Petty Cash Voucher Format
Small cash payments recorded, approved and signed for.
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| Voucher no. | [number] |
| Date | October 14, 2026 |
| Paid to | [name] |
| Charge to | — |
| Description | Amount |
|---|---|
| [add one line per expense] | |
| Total paid | $ 0.00 |
Receipts for every item above are attached. Cash was received in full by the person named.
What is a Petty Cash Voucher?
A petty cash voucher is the slip that records a small payment out of the office float — who took the money, how much, what for, and who approved it. It matters at the moment the tin is counted: cash on hand plus vouchers should equal the float. Missing vouchers turn a shortfall into an unexplained one, and that is the point where the questions become about the person holding the tin.
Office managers, site supervisors, school and clinic administrators, branch staff and small shopkeepers run petty cash because some payments cannot sensibly go through a card or a bank transfer: a taxi fare, postage, a courier, tea for a meeting, a replacement fuse, parking, a tip to a delivery driver. The float is usually held on an imprest basis, meaning it is topped back up to a fixed amount each period by reimbursing exactly what the vouchers total, which is what makes the reconciliation work.
What turns a voucher into a claimable expense varies. In the UK and EU, recovering VAT on a petty cash purchase normally needs a valid supplier VAT receipt attached, not the voucher alone. Indian GST input credit requires a tax invoice from the supplier. US business expense substantiation rules set their own documentary standards. Several countries also cap the value of a cash payment that can be deducted at all. Check the current threshold under your own tax law and your organisation's finance policy before relying on cash.
A voucher is not a receipt. It is your internal record that money left the tin; the supplier's receipt is the evidence that the money bought something, and one does not substitute for the other. It does not authorise the spend — that comes from a policy limit and an approver. It is not the route for larger staff expenses, which belong on an expense claim, and it says nothing about whether the goods actually reached the organisation.
What to put in a Petty Cash Voucher
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Issuing organisation | For example: Maple Grove Homeowners Association |
| Organisation address | For example: 1420 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43212 |
| Voucher no. | For example: PC-2026-0188 |
| Paid to | For example: Suresh Babu |
| Charge to optional | For example: Office expenses |
| Expenses | One per line: Description | Amount |
How to write a Petty Cash Voucher
Number vouchers in one running series
Use a single unbroken sequence for the float, starting again only at the year end. The numbers are what let you prove nothing has been removed. Pre-numbered pads are better than numbering as you go, because a gap in a pre-numbered book is visible immediately and a gap in a hand-numbered series is deniable.
Name the payee and the purpose precisely
Write who was paid and what for, in terms someone outside the office could follow. 'Courier to Nagpur branch, 2 parcels, AWB 4471' can be checked. 'Misc expenses' cannot, and it is the wording that turns a routine audit sample into a longer conversation. Add the date the payment was made, not the date the slip was written.
Attach the supplier receipt to the voucher
Staple the till slip, invoice or ticket to the voucher before filing. Where no receipt exists — a tip, a fare from a driver with no machine — say so on the voucher and have the approver initial that line specifically. An unsupported voucher is not automatically wrong, but it should be a deliberate exception rather than the norm.
Get the approver's signature before payment
The person approving should not be the person handling the cash. Approve first, pay second: reversing that order means the custodian is asking for retrospective cover for money already gone, which is uncomfortable to refuse. Keep a short list of who can approve and up to what amount, and put both signatures on the slip.
Code the voucher and reconcile the tin
Add the account or cost centre code so the entry can be posted without guesswork, and write the running balance. Before requesting a top-up, count the cash, add the vouchers since the last reimbursement, and confirm the total equals the float. Investigate any difference then, while people still remember the week.
Common mistakes
- Paying out first and seeking approval afterwards removes the only real control on the float and leaves every disputed spend as the custodian's personal problem.
- Allowing the same person to approve and disburse breaks segregation of duties and is the first thing any auditor tests on a cash system.
- Filing vouchers with no supplier receipt attached can cost the organisation the tax deduction and any input tax recovery on the spend.
- Splitting a larger purchase across several vouchers to stay under the approval limit is a policy breach that reads as deliberate however it was intended.
- Topping the float back up without reconciling first buries any shortfall in the new balance, where it can never be traced to a date or a person.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a petty cash voucher and a receipt?
The voucher is your internal record that cash left the tin, showing who took it, why, and who approved it. The receipt is the supplier's evidence that the money was spent on what it was drawn for. Auditors want both: the voucher proves the control was followed, the receipt proves the expense was real. Staple them together.
How much should a petty cash float hold?
There is no standard figure. Most organisations set it at roughly what they spend in small cash over one or two reimbursement periods, so the tin is topped up on a predictable cycle rather than running dry. Your finance policy should state the amount, who holds it, and the single-payment limit above which a card or transfer must be used instead.
Who should sign a petty cash voucher?
Two people at minimum: the person receiving the money, confirming they got it, and an authorised approver who is not the cash custodian. Larger organisations add the custodian's initials as a third. Keep the list of approvers short and written down, with the limit each one can sign up to, so the rule is not decided in the moment.
Do I need a receipt for every petty cash payment?
You should aim to. Some payments genuinely produce no receipt — a tip, a fare, a small local purchase — and those can be recorded on the voucher with an explanation and a specific approval. The problem is not the occasional exception but a pattern of them, which makes the whole float unverifiable and can put the deduction at risk.
What is the imprest system?
The float is fixed at a set amount. You spend from it, keep the vouchers, and at the end of the period claim reimbursement for exactly the total of the vouchers, restoring the tin to its original figure. It is used because the arithmetic is self-checking: cash plus vouchers should always equal the imprest amount, and any difference shows immediately.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.