A business receipt is a company’s acknowledgment it received payment for a good or service it provided to a customer. The business issues the receipt to the customer after the transaction completes. Business receipts are helpful when customers need to return purchased goods or dispute provided services.
Registered businesses must keep business-related receipts as evidence of purchase legitimacy for tax purposes. The IRS advises companies to save receipts for a minimum of three years or seven years if the business claims a loss in a given taxable year.
What to Include
- Business information (name, address, phone, email);
- Client/customer information (name, address, phone, email);
- Description of items or services exchanged;
- Payment method (cash, check, credit card, other);
- Receipt number;
- Signatures of both parties;
- Summary of charges:
- Cost of the item(s) or service(s) exchanged,
- Cost of add-ons (if applicable),
- Quantities of items and add-ons,
- Subtotal,
- Tax rate,
- Total taxes due,
- Total amount due,
- Amount paid, and
- Outstanding balance (if applicable); and
- Transaction date.