Petty cash voucher template
The slip behind each payment from petty cash: who took the cash, who was paid, what was bought and why, how much was actually spent and who signed it off. Each finished voucher becomes one line in your petty cash log.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 15 Oct 2026
A petty cash voucher is the paper trail for a single payment out of the cash box. business.gov.au's glossary gives postage as an example of the small, miscellaneous purchases petty cash is for, and amounts that small are easy to lose track of without a slip for each one. This template is laid out as one voucher: each row is a box on the slip, the entry that goes in it and the person who fills it in.
The boxes draw on the ATO's description of a business record, whose usual contents include the date, the amount, a description and the purpose of the transaction, so the voucher asks both what was bought and what it was for. The amount spent is the cash handed out less the change brought back, which keeps each voucher in step with the cash left in the box.
For a company, the Corporations Act lists vouchers among its financial records, together with invoices, receipts and cheques, and requires financial records to be kept for 7 years after the transactions they cover are completed. business.gov.au gives 5 years as the keeping period for most business records and names cash purchases among the expenses to keep records of. The template comes as a CSV file you can open in a spreadsheet program and print.
Download the template
The template as a CSV file, which opens in any spreadsheet program.
Download the CSV fileWhat's in the template
| Field | Entry | Filled in by |
|---|---|---|
| Voucher number | PC-214 | Custodian |
| Date | 14 May 2026 | Custodian |
| Cash handed out (AUD) | 50.00 | Custodian |
| Cash taken by | Staff member B | Person who spent the cash |
| Paid to | Supplier A | Person who spent the cash |
| What was bought | Stamps and padded postage bags | Person who spent the cash |
| What it was for | Posting orders to Customer D and Customer E | Person who spent the cash |
| Receipt attached | Yes, receipt from Supplier A dated 14 May 2026 | Person who spent the cash |
| Change returned (AUD) | 27.60 | Custodian |
| Amount spent (AUD) | 22.40 | Custodian |
| Expense account | Postage | Custodian |
| Authorised by | Manager C, 14 May 2026 | Approver |
Illustrative example only: these rows show the method and are not sourced data.
What goes in each column
- Field: The name of each box on the voucher, in the order the boxes are filled in as the payment happens.
- Entry: What goes in the box for this payment, with amounts in Australian dollars; the example entries make up one completed voucher.
- Filled in by: Who completes the box: the custodian who looks after the cash, the person who spent it, or the person who approves the payment.
How to use it
- Download the file, clear the example entries and print a supply of blank vouchers. Number them in order before any are used, so a gap in the numbers points to a missing slip.
- When cash leaves the box, the custodian fills in the voucher number, the date and the amount handed out, and the person taking the cash signs for it.
- After the purchase, that person brings back the change and the supplier's receipt, and writes who was paid, what was bought and what it was for. With no receipt to attach, they set out the details in full and sign beside them.
- The custodian counts the change back into the box, works out the amount spent and adds the expense account the payment will be recorded against, with petty cash as the account the money came from. The approver then signs the voucher.
- Enter the voucher in the petty cash log, keep the receipt attached and file the vouchers in number order with that period's records. Mark a spoiled voucher as cancelled and keep it rather than throwing it away.
Related terms
Sources
- Key financial terms
business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 15 October 2026, released 9 July 2024. Checked 15 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
- Overview of record-keeping rules for business
Australian Taxation Office. Current at 18 June 2026 (QC60718), released 18 June 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.
© Australian Taxation Office for the Commonwealth of Australia Licence: ATO website copyright notice (copy, adapt and distribute, without implying ATO endorsement).
- Corporations Act 2001, sections 9 and 286
Federal Register of Legislation, Office of Parliamentary Counsel. Compilation No. 149, 19 September 2026, released 19 September 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.
Based on content from the Federal Register of Legislation at 15 October 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government legislation please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au. Licence: CC BY 4.0.
- Record keeping
business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 15 October 2026, released 7 November 2024. Checked 15 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
Related guides
How to manage petty cash
How to set up and run petty cash: choosing a float, recording each payment, topping it up, checking that it balances and keeping it secure.
How to keep receipts for your business
What a receipt should show, how to make sure you get one, how to store receipts so you can find them, and how to match each one to its transaction.
How long to keep business records
Most business records must be kept for 5 years, and company financial records for 7. What counts, when the period starts and how to store them.