses, customer messages, receipt-access links, card or bank details, passwords, or keys. Send sensitive documents only through the provider’s verified secure channel.

These are temporary notes. Leaving or reloading this page may clear them. Worksheet entries are not sent automatically. If you copy notes into the consultation message and submit the form, Prism receives them as part of your request.