A cash receipt is a record acknowledging a cash payment for a purchase of either a product or service, and a receipt scanner is a practical way of managing cash receipt records for businesses or individuals. The cash payment  may be made in the form of cash or check and its handling requires formal cash receipt management procedures. Cash receipts are recorded in a cash receipts journal which forms part of the financial records of a company.

The cash receipt contains a variety of information about a transaction. Aside from the name, address and ID number of a customer, it shows the items or services purchased, the quantities and prices. The cash receipt also reflects returns, discounts, adjustments, credit terms, delivery dates and destinations, bonuses, warranties and taxes. All this information needs to be properly recorded and managed.

The proper recording and maintenance of cash receipt records is a legal requirement. Cash receipts have to be reported to the government’s revenue authorities so that the proper taxes can be verified and levied. In some countries, it is mandatory to keep copies of cash receipts for as long as 5 years subject to audit by the tax authorities.

There are different modern methods in the issuance of the cash receipt. When a credit card is used, the receipt is usually printed out and the information stored in the cash register’s or computer’s record. Some cash receipts include bar codes or QR codes to store some of the information in the receipt for extraction by other parts of the process. 

The receipt scanner is, in a way, a misnomer because it does much more than just scan receipts. It does scan the receipts but it also keeps digital copies of them on file in an organized manner with its built-in software. This enables the user to call up a specific receipt whenever it is needed, print out a copy or send it as email.

However, the big advantage of a receipt scanner is its ability to generate cash receipt records in the form of expense reports according to chosen categories, tax records and other reports that can be exported to common spreadsheet or accounting applications for further analysis. The expense reports themselves can be the basis for entry into the cash receipts journal for further processing by Accounts Receivable.

Of the different methods in managing cash receipt records, the receipt scanner appears to be the simplest, fastest and most convenient.

No related posts.