Can I use the receipt template in Google Docs or Google Sheets?

Yes. Upload the Word file to Google Drive and open it with Google Docs, or the Excel file with Google Sheets. The layout carries over, and so do the formulas that add up the totals.

Yes, in the Word and Excel versions: insert your logo at the top, next to your business name. The receipt maker also takes a logo and places it on the PDF for you.

How should I number receipts?

Sequentially, with a prefix that sets them apart from your invoices — RCT-1001, RCT-1002. No format is required by law; what matters is that each number is used once, so a receipt can be matched to a payment or a refund later.

Does a receipt need a signature?

No — neither US nor UK rules require one on a standard receipt. The template has Received by and Paid by lines because a signature is useful for cash payments, where the receipt may be the only proof the money changed hands.

Can I use it for a deposit or a partial payment?

Yes. Describe what this payment covers — "50% deposit" — so the total is the amount actually received, put the invoice number in For invoice, and write what's left in Balance still due.

What can a card payment receipt show?

In the US, an electronically printed receipt given to the customer can show no more than the last 5 digits of the card number, and no expiration date. Handwritten receipts aren't covered by that rule, but the last four digits are all you ever need to write.

Is a handwritten receipt valid?

Yes. Nothing requires a receipt to be typed: the IRS lists receipt books among the documents that show a business's gross receipts. What matters is that it's legible and complete — the date, who paid, what for, the amount and how it was paid.

What's the difference between a receipt and an invoice?

An invoice asks for a payment; a receipt confirms it was made. Send the invoice first, then a receipt once the money has arrived.

Free Receipt Template

A blank receipt for any payment — a sale, an invoice paid in full, a deposit. Free in PDF, Word or Excel, in 3 styles, with payment method, invoice and signature lines.

✓Free forever✓No signup required✓No watermark✓No ads

File format

PDF

RECEIPT

#RCT-2026-014

Date

Sep 23, 2026

Payment method

Bank transfer

Received by

Northstar Design

Austin, TX

Received from

Bright & Co

Chicago, IL

DescriptionQtyRateAmount

Website redesign — final payment1$1,200.00$1,200.00

Hosting setup1$150.00$150.00

Subtotal$1,350.00

Total Paid$1,350.00

Sample preview — not your real data

Modern

PDF

Receipt

#RCT-2026-014

Received by

Northstar Design

Austin, TX

Received from

Bright & Co

Chicago, IL

DescriptionQtyRateAmount

Website redesign — final payment1$1,200.00$1,200.00

Hosting setup1$150.00$150.00

Subtotal$1,350.00

Total Paid$1,350.00

Sample preview — not your real data

Classic

PDF

Receipt

#RCT-2026-014

Received by

Northstar Design

Received from

Bright & Co

DescriptionQtyRateAmount

Website redesign — final payment1$1,200.00$1,200.00

Hosting setup1$150.00$150.00

Subtotal$1,350.00

Total Paid$1,350.00

Sample preview — not your real data

Minimal

Each downloads a blank PDF template — no data required.

Want one prefilled with your own details instead? Use the generator, or browse all free invoice templates.

Receipt template examples

Here is the template filled in three ways, one per style. Each was made with the free receipt maker on this site, so they show the PDF layouts exactly as they look once filled in.

Receipt template example in the Modern style: receipt RCT-1042 for invoice INV-1042, paid by bank transfer, total paid $1,350.00 — Payment receipt for an invoice — Modern · click to enlarge

Receipt template example in the Classic style: sales receipt RCT-2210 from a coffee roaster, paid by card, 8.25% sales tax, total paid $105.54 — Sales receipt with sales tax — Classic · click to enlarge

Receipt template example in the Minimal style: deposit receipt RCT-0317 paid by check, $6,000.00 paid and $6,000.00 balance still due, with signature lines — Deposit receipt with a balance still due — Minimal · click to enlarge

The PDF downloads at the top of the page are the same layouts left blank, and the Word and Excel files have the same fields. Placeholders in angle brackets — <Receipt no.>, <Invoice no.> — show what goes where.

What to include on a receipt

A receipt has one job: prove that a specific payment happened. These are the fields that do it, and each one has its place on the template.

Field	What to write
Receipt number	A unique, sequential number — RCT-1001, RCT-1002 — kept separate from your invoice numbers.
Date	The day the payment was received. If you write the receipt later, still use the payment date.
Received by / Received from	Your business name and contact details, then the name of whoever paid.
What was paid for	One line per item or service, with the quantity and price — or the invoice the payment settles.
Subtotal, tax, total paid	Sales tax or VAT on its own line if you charged it. The total is the amount actually received.
Payment method	Cash, card, check, bank transfer or PayPal. For a card, the last digits at most (see below).
For invoice and reference	The invoice number the payment settles, and the check number or transaction ID.
Balance still due	For a deposit or an installment, what's left to pay. Write 0 when it's paid in full.
Signatures	Received by and paid by — not legally required, but worth having for cash.

If you take cards and print receipts from a card terminal or point-of-sale system, US federal law limits what the customer's copy can show: no more than the last 5 digits of the card number, and no expiration date (15 U.S.C. § 1681c(g)). The rule only covers electronically printed receipts, but writing just the last four digits is good practice on a handwritten one too.

Which receipt template do you need?

Situation	Use
A sale — goods or services paid on the spot	This template, one line per item, with sales tax if you charge it
A client paying an invoice	This template, with the invoice number in For invoice
A deposit or an installment	This template, with the amount left in Balance still due
A payment in cash	The cash receipt template, with the amount in words and signature lines built in
Rent from a tenant	The rent receipt template, with landlord, tenant and rental period
A receipt filled in and numbered for you	The receipt maker, which fills it in on screen and exports a PDF

Sales receipt vs payment receipt

A sales receipt is issued at the moment of a sale: what was bought, at what price, the sales tax and the total paid. It's what a shop or a market stall hands over — or a plumber paid on the spot — and it usually isn't tied to any invoice.

A payment receipt confirms that an invoice has been paid, in full or in part. Rather than listing everything again, it references the invoice — “Payment for invoice INV-1042” — and shows any balance still owed. Freelancers and service businesses send far more of these than sales receipts. The template covers both: list the items for a sale, or the invoice number for a payment. Not sure which document you need in the first place? See invoice vs receipt.

How to fill in the receipt template

Pick a format and a style at the top of the page and download it — no signup.
Replace the placeholders in angle brackets with your business details, and add your logo at the top in Word or Excel.
Give the receipt the next number in your sequence, and the date the money arrived.
List what was paid for. In Excel, enter the quantity and price: the line amounts, subtotal and total update by themselves, and the tax rate has its own cell. In Word or on a printed PDF, add them up by hand.
Fill in the payment method, the invoice it settles and the reference, plus any balance still due — and sign it if the payment was in cash. Then save it as a PDF and send it, or print two copies and keep one.

No Microsoft Office? Upload the .docx to Google Drive and open it with Google Docs, or the .xlsx with Google Sheets — the layout and the formulas carry over. The PDF is a printable US Letter page; choose “Fit to page” to print it on A4.

Word, Excel, PDF or online maker?

Format	What it's good for
Word (.docx)	Typing on screen and adding your logo. You add up the totals yourself. Opens in Word, Google Docs or Pages.
Excel (.xlsx)	Totals that add up by themselves as you type. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers.
PDF	Printing and filling in by hand, or keeping a receipt book. Opens in any PDF reader.
Receipt maker	A finished PDF in a minute: it does the math and numbers each receipt for you. Works in any browser.

If you write receipts often, the online receipt maker is quicker: it remembers your details in your browser, numbers each receipt, does the math and exports a PDF — free, with no signup. It can also print the receipt in Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian or Dutch.

Keeping receipts for taxes

In the US, the receipts you issue back up your income: IRS Publication 583 lists receipt books and credit card charge slips among the documents that show a business's gross receipts. Keep them as long as they may be needed for your tax return — generally 3 years. In the UK, self-employed records must be kept for at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline of the tax year (GOV.UK — how long to keep your records). A copy of every receipt you hand out — the PDF, or the duplicate in a receipt book — is enough. Taking cash? The cash receipt template page covers the IRS rule for cash payments over $10,000.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Every format and style downloads free, with no signup, no watermark and no limit on how many receipts you make — including for business use.

Asking to be paid rather than confirming a payment? Use the free invoice templates or the invoice generator instead.