How to send a receipt in QuickBooks
To send a receipt in QuickBooks Online, create a sales receipt: select + Create, then Sales receipt, enter the customer, the payment method and what you sold, and select Save and send to email it. A sales receipt is the form for a customer who pays you at the time of the sale.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 17 Oct 2026
On this page
Key takeaways
- A sales receipt is how QuickBooks Online records a sale the customer paid for on the spot, and Save and send emails it to them.
- Without a sales receipt, a payment taken at the time of sale won't show up in your QuickBooks income or reports.
- When the customer will pay later, Intuit says to create an invoice rather than a sales receipt.
Before you start
Check that a sales receipt is the right form for the sale. It's meant for a customer who pays you there and then, when the sale happens. If you're still waiting on the money, Intuit's advice is to create an invoice instead. The steps on this page cover payments taken at the time of sale; for invoices, and for payments recorded against them, see the related how-tos.
Have the details of the sale ready: the customer, how they paid, what they bought, and any quantity or rate you'll need to change on the line. As the receipt goes out by email when you use Save and send, it's worth confirming you have the customer's correct email address.
A customer who isn't set up in QuickBooks yet can be added along the way, from the Customer dropdown.
Steps
- Select + Create, then select Sales receipt.
- Pick the customer from the Customer dropdown, or select + Add new to set up a new one.
- Enter the sales info, such as the Payment method.
- From the Select a product/service dropdown, choose the product or service you sold.
- If you need to, change the line's quantity or rate in the Qty and Rate fields.
- Select Save and send to email the receipt to the customer.
What changes afterwards
The sale is now recorded in QuickBooks, and Intuit says it feeds into your income reports automatically. That's the point of the form: a payment taken on the spot without a sales receipt wouldn't appear in your income or your reports.
The receipt is also listed against the customer, so you can print it or keep a PDF copy at any time. Go to All apps, select Customer Hub, then Customers & leads, and select the customer to open their profile. On the Transaction List tab, find and select the sales receipt, then select View/Edit. Select Print or Preview, then Print or Preview again. From there, select Print to print it as you normally would, or Download to save it as a PDF, and select Close to leave the PDF viewer.
A printed or PDF copy helps when a customer needs a physical copy of the receipt or a file they can keep. For sending the PDF as an attachment from your own email account, Intuit points you to your email provider's support pages.
General information
Sources
- Create and send sales receipts, QuickBooks Online help (Australia)
Intuit Australia Pty Ltd. Current at 17 October 2026, released 17 October 2026. Checked 17 October 2026.
QuickBooks is a trademark of Intuit Inc. Licence: Intuit Australia legal terms (facts quoted with attribution, no endorsement implied).
- Download and save sales forms and statements, QuickBooks Online help (Australia)
Intuit Australia Pty Ltd. Current at 17 October 2026, released 17 October 2026. Checked 17 October 2026.
QuickBooks is a trademark of Intuit Inc. Licence: Intuit Australia legal terms (facts quoted with attribution, no endorsement implied).
Related service
QuickBooks bookkeeping
QuickBooks Online reconciled to your statements each month.
Related guides
How to manage accounts receivable
How to run accounts receivable: decide who gets credit, set terms, invoice promptly, match each payment to its invoice and review what is owed and how long.
More QuickBooks how-tos
How to make an invoice in QuickBooks
What goes on a new QuickBooks Online invoice, from the customer, dates and terms to each product or service line, and how to email it or keep it for later.
How to apply payments to invoices in QuickBooks
Match a customer's bank deposit to its open invoice from Bank transactions in QuickBooks Online, or share one payment across several invoices.
How to mark an invoice as paid in QuickBooks
Record a customer's full or part payment against an invoice in QuickBooks Online with Receive payment, then check what the customer still owes.