Receipts Filing Register

Who this is for

Give every receipt a number and a place. Each receipt you keep as evidence gets a line: its number, the supplier and amount, how it was paid, the cashbook entry it supports and where the paper or scan is stored. At year end you can put your hand on any one of them.

Sole traders and freelancers with a shoebox, a phone full of photos or an app of scanned receipts, who need to link each one to the books.

What this helps you track

• A running number written on each receipt and in the register
• The date, supplier and amount of every receipt
• Whether it was paid by bank, card or cash
• The cashbook line the receipt supports
• Where the original or the scan is stored, and whether it has been checked

How to use it

1. Write the business, the period and the folder, box or file reference at the top.
2. Number each receipt as it comes in, in the corner of the paper or in the scan's file name, and give it the next line.
3. Record the date, supplier, amount and how it was paid.
4. When you enter it in the cashbook, write the cashbook line reference against it.
5. Note where it is stored: paper folder, scan or app. Tick checked once the entry and the receipt agree.
6. Fill it in on paper or in the browser version, which saves in your own browser, and start a new register for each period.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Why number receipts rather than just filing them by date?

A number ties the receipt to one line in the register and one line in the cashbook. If someone asks about an entry, the number takes you straight to the evidence, and a gap in the numbers shows a receipt has gone missing.

Can I keep scans instead of paper?

Many people do. Whether scans are accepted in place of originals depends on the rules where you are, so check them. Either way, use the receipt number in the scan's file name so the two match.

How long should I keep receipts?

The period differs by country and by type of record, so none is given here. Check the rules where you are and write the keep-until date on the folder.

What goes in the cashbook reference?

Whatever identifies the line in your books: a page and line number, a transaction number from your spreadsheet or the date and amount. Use the same style all year.