How to Write a Receipt?

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Receipt keeping can be traced back to 7500 B.C when the first receipts came into existence as clay balls.

If there is one thing you require doing, it is keeping records of your customers and your spending. You must understand the importance of keeping receipts, invoices, and credit memos.  

So, what is a receipt

Why and when do you need to generate receipts

How to write a receipt, and what details should be kept on the receipts? 

Do you often ask yourself:

  • Will it help me record my income?
  • Is there any good tool that can help me make accurate receipts?
  • How can a management tool decrease my workload?

Well, if you have all these questions, don’t break a sweat. As we advance, we will help you answer all such questions.

So, without further ado, let’s begin to understand how to write a receipt.

Why Should You Issue a Receipt?

For any business to profit and flourish, the business must keep a tab of all the cash flow channels. 

The receipt should be issued whenever a customer pays for your business services or goods against your generated invoice. 

Whether income or expenditure, you must have an accurate, dependable, and uncomplicated system to keep a tab of all the financial statements. To make things crystal clear, let us show you how issuing receipts will help.

1. Financial statements 

It is important to have accurate financial statements to keep track of the growth of the business. If you have all the information, it helps you control and track the cash flow of the business.

2. Tax returns

Receipts can track all your payments, so it becomes important during tax filing. These documents will also help you understand if you are eligible for any rebate.

Tax returns

Keeping these documents digitally can prevent the risk of unwanted access, damage, loss, or theft. 

Your financial team can access the documents when required to help you avoid legal troubles with mismatched numbers during tax filing. We suggest you integrate software like InvoiceOwl to create and store estimates & invoices digitally. 

3. Business decisions 

Tracking all the costs incurred by the company will help you make quick and informed decisions by assessing the financial conditions. Receipts can help you evaluate your business income, product sales, or total income generated via different accounts.

Having the correct information regarding the financial situation will make it easier for you to evaluate the business performance and help you discern a near-to-accurate forecast for the times ahead. 

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6 Factors to Add in a Receipt

Now that you know why you should create receipts, the next question arises: How do you create receipts? Have a look.

1. Date and Time  

It is crucial to mention the date and time. Always mention the date and time to accurately record the sales you make. This will also help you sort the receipts chronologically, and accessing them will be easy.

2. Receipt Number  

On all the receipts you create, don’t forget to number them chronologically. 

It will help you immensely to track all the sales you make. You can have different serial numbers for different products.

Let’s say you own a furniture business and sell various products like chairs, couches, Barca loungers, and many others. 

Now, if you want more clarity on all the products you sell, you can have a different serial number on the invoices for different products. For example, when cataloging the chairs, you can use Ch, and for loungers, you can use Lg, etc.

3. Items Sold 

In receipt, you should write the number of items sold to the customer. All the items, quantities, and amounts per item should be mentioned clearly. Please keep the item’s name on the left and its quantity and amount on the right. Make sure you keep enough space between the items, as there will be more than one item.

4. Subtotal 

After the list of items is mentioned, calculate the subtotal. Subtotal is the cost of all the items before applying the tax, additional fees, and discounts if any. 

5. Grand total 

Mention the Grand total to be paid by the customer. You can round about the figures. Next to the total, you can also write the total number of items sold. 

6. Mode of payment

Mode of payment

You should always mention the payment methods. The payment method can be cash, checks, or cards. Payment methods can be crucial in keeping track of all the money. It will also help you determine if you want to offer additional discounts or not. 

Once you have created the receipt, create two copies, keep one copy with yourself, and share the other with the client. 

It would be wise to get a signature from the client once the payment is made.    

If you resort to creating a receipt manually, the process can become tedious. You would have to visit your catalog to get the prices, do the calculations manually, and apply all the applicable fees manually, and you will have to keep this paper stored away in a safe space so it can be retrieved whenever you would require it. 

To be free of all these intricacies, we suggest using an intelligent digital tool where all the information regarding the prices, discounts, and serial numbers is already available, and it requires the minimum effort from your end. A tool that will help you keep all the information stored and secured digitally so you won’t have to worry about losing it.   

How to Write a Receipt?

You can use multiple methods to create receipts containing all the information required by the client to issue the payment quickly. 

Certain templates can make the job easier, so you don’t have to begin from scratch every time you create receipts. You can use a few methods to create receipts, such as “make your own receipts”, which are listed below.

1. Paper method (Manual)

One way which businesses have been using for a long time is the paper method. It involves doing all the work manually. This can be done in either of the two mentioned ways.

  • Receipt book

You can easily purchase receipt books from any stationery store and keep your records in it. 

Receipt book

But before you ‌buy a receipt book, make sure you can enter all the data that is crucial for the sales. A receipt book usually has two copies, one of which can be shared with the client, and the other must be kept with you. 

Once the sale is made, fill out the receipt with the items purchased and customer information, and you are ready to go.

There are multiple types of receipt books available in the market. You can a cash receipt template for keeping records. 

  • Online templates 

Another way to create receipts is by using the various free receipt templates available online. You can select the free receipt template which is most suitable for your business and download the same free receipt template. 

After downloading, you can print out these templates and make a record book yourself. It would be a more tedious task for you as you will have to keep track of the serial number and check it every time you make a sale.

There are multiple reasons. Going old school here and using paper methods will not make the most sense. In the list mentioned below, you will see a few of them.

  • Complicated task 

Writing receipts manually is a complicated task. It is prone to errors, and ‌any error will only harm your business. Any calculation error can cause you to lose money or charge more from the clients. 

  • Unsafe 

It is a very unsafe method to keep receipts. They can get lost, misplaced, destroyed, or even stolen. If you lose any such document, it would be difficult to retrieve them. 

These are important financial documents, whether individual receipts or the whole book; they should be kept safe. 

  • Enormous data 

Once your business expands, it will be tough for you to keep track of all the receipts using paper methods. Whenever you are required to find any new receipt from previous transactions, it will become a  tedious job.

2.  Digital methods 

There are a few digital methods that can create receipts.

  • Download templates 

There are multiple free receipt templates available online that you can download. Choose the receipt book template which fits perfectly with your business and use it with Microsoft word or Microsoft excel. 

These will help you keep the details digitally. You can also add certain formulas; your company’s logo and name can be mentioned as receipt headings.

You can also put in formulas to add other fees like taxes, delivery charges, and other line items so that the final amount will be calculated easily.

If you are someone who single-handedly takes care of a major part of your business, it would be tough for you to maintain receipts. You may have to go beyond your operating hours to complete the work.

  • Professional receipt software 

If you want the receipt-creating task hassle-free, you should opt for receipt software. 

This software is accurate, easy to use, and will help you save time. You only have to fill in certain details like your company name, company phone number, address, registration number, and other details once. 

You are only left to file the required information; voila, your professional-looking receipt will be instantly generated.

One such software is InvoiceOwl, which comes loaded with multiple features that can help keep the accounts and invoices. 

It also comes with features that will help you make estimates, purchase orders, and credit memo journals, which sets it apart from other software available in the market. 

The icing on the cake is its features to store client information, request client reviews, and create reports and real-time notifications. 

Sending the invoices to clients is also just a click away, as this software allows you to send a digital receipt directly to all your clients. The software is suitable for industries like electrical, HVAC, landscaping, plumbing, construction, carpentry, roofing, and other leading service-based niches. 

You can access multiple professional pre-built templates to create professional estimates and ensure you deliver an excellent customer experience. InvoiceOwl enables you to create estimates using your mobile, laptops, or tablets.

You can access the user-friendly and intuitive interface of the software to experience the best financial management results.

This is more like a highly evolved form of a carbonless receipt book, which reduces your efforts multifold.

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Frequently Asked Questions
  1. What details should be kept on the receipts?

    Always mention your company name, address, and phone number in the receipts. Fill in the items sold in the receipt, item names on the left side, and the amount on the right. Mention the other fees and then calculate the total amount.


  2. Will it help me record my income?

    One of the main purposes of creating receipts is to keep track of all the transactions. If you have the data of transactions, it will be easy for you to calculate your business income.


  3. How can a management tool decrease my workload?

    A management tool will help you keep track of all your receipts. It can help you create reports, assist you with your taxes, and update the payment status of the invoices. One thing we all know is handling a business is difficult. It takes hours of hard work and, as they say, “blood, sweat, and tears” to keep a business profitable.


  4. Can i keep a receipt for my own expenses?

    Yes, you can most definitely keep receipts for your own purposes. You can keep a rent receipt, electricity bill receipt and other payments that you make.

Create Receipts for Your Business

Keeping receipts is a fundamental part of any business. It can help you not just with your taxes but also can help you understand your business. 

This understanding can help you scale your business. You should create receipts that carry all the information necessary for your business. Make sure you create a new receipt for all your sales.  

Author Bio
Jeel Patel
Jeel Patel
Founder

Jeel Patel is the founder of InvoiceOwl, a top-rated estimating and invoicing software that simplifies the invoicing and estimating processes for contractor businesses. Jeel holds a degree in Business Administration and Management from the University of Toronto, which has provided him with a strong foundation in business principles and practices. With understanding of the challenges faced by contractors, he conducted extensive research and developed a tool to streamline the invoicing and estimating processes for contractors. Read More

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