To write a receipt, put the word Receipt at the top with your business name, then a receipt number, the date you were paid and who paid you. List what they bought with prices, add any sales tax, and finish with the total received and how it was paid.
That covers a receipt for almost any sale. Below, one real receipt is written out field by field, then changed for a discount, a part payment and a check, with what to do when you make a mistake.
One receipt, written start to finish
Here is a receipt for a bike tune-up with new parts, made in our receipt generator. The shop and customer are invented, but every figure was calculated, including sales tax at the combined rate for Franklin County, Ohio. Ohio taxes repair work on goods as well as the parts.
4012 Broadway
Grove City, OH 43123
(614) 555-0172
No. RCPT-0388
October 17, 2026
Received from: Marisol Ortega
| Item | Qty | Price | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full tune-up Gears and brakes adjusted, wheels trued | 1 | $95.00 | $95.00 |
| Chain, 11-speed | 1 | $42.99 | $42.99 |
| Disc brake pads Front and rear | 2 | $19.50 | $39.00 |
| Subtotal | $176.99 | ||
| Sales tax (8%) | $14.16 | ||
| Total paid | $191.15 | ||
Paid by: Credit or debit card, Visa ending 0921
Amount in words: One hundred ninety-one and 15/100 dollars
Paid in full. Thank you.
Each field earns its place. Take one out and the receipt stops proving something: who was paid, when, for what, or how.
| Field | What we wrote | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|
| Your business name and address | Kestrel Lane Cycles, Grove City | Shows who was paid. The customer needs it to claim the cost, and so do you if the receipt is ever questioned. |
| The word Receipt | RECEIPT | Tells everyone the money has already changed hands, so nobody mistakes it for a bill. |
| Receipt number | RCPT-0388 | Lets you find your copy and spot a missing one. Number receipts in order and never reuse one. |
| Date paid | October 17, 2026 | The day the money arrived, which may not be the day the work was done. |
| Who paid | Marisol Ortega | Ties the payment to a person or business, which matters for refunds and disputes. |
| What was bought | 3 lines with quantities and prices | A description that a stranger could understand. "Bike work" would not prove what the money was for. |
| Sales tax | $14.16 at 8% | Shown on its own line wherever you collect it, so the customer can see it was charged. |
| Total paid | $191.15 | The amount received, not the amount quoted. |
| How it was paid | Credit or debit card, Visa ending 0921 | The payment trail. Card or check details let both sides match the receipt to a statement. |
| Amount in words | One hundred ninety-one and 15/100 dollars | Optional on a printed receipt, useful on a handwritten one because words are harder to alter. |
Writing a receipt by hand
A receipt book with carbonless copies works fine for a market stall, a house call or a first sale. Write each receipt so the copy left in the book is as clear as the one you hand over:
- Use the next number in the book. If your book is not pre-numbered, write the numbers in yourself before you start.
- Write the date, the customer’s name, and your business name if it is not printed.
- Describe each item on its own line with the quantity and price. Abbreviations you will not understand next year do not count.
- Add the subtotal, the sales tax if you collect it, and the total.
- Write the total in words as well as figures, then rule a line through any empty space below it.
- Note how they paid: cash, check with its number, or card with the last four digits.
- Sign it, tear off the top copy for the customer and leave the copy in the book.
Press hard enough for the copy to read, and use ink. A pencil total is easy to change, which defeats the point of having a receipt at all.
When the sale is not a straight payment
The same tune-up can end in a club discount, a part payment or a check. Each one changes a different part of the receipt:
| Situation | What changes on the receipt | Received | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid in full by card | Credit or debit card, Visa ending 0921 | $191.15 | Nothing: this is the receipt above. |
| 10% club discount | Discount $17.70 before tax | $172.03 | Tax is worked out after the discount: $12.74 instead of $14.16. |
| $100.00 paid now | Amount received and balance due | $100.00 | The receipt shows $91.15 still owed. A second receipt follows when that is paid. |
| Paid by check | Check, no. 2214 | $191.15 | Write the check number so the receipt can be matched to the deposit. |
Two of these trip people up. A discount comes off before sales tax, so the tax line shrinks along with the price. And a part payment needs its own receipt showing what is still owed, followed by a second receipt when the balance comes in.
Deposits work the same way. Our guide to invoices and receipts follows one order through a deposit receipt, an updated invoice and a final receipt.
Fixing a receipt you got wrong
Do not tear the mistake out of the book or reuse its number. Write VOID across both copies, keep the voided copy where it is, and write a new receipt on the next number. A gap in your numbering looks like a missing sale; a voided copy explains itself.
A refund is a different event. Write the customer a separate refund note or receipt that refers to the original receipt number, states the amount returned and how, and keep your copy with the first one.
Printed and emailed receipts
A typed receipt needs the same fields as a handwritten one; it is simply easier to read. Our receipt generator lays them out, works out tax and the amount in words, and downloads a PDF you can print or email.
If you take cards, the terminal slip proves a card was charged but rarely says what for. Many customers, especially businesses claiming the cost, need an itemized receipt from you as well.
Number printed receipts in the same sequence as any paper ones, so one series covers every sale. How to number invoices explains formats that work for receipts too.
What your receipt proves, for you and the customer
For your customer, your receipt is the supporting document for their purchase. The IRS says those documents should identify the payee, the amount paid, proof of payment, the date and a description of what was bought. Those are the fields above.
For you, receipt books and invoices are on the IRS list of records that back up your gross receipts. Keep your copies for at least 3 years years after filing the return they support, longer in some situations.
Cash needs extra care because nothing else records it. Cash receipts covers amounts in words, signatures, a daily cash log and the federal report for large cash payments. For a landlord, the rent receipt template adds the rental period and property.
Sources: the IRS pages on records a business should keep and how long to keep them; Ohio Revised Code 5739.01, which makes repairs taxable, and the Ohio Department of Taxation county rate map. Checked October 26, 2026.
