Receipt Voucher Format: Accounting and GST Rules

The term receipt voucher means two related things. In everyday bookkeeping, it is the internal document that records money coming into a business and supports the cash or bank book entry. In India, it also names a statutory GST document that a registered supplier must issue when it receives an advance before raising the tax invoice. This guide covers both: a general receipt voucher format with a sample and journal entry, and the GST version with every field Rule 50 requires.

Receipt voucher in accounting

Every entry in your books should be backed by a document. For money paid out, that is a payment voucher. For money received, it is a receipt voucher. Typical uses:

• A customer pays an invoice in cash or by bank transfer
• A customer pays an advance or deposit
• Miscellaneous income: scrap sales, rent received, interest, refunds from suppliers
• Owner's capital introduced

Businesses usually keep two series: a cash receipt voucher and a bank receipt voucher, matching the two books they support. Our guide to the cash book format shows where each voucher is posted.

Fields in an accounting receipt voucher

• Business name and "Receipt Voucher" title (cash or bank)
• Voucher number and date
• Received from: name of the payer
• Account to be credited (customer ledger or income head)
• Amount in figures and words
• Mode: cash, cheque number and bank, transfer reference
• Narration: against which invoice or for what purpose
• Prepared by, checked by, approved by, and receiver's signature

Sample accounting receipt voucher

Field	Entry
Voucher	Bank Receipt Voucher BRV-2026-0319
Date	12 November 2026
Received from	Alpha Traders
Account credited	Alpha Traders (customer ledger)
Amount	85,000 (Eighty-five thousand only)
Mode	Bank transfer, ref. 20261112-55471
Narration	Against INV-2026-0874 (90,000) less 5,000 withholding tax deducted, certificate received

The math: invoice 90,000 - tax withheld by the customer 5,000 = 85,000 received in the bank. The journal entry is:

Account	Debit	Credit
Bank	85,000
Tax withheld (receivable/advance tax)	5,000
Alpha Traders (customer)		90,000

The customer's balance is cleared in full, the bank shows the actual deposit, and the withheld tax is tracked as an asset to claim later. For more examples, see our guide to journal entries for invoices and payments.

Receipt voucher format under GST (India)

Under Section 31(3)(d) of the CGST Act, a registered person who receives an advance payment for a supply must issue a receipt voucher. The required contents are set out in Rule 50 of the CGST Rules, available in the CBIC's published CGST Rules.

An important practical point: since a 2017 notification, GST is generally not payable on advances received for supplies of goods (except for composition dealers in some cases), so in practice GST receipt vouchers are used mainly for advances against services. Confirm the current position with a tax adviser; this guide is general information, not tax advice.

Rule 50 fields

1. Name, address and GSTIN of the supplier
2. A consecutive serial number, up to 16 characters, using letters, numbers, hyphens or slashes, unique for the financial year
3. Date of issue
4. Name, address and GSTIN or UIN of the recipient, if registered
5. Description of the goods or services
6. Amount of advance taken
7. Rate of tax (central, state, integrated, union territory tax, cess)
8. Amount of tax charged in respect of each
9. Place of supply, with the state name and code, for inter-state supplies
10. Whether tax is payable on reverse charge
11. Signature or digital signature of the supplier or authorised representative

Rule 50 also says that where the rate of tax cannot be determined at the time of the advance, tax is paid at 18%, and where the nature of supply (intra-state or inter-state) cannot be determined, it is treated as inter-state.

Sample GST receipt voucher

A Bengaluru IT consultancy receives an advance of 1,18,000 from a client in the same state for a software project. The advance is treated as inclusive of 18% GST.

Field	Entry
Supplier	Codeline Solutions, Bengaluru, GSTIN 29XXXXXXXXXXXZX
Receipt voucher no.	RV/26-27/0042
Date	12 November 2026
Recipient	Northwind Retail Pvt Ltd, Mysuru, GSTIN 29XXXXXXXXXXXZY
Description	Advance for inventory software development (SAC 998314)
Place of supply	Karnataka (29)
Reverse charge	No

Item	Calculation	Amount (INR)
Advance received (incl. GST)		1,18,000
Taxable value	1,18,000 x 100 / 118	1,00,000
CGST 9%	1,00,000 x 9%	9,000
SGST 9%	1,00,000 x 9%	9,000

The math: 1,18,000 / 1.18 = 1,00,000 taxable value, and 9% CGST plus 9% SGST gives 18,000 tax, which checks back to 1,18,000. If the client were in another state, the 18,000 would be shown as IGST instead. Our guide on how to calculate GST covers inclusive and exclusive calculations in more detail.

When the work is billed, the tax invoice shows the full value and adjusts the tax already paid on the advance. If the deal is cancelled and no supply is made, the supplier issues a refund voucher under Rule 51 referencing the receipt voucher number. For tax invoice requirements, see our GST invoice guide.

Receipt voucher vs similar documents

Document	Who keeps it	What it records
Receipt voucher (accounting)	The business	Money received, supporting the cash or bank book
Receipt (customer copy)	The payer	Proof that they paid
Payment voucher	The business	Money paid out
GST receipt voucher	Both, by law	Advance received, with tax charged on it
GST refund voucher	Both, by law	Return of an advance when no supply is made
Tax invoice	Both, by law	The supply itself and the tax on it

Part payments and payments on account

Customers rarely pay invoices one-for-one. A single transfer may settle two invoices and part of a third, or arrive with no reference at all. The receipt voucher narration is where you record how the money was applied. Suppose a customer sends 150,000 against three open invoices of 60,000, 70,000 and 45,000:

Invoice	Open amount	Applied	Still open
INV-0901	60,000	60,000	0
INV-0915	70,000	70,000	0
INV-0932	45,000	20,000	25,000
Total	175,000	150,000	25,000

Applying payments to the oldest invoices first is the common default unless the customer specifies otherwise. If money arrives with no reference, record it as "received on account" and apply it once the customer confirms. A follow-up partial payment invoice or statement then shows the 25,000 still due.

Internal controls over cash receipts

Receipt vouchers are one of the simplest fraud controls a small business has, but only if they are used consistently.

• Separate duties where you can. The person who receives cash should not be the only person who records it and banks it.
• Pre-number vouchers and account for every number, including cancelled ones, which are kept and marked void.
• Bank cash promptly, ideally daily, and match the deposit slip total to the vouchers for that day.
• Reconcile the bank account monthly against bank receipt vouchers, so unexplained credits and missing receipts surface quickly.
• Never use receipts to fund expenses directly. Bank the receipts in full and pay expenses separately through payment vouchers or petty cash, otherwise the books will not show either side correctly.

How to prepare a receipt voucher step by step

1. Confirm the money has arrived in cash or in the bank.
2. Pick the correct series: cash, bank, or GST advance.
3. Identify the account to credit: customer, income head or advance.
4. Write the narration linking the receipt to an invoice, contract or purpose.
5. For GST advances, calculate tax and fill every Rule 50 field.
6. Get it authorised and file it with the bank statement or cash count.
7. Give the payer a copy or a separate receipt; for advances, an advance payment receipt is a customer-friendly alternative where GST does not apply.

Common mistakes

• No narration. A voucher that does not say which invoice it settles makes reconciliation slow.
• Mixing cash and bank series. Keep separate numbering for each book.
• Gross amount recorded when tax was withheld. Record the actual receipt and the withholding separately.
• Treating a GST receipt voucher as a tax invoice. It is not; the invoice still has to be issued.
• Breaking the serial number sequence within a financial year.
• Voucher dated when it was written, not when money arrived. The date should match the cash count or the bank credit, otherwise month-end reconciliations and tax periods will not line up.

When you need to give the customer a clean, numbered proof of payment for money received, you can create one in our free invoice generator, mark it paid, and download it as a PDF without signing up.