How to Prepare an Accounting Voucher

In the previous chapter, we explored the different "Types of Accounting Vouchers"—learning how to classify them into cash vouchers (debit and credit) and non-cash (transfer) vouchers. Now, it is time to roll up our sleeves and get practical.

Imagine you are sitting at an accountant's desk. A colleague walks up to you and hands you a supplier's invoice for new office computers. You know this is a source document. You know it needs to be recorded in the books. But you cannot just staple the invoice into the journal. You have to translate that real-world event into the language of accounting (debits and credits) so the data entry operator can record it.

To do this, you must prepare an Accounting Voucher.

This chapter will walk you through the exact physical preparation of a voucher. We will look at every single blank space on a standard voucher form, understand exactly why it is there, what you must write in it, and how you physically bind it to your source documents to create an unbreakable audit trail.

The "Jacket" Analogy: What Are We Actually Making?

Before we look at the specific fields, it helps to understand what a voucher physically is in a traditional office setting.

Think of an accounting voucher as a cover jacket or a summary page for a transaction.

When you buy something, you get a bill (the source document). The bill tells you what you bought, from whom, and for how much. But the bill does not tell you which specific accounting ledger accounts should be debited or credited. The bill does not have a space for the Chief Financial Officer to sign off and approve the accounting treatment.

The accounting voucher is a standardized printed form (usually on a small pad of paper) that your company prints for its own internal use. You fill out this form, write down the debits and credits, get it signed, and then you physically staple the supplier's bill to the back of it.

Together, the voucher (on top) and the source document (stapled behind it) form a complete, legally valid, and auditable package.

The Essential Elements of a Voucher

While different companies might design their vouchers with slightly different layouts or colors (for example, printing cash payment vouchers on pink paper and cash receipt vouchers on blue paper), the core elements are universally the same.

If you leave any of these elements blank, the voucher is considered incomplete and an auditor will flag it. Let us break down the anatomy of a voucher, field by field.

1. Name of the Organization

At the very top of the voucher, the name and address of the business preparing the voucher must be clearly printed.

• Why it matters: If a stack of documents gets misplaced or mixed up with another company's records (which happens often in accounting firms handling multiple clients), the printed header immediately identifies whose books this transaction belongs to.

2. Voucher Serial Number

Every voucher must have a unique serial number. Ideally, these are pre-printed by the printing press so that the accountant just takes the next one off the pad.

• Why it matters: Serial numbers are the backbone of internal control. If your vouchers are numbered 101, 102, 103, and 105, an auditor will immediately ask: "Where is voucher 104?" Pre-numbered vouchers prevent employees from secretly destroying a voucher to hide a fraudulent transaction, or slipping in a fake voucher at a later date.

3. Date of the Voucher

This is the date the transaction is being recognized in the books of accounts.

• Why it matters: Accounting is strictly chronological. The date on the voucher dictates exactly where this transaction will sit in the Journal and which financial year's profit and loss account it will affect.

4. The Account Name(s) to be Debited and Credited

This is the heart of the voucher. This is where the accountant applies the golden rules of accounting.

• You must clearly write the exact name of the ledger account to be debited.
• You must clearly write the exact name of the ledger account to be credited.
• Why it matters: The person doing the data entry into the accounting software (like Tally or SAP) will not read the attached bill. They will only look at the accounts you have written on the voucher. If you write "Debit: Office Expenses" instead of "Debit: Computer Equipment", the data entry operator will blindly follow your instruction, and the company's balance sheet will be wrong.

5. The Amount (in Figures and Words)

The exact monetary value of the transaction must be written twice: once in numbers (e.g., ₹ 50,000) and once in words (e.g., Rupees Fifty Thousand Only).

• Why it matters: Writing the amount in words is a crucial anti-fraud measure. It is very easy for someone to take a pen and add an extra zero to "₹ 5,000" to make it "₹ 50,000". But it is impossible to seamlessly change the word "Five" into "Fifty".

6. The Narration (Description)

Below the accounting entry, there is a space for a brief, clear explanation of the transaction. This is called the narration.

• Why it matters: Years from now, when an auditor or a tax officer looks at this entry, they will not remember what happened. The narration tells the story.
• A bad narration: "Paid for repairs." (Repairs to what? Paid to whom? For which month?)
• A good narration: "Paid to Sharma Auto Garage for the repair of delivery van JK-02-AB-1234 via Cheque No. 887766, as per attached invoice no. 45."

7. Signatures (The Maker-Checker Principle)

At the bottom of every voucher, there are at least two designated spaces for signatures:

1. 1Prepared By: The signature of the junior accountant or clerk who filled out the voucher.
2. 2Authorized By: The signature of the senior accountant, finance manager, or business owner who reviewed and approved it.

• Why it matters: This enforces the Maker-Checker principle, a fundamental concept in risk management. The person who makes the entry cannot be the same person who approves the entry. This prevents a single rogue employee from writing a voucher to pay themselves and slipping it into the system. The authorizing manager's signature is the final green light that makes the voucher a valid, official company document.

The Physical Process: Attaching the Source Document

Once the voucher is filled out and signed, the job is not quite done. The voucher is just a claim; it needs proof.

The accountant must physically attach the source document to the voucher.

• If it is a cash purchase, you attach the cash memo.
• If it is a credit purchase, you attach the supplier's tax invoice.
• If it is a payment made, you attach the receipt given by the payee.

How is it attached? Usually, the source document is stapled or pinned to the back of the voucher. The voucher acts as the cover page.

Cross-Referencing: To make the audit trail completely bulletproof, good accountants practice cross-referencing.

• They will write the Voucher Number (e.g., "V. No. 105") on the top corner of the attached supplier's invoice.
• They will write the Invoice Number (e.g., "Inv. No. 998") in the narration of the voucher.

This way, if the staple ever breaks and the documents get separated, anyone can easily figure out which bill belongs to which voucher.

What if there is no Source Document?

Sometimes, a transaction happens where getting a formal bill is impossible.

• Example: You pay ₹150 to an auto-rickshaw driver to deliver an urgent parcel to a client. The driver does not carry a printed invoice book.
• Example: You buy ₹50 worth of tea from a roadside stall for office guests.

In these cases, the accountant prepares an internal Petty Cash Slip or a Self-Generated Slip. The employee who spent the money writes down the details ("Auto fare to client office - ₹150"), signs it, and gets their manager to sign it. This slip now becomes the source document. The accountant then prepares a regular Accounting Voucher, staples this self-generated slip to the back of it, and records the entry.

Step-by-Step Preparation Flow

Here is the exact sequence of events an accountant follows when a transaction occurs.

Worked Examples

To move from theory to practice, let us look at how two different types of vouchers would be filled out in the real world.

Worked Example 1: Preparing a Cash Payment Voucher (Debit Voucher)

The Scenario: On July 15, 2026, your company (Apex Traders) pays ₹12,000 in cash to the landlord, Mr. Gupta, for the office rent for the month of July. Mr. Gupta gives you a signed cash receipt (Receipt No. 402).

Because cash is going out, you will prepare a Debit Voucher (which documents cash payments).

How the Voucher is filled:

• Company Name: Apex Traders
• Voucher No: 215 (Next in the sequence)
• Date: 15-07-2026
• Debit Account: Rent Account
• Credit Account: Cash Account (Note: On a dedicated Debit Voucher form, the credit to Cash is often pre-printed or implied, so you only need to write the account being debited).
• Amount: ₹ 12,000
• Amount in Words: Rupees Twelve Thousand Only.
• Narration: Paid office rent for the month of July 2026 in cash to Mr. Gupta, as per attached rent receipt no. 402.
• Signatures: The junior accountant signs "Prepared By". The Finance Manager signs "Authorized By".
• Attachment: Mr. Gupta's cash receipt is stapled to the back.

Worked Example 2: Preparing a Transfer Voucher (Non-Cash)

The Scenario: On August 10, 2026, your company buys new office furniture worth ₹45,000 from "Modern Furniture House" on credit. They give you Invoice No. MFH/88. No cash is paid today; payment is due in 30 days.

Because this transaction does not involve cash or bank movement today, you will prepare a Transfer Voucher (also known as a Journal Voucher).

How the Voucher is filled:

• Company Name: Apex Traders
• Voucher No: JV-089
• Date: 10-08-2026
• Debit Account: Office Furniture Account ... ₹ 45,000
• Credit Account: Modern Furniture House Account ... ₹ 45,000
• Amount in Words: Rupees Forty-Five Thousand Only.
• Narration: Purchased office furniture on credit from Modern Furniture House as per their Invoice No. MFH/88.
• Signatures: Signed by preparer and authorized by the manager.
• Attachment: The original invoice (MFH/88) from Modern Furniture House is stapled to the back.

Filing and Storage: The Final Step

Once the voucher is prepared, signed, and the source document is attached, it is ready for data entry. The data entry operator looks at the voucher, types the debits and credits into the accounting software, and saves the digital entry.

But what happens to the physical paper?

It is filed away in a sturdy arch-lever file. Vouchers are strictly filed in chronological order (by date) or by serial number.

Quick Revision

• The Purpose: An accounting voucher acts as a "cover jacket" that translates a real-world source document into a formal accounting entry (debits and credits).
• Serial Numbers: Vouchers must be sequentially numbered to prevent fraud, missing records, or unauthorized insertions.
• Amount in Words: Always write the amount in words ending with "Only" to prevent unauthorized alteration of the figures.
• The Narration: A brief, clear description of the transaction must be written on the voucher, usually referencing the attached source document's number.
• Maker-Checker Principle: Every valid voucher requires at least two signatures: one from the person who prepared it, and one from an authorized manager who approved it.
• Physical Attachment: The source document (invoice, receipt, cash memo) is physically stapled to the back of the voucher to create a complete audit trail.
• Self-Generated Slips: If no external source document exists (like for an auto fare), an internal slip is created, signed, and attached to the voucher as proof.