Receipt generator

A receipt proves the money arrived. Record what was paid, how, and which invoice it settles, then download or print it.

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What it looks like

A filled example. Your own figures replace these.

How to write a receipt for a payment

An invoice asks for money. A receipt confirms it arrived. They are often confused because they list the same items, but they do opposite jobs, and a client who needs a receipt will not accept a paid-stamped invoice from an accountant who knows the difference.

What a receipt must say

  • The word Receipt
  • A receipt number
  • The date the payment was received, not the date the work was done
  • Who paid, and who received
  • What the payment was for, with enough detail to be recognisable later
  • The amount received, and the currency
  • How it was paid: cash, card, bank transfer, cheque
  • The invoice number it settles, if there was one

That last line is the detail most receipts omit, and it is the one that saves an hour of reconciliation. Without it, your client's bookkeeper has a payment and an invoice and no proof they are the same transaction.

Part payments

If the payment is a deposit or an instalment, say so and state what remains. A receipt for 20,000 against an invoice for 50,000 should read as a receipt for 20,000 with 30,000 outstanding, not as a receipt that happens to be for less than the invoice. Write the balance into the notes.

Tax on receipts

A receipt is a record of payment, so by itself it is not a tax document. In some countries, however, the consumer-facing document is both at once, and it must then meet the tax invoice rules. Saudi Arabia is the clearest case: the simplified tax invoice given to a consumer must carry a QR code.

ZATCA requires the Phase 1 QR code on simplified tax invoices, the document issued to consumers. ZATCA, Guide to Developed FATOORA Compliant QR Code

Indonesia has the same pattern under different names: a nota is the counter receipt and a kwitansi is the proof-of-payment slip, and both are expected to look like what they are rather than like an invoice.

A worked example

Receipt settling part of an invoice
Received from
Rahma Trading LLC
For
Invoice INV-0042
Method
Bank transfer
Amount received
AED 20,000.00
Balance outstanding
AED 10,870.00

Date it the day the money arrived in your account, not the day you issued it. The two can differ by a week and only the first is the truth.

Keeping your own copy

Issue receipts in a numbered sequence like invoices, and keep every one. When a client claims they paid, the receipt number is the fastest way to establish whether they did, and a receipt that exists only in the client's inbox is not a record you control.

Invoicora saves every document in your browser on your own device. Nothing is uploaded, so your receipt history is yours and no account is needed to keep it.

Sources last checked 2026-10-16

Common questions

What is the difference between an invoice and a receipt?
An invoice requests payment before it is made. A receipt confirms a payment that has already been received. The receipt is dated the day the money arrived.
Is a paid invoice the same as a receipt?
Not really. Marking an invoice paid records your view of it; a receipt is a document issued to the payer confirming the amount, date and method.
Does a receipt need a number?
Number them. It is how a payment is matched to a document later, and the sequence is what you rely on if a payment is ever disputed.
Do I need to show tax on a receipt?
Only if the receipt also serves as the tax document for the sale, which it does in some countries. Saudi simplified tax invoices, for example, must carry a QR code.
How do I write a receipt for a deposit?
State the amount received, the invoice it applies to, and the balance still outstanding. A receipt that omits the balance invites a disagreement later.
Can I issue a receipt for a cash payment?
Yes, and you should. Cash leaves no bank trail, so the receipt is the only record either side has.
Is there a free receipt generator?
This one. No signup, no watermark, no limits, and your data stays on your device.