A payment voucher is the document that proves a business paid money out of its cash box or bank account: to whom, how much, for what, and from which account. Enter the amount, the payee, the description and the debit account, and the voucher takes shape with the amount in figures and in words in Saudi riyals, with the journal entry it is posted with shown underneath. The voucher can record a cash payment or a cheque, and a third tab gives you a payment order that requests a payment before it is made.
How to fill in the payment voucher
- Pick the tab: Cash voucher when the money leaves the cash box, Cheque voucher when it is paid by cheque, and Payment order when you are requesting a payment that has not been made yet.
- Type the amount and the payee's name. The voucher reads "Paid to" followed by the name, whether the payee is a person or a business.
- On a cheque voucher, enter the cheque number and the bank it is drawn on.
- Write the description: what the money paid for, and the supplier's invoice number if there is one.
- Type the debit account or pick it from the list, and the entry appears in the Account card.
The "Cost centre, numbering and split across accounts" switch adds the cost centre (branch, department or project), the date, the voucher number, your business name and the payee's ID. From there you can split the amount across several accounts or cost centres, so the entry gets more than one debit line.
Cash payment voucher and cheque payment voucher
A cash payment voucher is issued when money leaves the cash box or the petty cash float in notes, and the payee signs it with "Received the above amount in full", which gives the cash box its evidence of where the money went. The cheque version records the cheque number, bank and date, is posted to the bank account rather than cash, and keeps the cheque number as the reference when you reconcile the bank statement.
A bank transfer is posted like a cheque: the credit side is the bank. On the Payment order tab you choose between cash, cheque and transfer.
Payment order: the request before the payment
A payment order is an internal document in which a department or an employee asks for an amount to be paid to someone, and the finance manager and general manager approve it before payment. No entry is posted from it, because no money has left yet. Once it is approved, the accountant issues the voucher itself and the amount is posted from that. That is why the payment order carries "Requested by" and "Pay no later than" fields, with approval signatures in place of the payee's signature.
The journal entry for a payment voucher and the cost centre
Every voucher produces an entry whose credit side is cash or bank and whose debit side is the account the money went to:
| Type of payment | Dr (debit) | Cr (credit) |
|---|---|---|
| Operating expense (rent, electricity, maintenance) | The expense account | Cash or bank |
| Paying a supplier | Supplier (accounts payable) | Cash or bank |
| Employee advance | Employee advances | Cash or bank |
| Buying an asset | The asset account | Cash or bank |
If the supplier's invoice includes VAT, the input VAT is posted when the invoice itself is recorded, so it can be deducted on the business's return with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority in Saudi Arabia; the voucher then settles the supplier's balance at the VAT-inclusive amount.
A cost centre does not change the account. It identifies the branch or department that bears the expense, so at month end you know what each branch cost. If one invoice covers two branches, split it on the voucher into two lines with two cost centres.
Payment voucher format in Word and Excel
Download the voucher as a PDF to print and sign, or as a Word file if you want to change the wording. The Excel file has two sheets: the voucher with its entry, and a voucher register that starts with your voucher, with empty rows and a total per debit account worked out with SUMIF, so you can see what went on rent or maintenance during the month. Under the download buttons there is a blank template in PDF and Word to fill in by hand. For an Arabic-speaking payee or auditor, the Arabic version of this page produces the same voucher and entry in Arabic.
Payment voucher vs receipt voucher
A payment voucher covers money leaving the business and a receipt voucher covers money coming in. On the first, the payee signs for receipt and the original stays with the business as support for the entry; on the second, the business signs and the payer takes the original. To issue a receipt voucher, use the receipt voucher generator.
Common payment voucher mistakes
- Paying out without the payee's signature, which leaves no proof that they received it.
- Using "Expenses" as the debit account on every voucher, so you cannot tell what the money was spent on.
- Charging a cheque to cash; it belongs to the bank account.
- Filing the voucher without the supplier's invoice or the receipt that supports the expense.
- Paying on a payment order that was never approved, or one approved by the person who requested it.
- Reusing a voucher number, or issuing two vouchers against one invoice.
What to do after you issue the voucher
Print the voucher, sign it together with the approver, then hand over the money and get the payee's signature. Attach the supplier's invoice or other supporting document, and post the entry shown in the Account card. At the end of the day, check the day's cash vouchers against what has left the cash box. Copy text and entry copies the voucher and its entry together, ready to send to your accountant.
When expenses pile up and are hard to trace
A paper voucher is fine for a few payments a month. Once you are paying every day across branches, projects and suppliers, each voucher is written and then keyed in again as an entry, and the cash balance and the spend per cost centre are only known at month end. At Microtec we offer businesses in the Kingdom a full ERP accounting system, with finance alongside sales, purchasing, inventory and HR. Try recording one branch's expenses in it.