Guides
- How to write a receipt What a receipt has to prove, and the fields that make it stand up later.
- A receipt template you can reuse Set it up once with your details and payment methods, and issuing one takes under a minute.
- Receipt or invoice, and when to send which One asks for money. The other confirms it arrived. Sending the wrong one causes real problems.
How to make a receipt
- Fill in your business details and who paid you.
- Add the date, how they paid, and the invoice the payment settles.
- List what the payment covers, with amounts.
- Enter the amount paid so any balance shows, then save the PDF.
When to use one
Issue a receipt after the money clears. Customers need them for expense claims and tax records, and it closes the loop on the invoice. If you're still waiting to be paid, send an invoice instead.
Questions
What has to be on a receipt?
Your business name and contact details, the customer, the date the payment was received, what it was for, the amount, and how it was paid. The payment method matters more than people expect: it is the field that lets both sides trace the transaction months later. Tax registration numbers are required in many countries. How to write a receipt covers each one.
Do I need to keep a copy?
Yes, and you will need yours more often than the customer needs theirs, usually at year end. Nothing is stored for you here, so save each receipt to your own disk with Save as file. For cash especially, write the receipt at the moment of payment and keep the copy. How to write a receipt covers the fields.
Do I need to create an account?
No. There is no sign-up, no login and no trial, and nothing is held back behind one. The page works the first time you open it and the hundredth. Since nothing you type is stored anywhere, there would be nothing for an account to hold. The privacy page sets out what that means in practice.
Can I put my own logo on it?
Yes. Click the logo box at the top left of the sheet and choose an image. Resize it to around 600 pixels wide first: a photo straight off a phone can be several megabytes, and that weight goes into your saved file and any PDF you export. The logo is stored inside the sheet, so it comes back with the receipt next time you open it.
Can I save it and change it later?
Use Save as file to write a small .json file to your own disk, then Open a saved file to bring it back with everything in place, logo included. That file is also the quickest way to build a template: fill in your own details once, save it, and open that copy each time. The receipt template guide covers what to fix and what to leave blank.
How do I get a PDF?
Choose Print or save PDF, then pick Save as PDF as the destination in your browser's print dialogue. The file is produced on your own machine and never passes through a server. Two settings decide how it looks: background graphics on, and scale at 100%. Turning an invoice into a PDF explains both, and they behave the same on every sheet here.
Which currencies can I use?
Every currency in common use. The picker opens on the one that matches your country, worked out from your browser's own locale rather than by looking anything up over the network. Change it whenever you like and the symbol follows through to every figure on the receipt. If you bill across a border, invoicing a client in another currency covers the decisions worth making first.
Is anything I type sent anywhere?
No. There is no server behind this page. Client names, prices, notes and your logo stay in the browser tab while it is open and go when you close it, which is why saving to a file matters. The privacy page sets out exactly what does and does not happen, including the one external request the site still makes.
What is the difference between an invoice and a receipt?
An invoice asks for money. A receipt confirms it arrived. Issue the invoice when the work is done, the receipt when the payment clears. Some businesses send one document doing both, which causes problems in the customer's accounts because there is nothing to match against. Receipt or invoice compares them.
Do I need to show tax on a receipt?
In many countries yes, along with your tax registration number. The tax treatment follows the invoice rather than the receipt, since the receipt records a payment against a document where tax was already charged. Rules vary and change, so confirm yours locally rather than assuming.
Can I write a receipt for a part payment?
Yes. Record the amount actually received, not what is owed, and note the balance still outstanding so neither side is in any doubt. Reference the invoice the payment settles. For staged payments, issue a receipt for each instalment rather than one at the end.