A cash receipt is the written record that you received a payment in cash: who paid, how much, when, what for, and who took the money. The payer keeps the original and you keep a copy. With cash, those two pieces of paper are often the only proof the payment happened.
A card payment or a bank transfer leaves a statement behind. Cash leaves nothing, so the receipt has to do more work. Below is a real cash receipt from a deposit, a day’s cash log, and what changes once cash from one customer goes over $10,000.
What to put on a cash receipt
The basics are the same as any receipt. Cash adds three habits: write the amount in words as well as figures, mark the method as cash, and have the person who took the money sign and print their name. Here is a deposit taken in cash by an invented upholstery shop in Eugene, Oregon:
| Field | What it says |
|---|---|
| Title | RECEIPT (cash) |
| Receipt number | RCPT-0141 |
| Date | October 5, 2026 |
| Received from | Owen Castellanos |
| For | Reupholstering a sofa and two dining chair seats, as quoted |
| Job total | $1,460.00 |
| Amount received | $600.00 |
| Amount in words | Six hundred and 00/100 dollars |
| Paid by | Cash |
| Balance after this payment | $860.00 |
| Received by | Signature, printed name and title of the person who took the cash |
The amount in words stops a 600 from quietly becoming a 6,000. The signature shows which person took the money, which matters when more than one person handles cash. And the balance line tells both sides what is still owed.
There is no sales tax line because Oregon has no general sales tax. In a state that taxes the sale, show the tax on its own line, as in our guide on how to write a receipt.
A deposit now, the rest in cash later
When the customer collects the sofa and pays the balance, the shop writes a second cash receipt. It refers back to the deposit receipt by number, shows the final amount paid, and says the job is paid in full. Two receipts, two numbers, one job.
Do not alter the first receipt to show the new total. Each receipt records one payment on one day; changing an old one leaves you with nothing that matches the cash you actually took.
Keep a cash receipts log
If you take cash most days, list every cash receipt in a log as you write it, then count the money at closing. The count should match the log’s total to the cent. Here is the shop’s log for the day the sofa was collected:
| Receipt | Received from | For | Cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| RCPT-0153 | Lena Haugen | Cushion zipper replaced | $45.00 |
| RCPT-0154 | Corbin Dale | Ottoman recovered | $165.00 |
| RCPT-0155 | Ruth Amari | Foam cut to size | $62.50 |
| RCPT-0156 | Owen Castellanos | Reupholster three-seat sofa | $860.00 |
| Total cash received | $1,132.50 | ||
When the count is short or over, find out why that day, while people remember. Then deposit the cash in one amount that matches the log, so your bank statement shows the same figure. A deposit that matches the log is the trail cash does not leave on its own.
In bookkeeping, “cash receipts” often means all money coming in, checks and card payments included, and the cash receipts journal is where they are recorded. The log above is the paper version for actual cash.
Cash over $10,000: Form 8300
A business that receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction, or in related transactions, must file IRS Form 8300 within 15 days. Payments from the same buyer within 24 hours count as one. So do installments: add any payments within a year of the first one.
| Situation | What came in | Form 8300? |
|---|---|---|
| One payment | $9,500 in bills for a custom sectional | Not over the threshold: no Form 8300 |
| Two visits in one day | $6,000 in the morning, $5,000 that afternoon, same customer | Related, because they fall within 24 hours: $11,000 in total, so Form 8300 is due within 15 days |
| Monthly installments | $2,400 cash on the 15th of each month from Jan 15 | The May 15, 2026 payment takes the total to $12,000: file by May 30, 2026 |
| A personal check | $12,000 by check on the customer's own account | A personal check is not cash for Form 8300 |
Cash means coins and currency. Cashier’s checks, money orders and similar items of $10,000 or less can count too in what the IRS calls designated reporting transactions, such as the retail sale of a car, or when you know the customer is trying to avoid the report. A personal check never counts.
You must also send each person named on the form a written statement by January 31 of the next year, giving your business details and the total cash reported. Keep a copy of every Form 8300 for 5 years, and give the large payments their own receipts like any others.
Splitting a payment to stay under the threshold, or accepting it split that way, does not avoid the report. The related-transactions rule exists for exactly that.
Handwritten or printed
A handwritten cash receipt from a carbonless book is as valid as a printed one if it is complete and legible. Use ink, number the receipts in order, and void a spoiled one rather than tearing it out.
A printed one is easier to read and to file. Our receipt generator marks the method as cash, writes the amount in words, adds a received-by signature line, and handles deposits with the balance shown. It also has blank cash receipt templates in Word, Excel and PDF.
Sources: IRS guidance on business records, Form 8300 and reporting cash payments of over $10,000, IRS Form 8300 reference guide and Publication 1544; Oregon Department of Revenue, Sales tax in Oregon. Checked October 26, 2026.
