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Voucher › Types of vouchers in accounting
Types of vouchers in accounting
In accounts, a voucher is any paper that proves an entry in the books. Each kind of transaction has its own voucher, so you and your accountant always know where an entry came from.
The main kinds
| Voucher | Used when | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Payment voucher | Money goes out in cash or from the bank | ₹2,400 paid to the electrician |
| Receipt voucher | Money comes in | ₹15,000 received from a customer |
| Contra voucher | Money moves between your own cash and bank | ₹20,000 cash deposited in the bank |
| Journal voucher | No cash or bank is involved | Depreciation, a correction, an expense still unpaid at year end |
| Sales voucher | Goods or services sold | Your tax invoice or bill |
| Purchase voucher | Goods or services bought on credit | The supplier's bill |
| Debit note / credit note | A bill is changed after it was issued | Goods returned, price reduced |
Accounting software uses the same names. If your accountant uses such software, a well-written payment voucher can be typed straight in as a payment entry.
Payment voucher in more detail
A payment voucher records money paid by you. Its entry in the books is simple: the account head on the voucher is debited, and cash or bank is credited. If you pay ₹1,200 by UPI for printer ink:
- Printing and stationery account: debit ₹1,200
- Bank account: credit ₹1,200
That is why the account head on the voucher matters. Without it, someone has to guess later what the money was for.
Supporting and accounting vouchers
People use the word for two things. A supporting voucher is the outside paper: the supplier's bill, a bus ticket, a courier slip. An accounting voucher is the paper you write yourself to record the entry, like the payment voucher. When an outside bill exists, staple it to your payment voucher. When there is none, as with a coolie or an auto fare, your voucher signed by the receiver is the only proof, so write it carefully.
Debit voucher and credit voucher
Some banks and older offices call the payment voucher a "debit voucher" (the expense is debited) and the receipt voucher a "credit voucher". The names differ, the job is the same.
A note on GST words
GST law also uses the words "receipt voucher" and "payment voucher", but for particular cases. Under GST, a receipt voucher is issued when an advance is received for a supply, and a payment voucher is issued by a registered buyer who pays a supplier for goods or services taxed under reverse charge. Those vouchers need GST details such as GSTINs, place of supply and tax amount. The voucher made on this site is an ordinary accounting payment voucher without GST fields; for reverse-charge payments ask your accountant what to issue.
Where the other vouchers are made
- Money received: the payment receipt maker, with an "Advance received" type.
- Sales bills: the invoice maker.
- Changes to a bill: the credit and debit note maker.
- Many small cash payments: the petty cash book.