What is a payment voucher and when do you need one?
A payment voucher (سند صرف) is an internal document recording money leaving your cash box or bank account, signed by the recipient as acknowledgement. Use it when paying a supplier in cash, giving an employee a petty-cash advance, paying small operating expenses, or making an advance payment to a contractor.
Having a voucher for every payment makes the daily cash count easy to reconcile and protects the business if a recipient later claims they were never paid.
Template fields
- Business name and logo: the paying party.
- Paid to: the recipient's name as on their ID or commercial registration.
- Amount, currency and amount in words (automatic).
- Payment method: cash, transfer, or cheque with number and bank.
- Purpose: e.g. "Settlement of supplier invoice 1452" or "Purchasing advance".
- Date, name of the employee who paid, and a recipient signature box.
Tips for controlling expenses with payment vouchers
- Limit who may issue payment vouchers and separate paying from approving.
- Attach a supporting document such as an invoice or purchase order to each voucher.
- Review cancelled vouchers and their reasons regularly.
- Match the total of cash payment vouchers to the cash balance every day.
Payment vouchers in Sanadat
Sanadat issues receipt and payment vouchers from one place, each with its own yearly sequence. You can grant payment-voucher rights per user, add your signature and stamp, and export journal entries to your accounting software: debit payables and credit cash or bank. For cheques, the cheque number and bank are included in the journal reference automatically.
Common cases for a payment voucher
In each case the purpose must be clear and a supporting document attached. A petty-cash advance, for example, is later settled with purchase invoices, and any remaining balance is returned with a receipt voucher.
- Paying a supplier invoice in cash or by cheque.
- Giving a petty-cash advance to a purchasing employee or collector.
- Paying daily labour or subcontractors.
- Small operating expenses such as transport, hospitality and repairs.
- Refunding a customer, for example a deposit or returned goods.
- An advance payment to a supplier before delivery.
Payment vouchers and petty cash
Petty cash needs discipline. When you give an employee a 2,000 SAR advance, issue a payment voucher in their name marked "purchasing advance". At settlement they present the purchase invoices and return the remainder with a receipt voucher, so what was paid out equals what was spent plus what was returned.
This simple routine prevents unsettled advances from piling up, keeps each employee's balance visible at any time, and protects the employee from accusations of negligence.
The journal entry behind a payment voucher
When paying a supplier invoice already recorded, the entry is: debit accounts payable, credit cash or bank. For a direct expense without a prior invoice, the debit goes to the expense account itself. For an advance, debit employee advances until it is settled.
In Sanadat you set these account codes once under Account mapping, then export payment-voucher journal entries as CSV, with the cheque number and bank in the reference.
Filing and analysing payment vouchers
File vouchers by date and attach the original invoice to each. At month end, group them by expense type to see where the money goes. This simple analysis often reveals costs you can cut or renegotiate with suppliers.
Printing and signing a payment voucher
Print the voucher before handing over the money, not after, and ask the recipient to write their name next to their signature, especially for large cash amounts. If the recipient represents a company, ask for its stamp or a copy of their authorisation. File the signed voucher with the invoice for the month, or scan it and attach it to the entry in your accounting software, so every amount that left the cash box is supported by two clear documents that any reviewer can follow.
Approve before you pay
Where several people handle money, have each payment voucher approved by a manager or finance before cash changes hands, especially above a set threshold. A signature on the voucher or a short written approval attached is enough. This prevents rushed payments and ensures every amount has a clear reason and supporting document.