Payment Voucher Format: Fields, Types and Example

Quick answer: A payment voucher format is the standard layout for recording money a business pays out. It includes a voucher number, date, payee, amount in figures and words, the account debited and credited, payment method and reference, a narration, supporting document numbers, and signatures for preparation, checking and approval.

Every payment a business makes should be traceable: who approved it, what it was for, and which account it hit. In many companies, especially in India, Pakistan, the Gulf and in public sector bodies, that trail starts with a payment voucher. This guide explains what a payment voucher is, the fields a good format includes, the different types, a filled example with withholding tax arithmetic and the matching journal entry, and the mistakes that cause audit queries.

What is a payment voucher?

A payment voucher is an internal document that authorizes and records a payment. It is prepared by the business that is paying, not by the supplier, and it sits between the supplier's invoice and the actual money leaving the bank or cash box. The voucher gives the accountant a single place to show the approval, the account coding and the evidence.

In double-entry terms, a payment voucher is the source document for a credit to cash or bank and a debit to an expense, asset or supplier account. Our guide to journal entries explains how those debits and credits work, and double-entry bookkeeping covers the system behind them.

Payment voucher format: the standard fields

Layouts vary between companies and accounting packages, but most include the fields below.

Field	Example	Purpose
Voucher type	Bank Payment Voucher (BPV)	Tells the reader which cash or bank book it belongs to
Voucher number	BPV-2026-0412	Unique, sequential reference for the payment
Date	27-10-2026	Date of payment, which drives the accounting period
Payee	Crescent Office Supplies	Who receives the money
Account debited	Accounts payable: Crescent Office Supplies	The expense, asset or liability being settled
Account credited	Bank: Current account 0123	Where the money comes from
Amount in figures	90,000.00	The value paid
Amount in words	Rupees Ninety Thousand Only	Guards against alteration
Payment mode and reference	Online transfer, ref 7781234	Links the voucher to the bank statement
Narration	Payment against invoice CS-1187 for printer toner, less WHT	Explains the payment in one line
Supporting documents	Invoice CS-1187, PO 3305, goods received note 552	Evidence for audit
Cost center or project	Admin department	Optional; used for management reporting
Signatures	Prepared by, checked by, approved by, received by	Shows the payment was authorized and controlled

Organizations that make many deductions at source, such as withholding tax, add columns for the gross amount, each deduction and the net amount paid.

Types of payment vouchers

Accountants usually separate vouchers by the account the money comes from, because each type is posted to a different book.

• Cash payment voucher (CPV). For payments in cash. The payee normally signs the voucher to confirm receipt, since there is no bank record.
• Bank payment voucher (BPV). For payments by check, bank transfer or online banking. The check number or transfer reference is recorded so the voucher can be matched during bank reconciliation.
• Petty cash voucher. For small payouts from an office float, such as courier fees or tea and snacks. These are summarized in a petty cash log and replenished periodically.
• Advance voucher. For money paid to an employee or supplier before the expense happens, settled later against actual bills.

Two related vouchers are not payment vouchers but often appear in the same voucher series:

• Receipt vouchers (cash or bank) record money received.
• Journal vouchers record entries with no cash or bank movement, such as depreciation, accruals or corrections.

Some accounting packages also use a contra voucher for transfers between cash and bank, such as depositing cash into the bank.

Filled example: bank payment voucher with withholding tax

The figures below are illustrative, and the withholding rate is an example only. Real rates depend on the country, the type of payment and the supplier's tax status, so check the current rate before you use it.

A company in Pakistan receives an invoice for PKR 100,000 from a supplier for office supplies. The company is required to withhold income tax at source. Using an illustrative rate of 10%:

• Gross invoice amount: PKR 100,000.00.
• Withholding tax: 100,000 x 10% = PKR 10,000.00.
• Net amount paid to supplier: 100,000 - 10,000 = PKR 90,000.00.

The completed voucher would read:

Field	Entry
Voucher	Bank Payment Voucher BPV-2026-0412
Date	27 October 2026
Payee	Crescent Office Supplies
Gross amount	PKR 100,000.00
Less income tax withheld	PKR 10,000.00
Net paid	PKR 90,000.00 (Rupees Ninety Thousand Only)
Mode	Online transfer, reference 7781234
Narration	Payment of invoice CS-1187 dated 15 Oct 2026, office supplies, less income tax withheld
Supporting documents	Invoice CS-1187, PO 3305, GRN 552
Signatures	Prepared: A. Khan; Checked: S. Malik; Approved: Finance Manager

The journal entry behind the voucher

Assuming the invoice was already recorded as a liability, the voucher posts:

Account	Debit	Credit
Accounts payable: Crescent Office Supplies	100,000
Bank: Current account		90,000
Withholding tax payable		10,000
Total	100,000	100,000

Debits equal credits, so the entry balances. The withholding tax payable is later cleared when the company deposits the tax with the authorities and issues a certificate to the supplier. For how deductions at source show up on invoices from the supplier's side, see withholding tax on invoices.

Payment vouchers in India and Pakistan

In South Asia, a written payment voucher format is standard practice in companies, schools, NGOs and government offices, and auditors routinely ask to see vouchers with supporting documents. Most accounting software used in the region generates vouchers by type (payment, receipt, contra, journal) and numbers them automatically.

India's GST law also gives "payment voucher" a specific legal meaning. When a registered business pays for a supply on which it must pay GST under reverse charge, section 31(3)(g) of the CGST Act requires it to issue a payment voucher at the time of making payment to the supplier. Rule 52 of the CGST Rules lists the contents, including the supplier's name, address and GSTIN if registered, a serial number unique for the financial year, the date, the recipient's details, a description of the goods or services, the amount paid, the tax rate and tax amount, the place of supply for inter-state supplies, and a signature. The current text is available on the CBIC GST portal. Our guide to reverse charge invoices explains how reverse charge works more generally.

In Pakistan, payment vouchers commonly show income tax and, where relevant, sales tax withheld at source, together with the supplier's NTN. Withholding obligations and rates change through finance acts, so confirm them each year.

How to set up your own payment voucher format

Whether you print vouchers from a spreadsheet or generate them in accounting software, the setup decisions are the same.

1. Decide the series. Use a separate prefix for each type, such as CPV for cash, BPV for bank and PCV for petty cash, followed by the year and a running number. Restart numbering only at the start of a financial year, and never reuse a number.
2. Fix the chart of accounts. Give preparers a dropdown or printed list of account codes so the same expense is always posted to the same account.
3. Set approval limits. Write down who can approve payments up to which amount. For example, a department head might approve up to a set limit and anything larger goes to the finance manager or a director.
4. Add deduction lines. If you withhold tax or deduct retention, build those lines into the payment voucher format so the gross, deductions and net are always visible.
5. Design for the file. A half-page A4 or A5 layout is common, so vouchers can be stapled on top of the supplier's invoice and filed by number.
6. Plan for scanning. If you keep digital records, scan each voucher with its attachments as a single PDF named by voucher number.

Small businesses often start with a spreadsheet: one sheet as the printable voucher, one as a register listing every voucher number, date, payee and amount. The register makes it easy to spot gaps and to total payments by month. As volumes grow, accounting software that creates vouchers directly from approved bills usually saves time and reduces keying errors.

Payment voucher vs invoice vs receipt

Document	Prepared by	Purpose	Kept by
Invoice	Supplier	Requests payment for goods or services	Both parties
Payment voucher	Payer	Authorizes and records the payment internally	Payer
Receipt	Payee	Confirms money was received	Payer (as evidence)
Remittance advice	Payer	Tells the supplier which invoices a payment covers	Supplier

A remittance advice is the outward-facing companion to a voucher: the voucher stays in your files, while the remittance tells the supplier what you paid and what you deducted.

Payment voucher checklist

• Correct voucher type (cash, bank, petty cash, advance).
• Unique sequential number with no gaps.
• Payee name matching the invoice and bank account.
• Gross amount, deductions and net amount shown separately.
• Net amount in figures and words, and the two agree.
• Debit and credit accounts coded correctly.
• Check number or transfer reference recorded.
• Clear narration naming the invoice and purpose.
• Supporting documents attached and listed.
• Prepared, checked and approved by different people; payee signature for cash.

Common mistakes

• Paying without a supporting document. A voucher with nothing attached is the first thing an auditor questions.
• One person doing everything. If the same person prepares, approves and pays, there is no control.
• Wrong account coding. Posting a capital purchase as an expense, or the wrong supplier account, distorts the general ledger.
• Figures and words that disagree. Always reread the amount in words before signing.
• Skipping withholding. Paying the gross amount when tax should have been withheld can leave the payer liable for the tax.
• Paying the same invoice twice. Stamp invoices "PAID" with the voucher number once processed.
• Loose numbering. Gaps or duplicates in the voucher series make it hard to prove completeness.

Where invoices fit in

A payment voucher format records money going out; the document that triggers it is usually the supplier's invoice. If you are on the supplier side and want your bills to be easy to process, make sure your invoices carry a clear invoice number, your tax number, the buyer's PO number and the payment details. The invoice generator for Pakistan includes NTN fields and lets you download a PDF, and the main invoice generator works for other countries. Neither produces payment vouchers or receipts, so keep a separate voucher template or use your accounting software for those.