A sales receipt is important for both the seller and the buyer because it serves as a proof transaction, it can be used for record-keeping purposes, and it is for compliance of the law. Hence, every business entity must have their receipts, cashiers must issue receipts, and customers have the right to ask for a receipt for their transaction.
Apart from the official receipts that a business must use, it can also have its own sales receipt in order to double-check transactions and for easy internal auditing and record-keeping purposes. Here are some sales receipt examples and templates that you must not miss.
A sales receipt is issued by the seller to the buyer upon the sale of goods or services. It must comprise the following important elements:
1. Business name: Commonly, on the header of every receipt, the business name issuing the receipt can be seen. It is important that the business name can easily and clearly be seen on the receipt in case of disputes and in order to track the issuer of the receipt.
2. Address: Another important information on the header of a receipt is the address of the business entity issuing the receipt. Including the company address will not only help in case of disputes but also help potential customers and interested buyers to locate the business.
3. Contact information: Including the contact information in the receipt helps anyone to easy communicate with the entity in case of orders, reservations, concerns, suggestions, questions, among others.
4. Date: The date of the issuance of the receipt must also be clearly indicated in order for the seller to easily trace the sales transaction and to record it on the appropriate date.
5. Receipt number: The receipt number will help the issuer to easily record the transaction. Instead of writing the details of the sales transaction, the entity can simply write the receipt number for an easy tracking.
6. List of goods and services: In the middle portion of the receipt, you can usually find the space for the list of goods and services. Each line item must specify the goods or services purchased with the quantity for each item. Take note that the description for each item must be short and concise.
7. Amount of each line item: Aside from the quantity, it is important that the amount for each line item must be placed beside the description. The amount per item must be indicated multiplied by a certain quantity to come up with the total amount.
8. Subtotal; fees, taxes, or charges; and grand total: The prices for all the items must be summed up to arrive at the subtotal of the transaction. Subtotal plus taxes, fees, and charges related to the transaction equals grand total. The grand total is the final amount that the customer must pay. Hence, it must be rendered in bold or in fonts larger than the rest so it can be easily seen.
In order to lessen the burden in making a layout for a sales receipt, a lot of business entities would resort to the use of templates which can be found on the internet such as those presented in the previous section. In order to create a sales receipt using templates, here are some steps and tips that you can follow.
1. Choose a Template Layout: There are a lot of template layouts that you can find on the internet. Choose a template that would fit your preference for your sales receipt. Your receipt must reflect the personality of your company. It may not be obvious as it may seem, but people may form their impressions through your receipt. Settling with plain and basic sales receipt template may be acceptable for small business, but for large entities or those entities inclined in arts and design industry, artsy receipts are on trend. Receipts can also help in marketing your company, so make sure that you choose the best format and design for your template.
2. Incorporate the Important Elements: As stated above, the important elements that must be present in a sales receipt are business name, address, contact information, date, receipt number, list of goods and services, amount of each line item, and subtotal, taxes and fees, and grand total. You may also add your logo design, although it is not really a must. Incorporate all these in your sales receipt not only for record-keeping or compliance purposes but also to maximize your marketing. Potential customers might see your receipt and get interested with your products and services, so ensure that you are making the best receipt you can offer.
3. Check Before Printing: After incorporating all the necessary information, you must double-check and proofread all the details that you include in your receipt. Committing typographical errors would highly affect the credibility of your company. People will think that you are not legit when they find lots of typos on your receipt, and they might not consider doing business with you again. Other interested customers might also get disappointed upon seeing a lot of errors in your receipts. Hence, before sending your receipts for print, check if you have incorporated all the important information and that there are no grammatical or typographical errors in those information.
Although a sales receipt can easily be created using a template or through the use of computer software or programs, you have to bear in mind that it is an important document in a sales transaction, hence must be given an extra attention and effort. Here are few tips that may help you to achieve an outstanding sales receipt.
Sales receipts can be grouped into three general categories: product sales receipts, service sales receipts, and both product and service sales receipts. Detailed discussion for these types are presented below.
1. Product Sales Receipts: These sales receipts are used by businesses who are manufacturing or merchandising goods. Their primary business is to provide goods to the customers. The products may come either from other manufacturing companies and that they are just doing buy and sell or from their own manufacturing plants as they are the primary manufacturers of the said products. Examples of manufacturing business are those that produce soap, shoes, and junk food. Examples of merchandising entities are those that sell cars, gadgets, furniture, and other ready-made products.
2. Service Sales Receipts: These are receipts issued by entities whose primary business is to render services. Examples of service businesses are those that provide utility such as water, electricity, and internet, maintenance and repairs services, consulting and managerial services, legal services, and accounting and finance services. A service receipt might be useful in this case.
3. Product and Service Sales Receipts: There are also companies who issue product and service sales receipts since the nature of their business is providing goods and services to their customers. For example, a company is selling computers and at the same time is offering internet services. The product is their computers while the service they are providing is the internet. Hence, in this case, a product and service sales receipt is the one issued by the seller to the customer.
Basically, sales receipts come in the following sizes:
What is the purpose of a receipt?
Receipts are important for both the seller and the buyer. Sellers need receipts in order for them to record the transaction. Moreover, internal and external auditing also requires receipt for checking, vouching, or tracing. Additionally, the Bureau of Internal Revenue would require these receipts when they are checking the income of a certain entity. They would also require receipts for auditing purposes. On the part of the buyer, they need a receipt for proof of purchase, to settle disputes, and, in some cases, to avail of promos and discounts.
What is the difference between a receipt and an invoice?
You might already encountered these words, receipt and invoice, in a sales transaction a lot of times and still got confused with these terms. In order to easily distinguish one from the other, you have to note the primary difference between the two. The main difference lies on the time of issuance of the sales document. For an invoice, it is issued prior to the completion of the transaction and it serves as a request or demand of payment from the customer. On the other hand, a receipt is issued after the transaction, that is, when the customer has already paid for the transaction.
What is the difference between a purchase order and a receipt?
Just like receipts and invoice, some people also get confused with the terms purchase order and receipt. There are actually a lot of differences between the two and it can be summarized as follows: a purchase order is sent by the buyer to the seller requesting for a product or service while a receipt is issued by the seller to the buyer confirming the completion of the transaction, and a purchase order is sent before the sales transaction while a receipt is issued after the transaction.
