What is a petty cash voucher?

Accounting

A receipt that defines the total business small expenses incurred in a whole financial year, is known as a petty cash voucher. A Petty Cash Voucher contains each detail of a single payment transaction with the company’s name and address, logo, date and time, amount, fax number, receiver name, and his/her signature, prepare name, approver name, and purpose to take out cash from cash fund. 

What does a petty cash voucher look like?

A Petty Cash Voucher looks like a small physical form that is printed in a company’s office used as a document of expense payment made which is attached with a petty cash book to complete the verification process at the end of a financial year. A Voucher has a serial number by which a form is filled for each expense payment transaction to complete the documentary process. It is physical proof for the accountant and management to oversee all petty expenses that have been incurred in the same year with how much cash has been withdrawn from the company’s cash fund. It is made of thick white paper that is printed with two colors ie. blue and white which is also known as petty cash receipt, a receipt of a written document of reported entries.

Who prepares this voucher?

The custodian prepares the petty cash voucher when the cash is taken out from the petty cash fund or petty cash drawer. The person who makes petty cash vouchers is known as the petty cash custodian who is responsible to fill all details of disbursed cash with purpose. He or She has a duty to carry petty cash vouchers from the office supply store and prepare vouchers according to transactions made on a daily basis, then send them to the accountants who can attach them with a petty cash book as a document to avoid misunderstanding or confusion. 

What is Petty Cash?

A petty cash is an amount that is found in a petty cash fund, placed into an office table drawer. This amount is utilized for accessing small things that are required for an office, all those expenses are a part of office expenses which are paid from the company’s petty cash fund. And the cashier receives that amount from the company’s owner to meet daily petty expenses with recorded statements along with physical vouchers. The Cashier should know where the cash has been taken out and why or when. 

When a business starts, the cashier needs a small amount of funds or money into an office drawer to meet daily small expenses that’s why the owner gives a small amount of money to him. The whole process is called an ‘Imprest System’ in which a cashier needs to cover all expenses from that given capital or funds, and can’t spend more than that fund. If he saves from those funds, then he gets added to the petty cash fund for the next financial year.

It is just the simplest way of reducing the small burden from the cashier’s head. It’s not compulsory that petty cash is found in a drawer only, it is found in mobile banking also for making digital payments. With the help of social payment apps, the cashier can make transactions of small expenses like paying an amount to the stationary owner for buying a stationary tool for office work and many more reasons could be for expenses incurred.

Who is responsible for petty cash funds?

The person who handles the whole company’s office activities like managing petty cash funds by bearing small expenses and securing vouchers with serial numbers into a drawer on his own responsibility is known as a petty cashier. The cashier is the only one who records all entries for passing to the accountants with all received vouchers so that they can pass a journal entry in a petty cash book of the year.

What kind of expenses are known as petty expenses and recorded in a petty cash book?

Such expenses which are known as petty expenses are:

  • The Expense of buying stationary tools,
  • Paying rents, insurance, postage, short distance travel cost,
  • Customer service expense,
  • Paying wages to employees
  • Refreshment expenses like milk, cold drinks, coffee, tea, and snacks.
  • Telephone bills and office bills expense
  • Office cleaning expense

All these kinds of petty expenses are recorded in a petty cash book in the form of a journal entry that includes the date, amount, receiver name, total balance, cash left, cash used, reason of incurred expense. All of these are recorded in one single statement on a daily basis by which defines the company’s accuracy accounting books.

Petty Cash Voucher Vs Petty Cashbook

A Petty Cash Voucher is different from a petty cash book, a petty cash voucher is a documentary form in which a bill is created for incidental expenses. On the other hand, a petty cash book is an accounting book that is prepared by the accountant to pass a journal entry of incurred petty expenses with petty cash used from petty cash funds. 

A petty cash voucher is considered as a physical printed form but a petty cash book is considered as a financial statement book that includes only purchase entries that have been done through petty cash.

To verify at the end of a financial year, the vouchers are attached with a petty cash book when they are made at the same time. 

The other name of a petty cash voucher is a petty cash receipt which is prepared for reported small expenses through cash or credit. A petty cash book is a part of financial statements that records small expenses daily with passing journal entries.

What is the purpose of a petty cash voucher?

The purpose is simple, to show the company’s expenses to estimate earnings through receipts at the end of the accounting period. It is mainly prepared for the company’s management so that they can know what small expenses the office has incurred during the year. Vouchers show any type of expenses you do and accept for increasing the office goodwill. In the end, the owners oversee that the amount spent is equal to the ending balance of the petty cash book. It has the main purpose to cover unexpected or expected expenses on a daily basis for showing at the time of counting expenses. 

How to make a petty cash voucher?

The process to make a petty cash voucher is very easy and can easily be made by anyone. It is a simple format that defines each detail of a single purchase clearly.

  • First, set up or design a column.
  • On the top under the column, paste the company’s name and address, mobile number along with the company’s logo that shows a real voucher.
  • In the median section, mention the date and time on the right side.
  • Enter expense details.
  • Enter the total amount of expenses.
  • At the bottom, mention the name of receiver, issuer, approver, and preparer name with their signatures.

You can see the format of the petty cash voucher below, which is easy to design or prepare and learn if you want to prepare to record your business petty expenses.

Format of petty cash voucher

Format of petty cash voucher

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