FREE RECEIPT TEMPLATE
Free receipt template — and how to write a receipt
A receipt template in Word and PDF, a cash receipt for payments on the spot, every line explained, receipt vs invoice in plain words — and the part you never have to write again once a customer pays you online, on a paid plan.
Word and PDF · Free · No email, no sign-up
The short answer
A receipt is proof that a customer paid you. It needs the word Receipt at the top, your business details, the customer's, a receipt number and the date, what the payment was for, the amount paid, how they paid, any earlier payments, the balance remaining (usually $0.00) and who received it.
It's the invoice's twin, after the money: the same lines, with “Paid” where “Balance due” used to be. If the customer paid an invoice, put the invoice number on the receipt so the two match up in their files and yours.
Give one for every payment, and keep a copy. A receipt is what settles “I already paid you” a year later, and it's the record both of you need at tax time.
FREE TEMPLATE · WORD AND PDF
The receipt template, filled in
Below is the template filled in for Harbor Coat Painting, a fictional business, receipting the final payment on the invoice from the previous page. The downloads are the same receipt with [bracketed] lines to replace — free, no email address, no sign-up — plus a cash receipt for payments on the spot.
Example · fictional business
Harbor Coat Painting Portland, ME (207) 555-0164 · hello@harborcoat.example | RECEIPT |
Received from Elena Marsh 42 Ocean Ave Portland, ME | For Interior repaint: living room, hallway, two bedrooms 42 Ocean Ave · walls, trim and the living-room ceiling Completed Oct 14–16, 2026 |
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prep Patch and sand, caulk, mask floors and fixtures | 1 | $380.00 | $380.00 |
| Painting — labor Two coats on walls and trim, four rooms | 1 | $1,650.00 | $1,650.00 |
| Living-room ceiling One coat, flat white | 1 | $240.00 | $240.00 |
| Paint and materials 6 gal premium interior eggshell, primer, caulk, tape | 1 | $412.50 | $412.50 |
| Subtotal | $2,682.50 | ||
| Sales tax, 7% on materials (example) | $28.88 | ||
| Total | $2,711.38 | ||
| Deposit received, Oct 6 | −$800.00 | ||
| Paid today | $1,911.38 | ||
Status
Paid in full. Balance remaining: $0.00.
Received by
Sam Okafor, Harbor Coat Painting
Thank you
Thanks for choosing us. Your 2-year workmanship warranty starts today — keep this receipt with it.
Every figure on the example is an example, not a price guide. The Word files are standard .docx you can edit in Word or any app that opens Word documents; the PDFs print as-is if you'd rather fill them in by hand — the cash receipt is built for a receipt book in the van.
Receipts that write themselves — on a paid plan
Start your website — receipts are automatic on a paid plan
Add what you do, your town and your business name, and Zarla builds the site from that one line. When a customer pays an invoice online, on a paid plan, Zarla emails them a payment confirmation — the receipt — and marks the invoice paid, or part-paid for a deposit. Nothing to type.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.
LINE BY LINE
What goes on a receipt
Every line on the template, in order, and what to write on it.
| The line | What to put there |
|---|---|
| The word Receipt | At the top, so it's never mistaken for an invoice — a receipt that looks like a bill gets paid twice, or queried. |
| Your business details | Business name, address, phone, email and website. The customer may need to find you a year from now for a warranty or a refund. |
| Receipt number, date, and the invoice it pays | A number that never repeats (R-1042), the date the money arrived, and the invoice number if the payment settles one. For a sale with no invoice, the receipt is the only record — number it anyway. |
| Received from | The customer's name, and their address or email. For a company, the person who paid. |
| What the payment was for | The job or the items, in the same lines as the invoice. For a payment on account, “Payment on invoice 1042” is enough — the invoice has the lines. |
| Amount paid and how | The amount in figures, and the method: card ending 4242, cash, check number, bank transfer. The method is the line that matters in a dispute. |
| Tax | If tax was charged, show it the way it was on the invoice. In the US, whether sales tax applies to your work — and whether it falls on the materials, the labor, both or neither — depends on your state, so keep materials and labor on separate lines and check your state's revenue department or your accountant. Outside the US: a GST-registered business in Australia or New Zealand and a VAT-registered business in the UK or EU quote consumers a total that includes the GST or VAT, and show the tax charged on the receipt the same way it appears on the invoice. Confirm the details with your accountant. |
| Earlier payments and the balance | A deposit already received as its own line, then what's left — $0.00 and “Paid in full”, or the balance and when it's due for a part payment. |
| Received by | Your name or the team member's, and a signature on a printed receipt. It says a person stood behind it. |
| A thank-you | Optional, and the cheapest marketing you'll do: a line of thanks, your warranty, and how to book next time. |
STEP BY STEP
How to write a receipt
Two minutes, the moment the payment lands — or at the door, for cash.
Open the template and save your details
Business name, contact details and website at the top, saved once so every receipt starts filled in. For cash, print a stack of the cash receipt and keep them in the van.
Number and date it, and name the invoice
The next receipt number, today's date, and the invoice number if this payment settles one.
Write who paid and what for
The customer, and the job or the items — the same lines as the invoice, or “Payment on invoice 1042”.
Record the amount and the method
The amount paid in figures and how: card ending ____, cash, check number, bank transfer. Count cash in front of the customer and write what you counted.
Show earlier payments and the balance
Any deposit already received, then the balance — $0.00 and “Paid in full”, or what's left and when it's due.
Sign it, send it, keep a copy
Your name, a signature on paper, a thank-you. Email the PDF or hand over the printed copy, and keep yours with the invoice.
Receipt vs invoice: which one do I send?
An invoice asks for the money; a receipt proves it arrived. The invoice goes out when the work is done and ends in “Balance due”. The receipt goes out when the payment lands and ends in “Paid”. Same business, same customer, same lines — the difference is the direction: the invoice points forward to a payment, the receipt points back at one.
When the customer pays an invoice in full, you can also send the invoice back marked PAID with the date and the method written on it — that's a receipt in every way that matters. The template above is for when there's no invoice (a walk-in sale, a cash job at the door) or when the customer wants a separate document for their records.
A quote is neither. It's the price before the work — see how to write a quote. Quote → invoice → receipt is the whole paper trail of one job, and a customer who gets all three in the same design, with matching numbers, trusts the business behind them.
Receipt templates for your trade. Searching for a plumbing receipt template, a handyman receipt or a cleaning receipt? The trade invoice templates are the same sheet one step earlier — mark one PAID and it's the receipt — and each is shaped for its trade: plumbing invoice template, handyman invoice template, cleaning invoice template, junk removal invoice template, car detailing invoice template. For a job that hasn't been invoiced, the general receipt above fits any trade.
Receipts go out automatically when a customer pays online, on a paid plan
Hand-written receipts are for cash in the van. For everything else, the receipt should write itself the moment the money lands — because the one job a receipt has is to arrive, and the one you have to remember to send is the one that doesn't.
If your website is on Zarla, the invoice tool is in the same dashboard, and the receipt is built in. On a paid plan, with your Stripe account connected, each invoice carries a pay-now button — and the moment your customer pays by card, Zarla emails them a payment confirmation — the invoice number, the amount paid and the date, under your business name and logo — and marks the invoice paid in your dashboard, or part-paid for a deposit. If they paid a deposit, the receipt says “Deposit received” and shows the balance still to come; when the last payment lands, it says “Paid in full”. You get a “you've been paid” email at the same moment.
Paid in cash or by check? Mark the invoice paid in the dashboard so your records are right — that doesn't send a receipt, so hand over one from the template above. Start of the chain: how to write a quote, then how to write an invoice.
Receipts: common questions
The word Receipt; your business name and contact details; the customer's name; a receipt number and the date; the invoice number if it pays one; what the payment was for; the amount paid and how (card, cash, check, bank transfer); tax if it was charged; any earlier payments; the balance remaining; and who received it.
An invoice is a request for payment, sent when the work is done, ending in the balance due. A receipt is proof of payment, sent when the money arrives, ending in the amount paid and a balance of zero. The lines on both are the same job.
Yes. The receipt template and the cash receipt template on this page download free as Word documents and PDFs — no email address, no sign-up. Edit them in Word or any app that opens Word documents, or print the PDFs and fill them in by hand.
In the US there's no single federal rule that every sale needs a receipt; the rules come from your state and city and from what you sell, and a customer can always reasonably ask for one — so give one for every payment and keep a copy. In Australia, consumer law requires a business to give a receipt (proof of transaction) for anything $75 or more (before GST), and on request for less. Check your local rules, and ask your accountant what records you need to keep.
Use the cash receipt template: the date, who paid, what for, the amount received, the change given and your signature. Count the cash in front of the customer, write the amount you counted, and give them the top copy. Record it in your books the same day — cash with no receipt is the payment both of you forget.
The same receipt, with the balance line filled in: the amount paid today, the total, and what's still owed and when it's due. When the last payment comes in, the final receipt shows the earlier payments as their own lines and a balance of $0.00.
If tax was charged, yes — the same tax line as the invoice, so the customer's records match yours. In the US, whether sales tax applies to your work — and whether it falls on the materials, the labor, both or neither — depends on your state, so keep materials and labor on separate lines and check your state's revenue department or your accountant. Outside the US: a GST-registered business in Australia or New Zealand and a VAT-registered business in the UK or EU quote consumers a total that includes the GST or VAT, and show the tax charged on the receipt the same way it appears on the invoice. Confirm the details with your accountant.
Keep them with your tax records. In the US, the IRS says to keep records that support your income and deductions generally for three years from the date you file, and longer in some cases; in Australia the ATO says five years; in the UK, HMRC says at least five years after the filing deadline for the self-employed. Confirm the details with your accountant.
Yes. Write or stamp PAID on it with the date and the payment method, and it does the receipt's job — the customer has the lines, the amount and the proof on one page. Invoicing software does this for you: the invoice shows Paid the moment the money arrives.
When a customer pays an invoice online — on a paid plan, with your Stripe account connected — yes: Zarla emails them a payment confirmation with the invoice number, the amount paid and the date, in your business's name, and marks the invoice paid (part-paid, for a deposit). A deposit gets a confirmation that says “Deposit received” and shows the balance still to come. If a customer pays you in cash or by check, you mark the invoice paid by hand and give them a receipt yourself.
Quotes, invoices and receipts from your own website
Add what you do, your town and your business name, and Zarla builds the site from that one line — with quotes, invoices and automatic receipt emails (on a paid plan) in the same dashboard.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.