Sales receipts book

What the sales receipts book does

Small shops and service businesses sell first and write down later. This book records each sale with a receipt number, customer, item, quantity and price, works out the amount, totals the day or month and shows sales by payment method, so you always know what you took and how.

Who it is for

Retailers, salons, mechanics and market traders who give customers a receipt and want a ledger of sales that feeds into their cashbook and tax records.

How to use the workbook

1. Enter the date, receipt number and customer for each sale.
2. Type the item, quantity and unit price.
3. Choose how it was paid.
4. Read the totals at the top and the summary by payment method.
5. Save a copy under a new name for each month or year, so earlier records stay as they were.

What is inside

• Receipt number, date, customer and item
• Amount worked out from quantity and price
• Payment method recorded
• Totals and a summary with a chart
• Space for 500 sales

The workbook has these sheets: Instructions, Sales, Summary. The main table has the columns Date; Receipt no.; Customer; Item; Quantity; Unit price; Amount; Paid by. Yellow cells are for you to fill in and grey cells calculate by themselves, so leave the grey cells alone. The example rows show how it works; type over them with your own entries.

Tips for getting it right

• Give a receipt for every sale, and keep the copy.
• Record sales the same day.
• Compare M-Pesa and bank totals to this book each week.
• Use the total for your turnover tax or VAT return.

Why keep this record

Accounting records let you answer three questions at any time: what came in, what went out and who owes whom. Kept consistently they also make tax returns, loan applications and the sale of a business much easier, because the evidence is already organised. Entering transactions the day they happen is far cheaper than reconstructing them at year end.

Questions people ask

Do I need to know Excel formulas? No. Type into the yellow cells and the rest is worked out for you. The formulas are visible if you want to see how a figure is reached.

Can I add rows or change the layout? You can add your own columns to the right and your own notes. If you insert rows inside a table, copy the grey formula cells down so the new rows calculate too.

Will it work on my phone or in Google Sheets? Yes for viewing and typing, but dropdown lists and the charts look best in desktop Excel or LibreOffice.

Keeping it safe and up to date

Good accounting records are a legal duty as well as a management tool: keep the supporting receipts and invoices with the workbook, and keep each year's copy for at least five years. Work on a copy, never on your only file, and back it up.

Read how to keep business records for KRA for the wider picture. See more accounting templates or ask us for a custom one.

The workbook works in Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets. It is a tool to help you work out and record figures, not tax, legal or accounting advice, and it is not affiliated with the Kenya Revenue Authority. If something does not work as described, contact us and we will put it right.

Related guides, calculators and templates

• Guide: How to keep business records for KRA: what to save and for how long
• Guide: Bank reconciliation step by step: match your books to your bank
• Guide: Fixed assets and capital allowances explained for small businesses
• Another template: Balance sheet template
• Another template: Bank reconciliation statement
• Another template: Chart of accounts and general ledger

Need something different? Request a custom template, browse all guides or see every Excel template.