How to Write a Receipt for a Cash Payment (or Cheque)

To write a receipt for a cash payment, note the date, who paid, the amount in figures and in words, what it was for, and sign it, because cash leaves no other record. Knowing how to write a receipt for a cash payment properly matters more than for a card or transfer, since the receipt is the only proof either side has. A cheque (check) receipt needs the same details plus the cheque number and bank, and it shouldn't say "paid in full" until the cheque clears.

Why cash and cheque receipts need extra care

A card or bank transfer payment leaves its own record in the payment processor or bank statement. Cash and cheques don't: a cash payment goes into a drawer with nothing to show for it, and a cheque can still bounce after you've handed over a receipt. That means the receipt is doing more work: it needs to be specific enough to stand on its own if anyone ever needs to prove the payment happened.

The core fields are the same as any receipt: payer, amount, date, what it was for, a receipt number. What changes is one extra line specific to the payment method, and, for cheques, a bit of caution about timing. For the full list of fields on any receipt, see our guide on how to write a receipt of payment.

Writing a receipt for a cash payment

A cash receipt is the simplest version, but skipping details because "it's just cash" is exactly how disputes happen. Count the money in front of the payer, then write the receipt before they leave.

• Payment method line: write "Cash" explicitly rather than leaving the field blank.
• Amount in figures and words: "800.00 (eight hundred)". Write the exact amount received, not a rounded one.
• Change given: if the payer handed over more than was owed, note the amount tendered and the change.
• A signature line: your signature, and the payer's initials if you can get them, remove any doubt about whether they paid.
• Sequential numbering: cash receipts belong in your normal receipt sequence, not a separate ad-hoc system.

Writing a receipt for a cheque (check) payment

A cheque receipt needs one thing a cash receipt doesn't: a reference back to the cheque itself. Record the cheque number and the bank it was drawn on, so if there's ever a question about which payment it refers to, both sides can match it against a bank statement. Note the name on the cheque too, if it is different from the customer's.

If a cheque does bounce after a receipt has gone out, follow up immediately with a written correction referencing the original receipt number, and treat the invoice as unpaid again until a replacement payment clears.

Writing a handwritten receipt

A handwritten receipt is perfectly normal for a market stall, a site payment or a one-off sale. It just needs the same details as a typed one, written clearly enough that nobody can misread them later.

1. Use a duplicate receipt book with carbon or carbonless copies, so you keep an identical copy of every receipt you hand over.
2. Write in pen, never pencil, and don't leave blank space before or after the amount.
3. Fill in every line: number, date, payer, amount in figures and words, what it was for, payment method.
4. Cross out mistakes with a single line and initial them. If a receipt is badly spoiled, write "void" on it, keep it, and use the next one.
5. Sign it and hand over the top copy.

If you would rather type it up, our receipt generator works on a phone: set the payment method to "Cash" or "Cheque", add the cheque number in the notes, and send the PDF before the customer has left. Landlords taking rent in cash can use our rent receipt generator, which adds the rental period and a signature line. Either way, you now know how to write a receipt for a cash payment that will hold up if it is ever questioned.

Example wording for either one

• Cash: "Received in cash from John Peters the sum of 800.00 (eight hundred) for repair of the gate motor, invoice INV-0077. Paid in full."
• Cheque: "Received from Greenway Estates cheque no. 004512, drawn on First National Bank, for 3,200.00 (three thousand two hundred), invoice INV-0081. Pending clearance."