Knowing how to write a receipt in Australia comes down to five details: your business name, your ABN or ACN, the date of the sale, what you sold and the price. That’s the legal minimum under the Australian Consumer Law.
It applies whether the receipt comes out of a POS system, lands in an inbox or gets scribbled in a carbon-copy book at a Saturday market. Format doesn’t matter. Content does.
Receipts feel like the easiest admin in your business. Right up until a customer asks for one three weeks later, wants a refund you can’t find a record of, or their bookkeeper asks for a tax invoice you didn’t know you owed them. That’s when most owners discover the rules. You can get ahead of it in ten minutes.
- Sales over $75 need a receipt at the time of sale. The $75 is measured excluding GST, under section 100 of the Australian Consumer Law.
- Under $75, you have 7 days once a customer asks. Not 28 days. The 28-day rule belongs to GST tax invoices, and mixing the two up is the most common error in receipt guides online.
- Five details are mandatory on every receipt. Business name, ABN or ACN, date, what you supplied and the price. Everything else is good practice.
- A receipt isn’t automatically a tax invoice. If you’re registered for GST and a customer asks for a tax invoice on a sale over $82.50 (including GST), extra details apply and you have 28 days.
- Handwritten and emailed receipts are both legal. Keep your own copies for at least 5 years, and scan thermal paper before it fades.
When do you legally have to give a customer a receipt?
You must give a receipt for any sale of goods or services over $75, excluding GST. The Australian Consumer Law, which sits in Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), calls it a “proof of transaction“. It’s due at the time of sale, or as soon as practicable after.
For sales under $75, the customer has to ask first. Once they do, you have 7 days. Business.gov.au confirms both thresholds, and our explainer on whether businesses must provide receipts covers the edge cases.
Here’s where plenty of guides go wrong, including the earlier version of this one. They quote 28 days for small sales. That number comes from GST law and only applies to tax invoices. Different document, different law, different deadline.
| Your situation | What you owe the customer | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Sale over $75 (excluding GST) | A receipt (proof of transaction) | At the time of sale |
| Sale under $75 (excluding GST) and the customer asks | A receipt (proof of transaction) | Within 7 days of the request |
| You’re GST-registered and the customer asks for a tax invoice on a sale over $82.50 (including GST) | A tax invoice | Within 28 days of the request |
| You supplied a service and the customer asks for an itemised bill within 30 days of your bill | An itemised bill, free of charge | Within 7 days of the request |
Spot the pattern in rows one and three? $82.50 including GST is just $75 plus 10%. The ACL and the ATO draw the same line. They just measure it two different ways.
Our view: forget the thresholds day to day. Give a receipt for every sale. It costs nothing with a POS system, takes a minute by hand, and ends any argument about whether a customer asked in time.
What must be on a receipt in Australia?
Every receipt needs five details, whatever the format:
- Your business name.
- Your ABN or ACN.
- The date you supplied the goods or services.
- A description of what you supplied.
- The price.
That’s the legal floor. Notice what’s missing: the customer’s name, a receipt number and a GST figure. None of them are required on a basic receipt.
No ABN yet? Register for an ABN before you trade with other businesses. Without one on your paperwork, a business customer has to withhold 47% of what they owe you, and our guide to invoicing without an ABN explains why.
Forgotten your number? Search your business on ABN Lookup (abr.business.gov.au). ASIC’s register shows a company’s ACN, but ABN Lookup is the right place to find an ABN.
What’s worth adding, even though the law doesn’t ask
The five legal details prove a sale happened. They won’t make BAS time any easier. These extras will:
- A unique receipt number. It’s how you find a sale again when someone wants a refund in March for something bought in November.
- Payment method. “Paid by Visa ending 4821” or “Paid cash” lets your bookkeeper match the receipt to the bank feed without guessing.
- The GST amount, if you’re registered. Show the figure, or write “Total price includes GST” when GST is exactly one-eleventh of the total.
- Contact details. An email or phone number, so unhappy customers come to you before they go to their bank.
- A short returns line. Keep it consistent with your store terms and conditions and the consumer guarantees.
Here’s a wrong assumption we hear a lot: “My trading name is on the receipt, so I’m covered.” Only if that trading name is registered to the ABN printed beside it. The name and number must point to the same legal entity.
Receipt vs invoice vs tax invoice: which one do you need?
A receipt confirms a customer has paid. An invoice asks them to pay. A tax invoice is a GST document that lets a registered business customer claim back the GST they paid you.
| Receipt | Invoice | Tax invoice | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | Confirms payment | Requests payment | Records GST so the buyer can claim a credit |
| When you issue it | After payment | Before payment | Before or after payment |
| Who can issue it | Any business | Any business | GST-registered businesses only |
| When it’s required | Sales over $75 (excl. GST), or on request | Set by your payment terms | Customer asks, sale over $82.50 (incl. GST) |
| Deadline | At the sale, or 7 days after a request | Your call | 28 days after a request |
| Must include | Supplier, ABN or ACN, date, items, price | No fixed list | Seven ATO details (more at $1,000 or over) |
In most shops and online stores, one document does all three jobs. A GST-registered florist who prints “Tax invoice” at the top, itemises the sale and shows the GST has issued a receipt and a tax invoice in one hit.
The ATO lists seven details for sales under $1,000, and our guide to creating a tax invoice walks through each one. You need: a statement that it’s a tax invoice, your identity, your ABN, the issue date, a description with quantity and price, the GST amount, and the extent each item is taxable. At $1,000 or more, add the buyer’s identity or ABN.
That $1,000 rule tripped up the old version of this article too. It’s a tax invoice rule. A plain ACL receipt never needs the buyer’s details.
One hard rule. If you’re not registered for GST, don’t call your document a tax invoice and don’t show a GST amount. A customer who claims that “GST” as a credit is claiming tax that was never paid, and the trail leads back to you.
How to write a receipt, step by step
These eight steps cover how to write a receipt from scratch. They work the same in software, in a template or with a pen.
Step 1: Label the document
Write “Receipt” at the top. If you’re GST-registered and want it to double as a tax invoice, write “Tax invoice” instead. Trivial? It’s the first thing a refund desk, an auditor or your customer’s accountant looks for.
Step 2: Add your business details
Your legal business name, your ABN or ACN, and a contact point. If you trade under a registered business name, show it next to the legal entity name so the two connect.
Step 3: Give it a unique number
Use a running sequence with a year prefix, like RCT-2026-0001. Never reuse a number, and don’t restart at 0001 each January without the year in front.
Spoiled one? Mark it VOID and keep it. A gap in your sequence raises more questions than a crossed-out receipt ever will.
Step 4: Record the date of sale
The law asks for the date of supply. If you issue the receipt later, say after a customer emails a week on, show both the sale date and the issue date.
Resist any urge to change dates to push income into a different financial year. If a document is wrong, issue a corrected one. Our guide to amending invoices legally walks through how.
Step 5: Itemise what you sold
One line per item or service, with a description, quantity, unit price and line total. “2 x ranunculus bunch @ $24” beats “Flowers $48”, because it holds up in a refund dispute.
Selling a mix of taxable and GST-free items? Mark the GST-free lines. Fresh food alongside prepared food is the classic case, and it’s a far bigger job to split at BAS time than at the till.
Step 6: Show totals and GST
Subtotal, GST and total paid. If you’re registered, show the GST amount or the words “Total price includes GST”. Not registered? Show the total. Nothing else.
Step 7: Note how and how much they paid
Cash, card (last four digits only), bank transfer or gift card. For deposits and part-payments, show the amount received and the balance still owing. That one line heads off most “but I already paid” disputes.
Step 8: Hand it over and keep a copy
Give the customer their copy at the time of sale, or email it straight after. Keep yours for at least 5 years, the ATO’s standard record-keeping period.
Thermal till paper fades, sometimes within a year. Scan or photograph anything you need to keep.
Receipt example Australia: what a finished receipt looks like
Examples make how to write a receipt click faster than any checklist. Here are three common scenarios. Every business name and number below is invented.
Example 1: GST-registered retail sale
| TAX INVOICE / RECEIPT | |
|---|---|
| Wattle & Stem Florist Pty Ltd | ABN 12 345 678 901 |
| Receipt no. | RCT-2026-0412 |
| Date of sale | 14 September 2026 |
| 2 x ranunculus bunch @ $24.00 | $48.00 |
| 1 x ceramic vase @ $35.00 | $35.00 |
| 1 x local delivery | $15.00 |
| Total (includes GST) | $98.00 |
| GST included | $8.91 |
| Paid | Visa ending 4821 |
| Returns | Handled in line with the Australian Consumer Law |
Because the total is over $82.50 and the document says “Tax invoice”, so a business customer can use it to claim a GST credit. One document, three jobs.
Example 2: Sole trader, not registered for GST
| RECEIPT | |
|---|---|
| J. Citizen trading as Pawfect Mobile Grooming | ABN 98 765 432 109 |
| Receipt no. | RCT-2026-0087 |
| Date of service | 3 September 2026 |
| Full groom, medium dog | $95.00 |
| Nail trim add-on | $15.00 |
| Total | $110.00 |
| Paid | Bank transfer, ref CITIZEN0903 |
No GST line. No “tax invoice” heading. That’s correct for a business below the GST threshold that hasn’t registered.
Example 3: Receipt of payment against an invoice
| RECEIPT OF PAYMENT | |
|---|---|
| Harbourside Electrical Pty Ltd | ABN 55 666 777 888 |
| Receipt no. | RCT-2026-0230 |
| Payment date | 22 September 2026 |
| Payment received for | Invoice INV-2026-118 (switchboard upgrade) |
| Invoice total (includes GST) | $2,200.00 |
| Deposit received 1 September | $660.00 |
| This payment | $1,540.00 |
| Balance owing | $0.00 |
| Paid by | Bank transfer |
That’s how to write a receipt of payment. When one transfer covers several invoices, list every invoice number and the amount applied to each.
How to write a handwritten receipt
Learning how to write a receipt by hand is worth ten minutes, because a handwritten receipt is exactly as valid as a printed one. The ACL cares about the five details, not whether a machine produced them. Market stallholders, tradies on cash jobs and pop-up sellers still rely on them every weekend.
Here’s how to do it without creating headaches later:
- Buy a duplicate receipt book, so a carbon copy stays with you automatically.
- Stamp or pre-write your business name and ABN on every page before you start trading. On a busy Saturday, that’s the bit that gets skipped.
- Number the pages in order if the book isn’t pre-numbered.
- Write in block capitals with a pen that won’t smudge.
- Spoiled a slip? Write VOID across it and leave it in the book.
- Photograph each day’s carbon copies. Carbon fades too.
Put together, it looks like this:
RECEIPT No. 0153 BLUE GUM CANDLE CO. ABN 11 222 333 444 Date: 20/09/2026 2 x soy candle (large) @ $38 ........ $76.00 1 x wax melt pack ................... $12.00 TOTAL PAID .......................... $88.00 Paid: CASH Not registered for GST
That last line is optional, but it stops anyone assuming GST is buried in the price.
It also saves your customer real grief. Lawpath accountants regularly work with owners who bought equipment in informal sales with no receipt at all, then spent hours stitching together bank screenshots and messages to prove what they paid. Sixty seconds with your receipt book spares them that.
Do digital and emailed receipts count?
Yes. The rules on how to write a receipt don’t change online. Emailed receipts, SMS links and order confirmations all count, as long as they carry the five required details. For online and phone orders, a confirmation or receipt number also works as proof of transaction.
Two things to get right. Only collect an email address if you need it to send the receipt, and make sure your privacy policy covers that use. And never print or email a full card number. The last four digits are plenty.
Selling on lay-by? The signed lay-by sales agreement counts as proof of transaction in its own right, so keep a copy for both of you.
Do you need receipts for deposits, services and refunds?
Yes, and each one has a quirk worth knowing.
Deposits. Give a receipt when the deposit lands, not just when the job is finished. It should show the deposit amount, what it’s for and the balance still owing. Deposit disputes are far easier to settle when both sides hold the same piece of paper.
Services. The same five details apply, with the date of the service as the date of supply. Service businesses carry one extra obligation. If a customer asks for an itemised bill within 30 days of your bill, you owe them one within 7 days, free, showing how you worked out the price (hours, hourly rate and materials where relevant).
Refunds and exchanges. Issue a refund receipt or credit note that references the original receipt number. Your records then show the sale and its reversal side by side, which keeps your BAS honest if you’re registered for GST.
Most founders over-complicate this. One receipt template, with a line for “deposit”, “balance” or “refund of RCT-XXXX”, covers all three.
What we see in Lawpath consultations
Most receipt problems don’t show up at the till. They surface months later, when an accountant is reconciling a BAS or a customer is chasing a refund. These patterns come up again and again in Lawpath accounting and legal consultations.
Cash sales with no paper trail
Sole traders who take cash often record a daily total and nothing else. Our accountants’ standard fix is simple: raise an invoice for each cash sale in your accounting software and mark it paid against a petty cash account. The paid invoice becomes the receipt, and every dollar has a record behind it.
GST shown when it shouldn’t be, and missing when it should
We see both. Businesses that haven’t registered add a 10% line because “that’s what receipts look like”. Registered food businesses lump GST-free and taxable items into one total, and the error flows straight into their BAS. Both get fixed at the point of sale, not at quarter’s end.
Receipts going out under the wrong entity
When a sole trader moves to a company, or someone buys an existing business, receipts keep going out with the old name and ABN for weeks. Advisors spend real time untangling which entity should have been billing during the changeover. Update templates, POS settings and receipt books on day one of the new structure.
One payment, several invoices, no reference
Picture a customer paying three invoices in one transfer and the receipt reads “Payment received, $3,300”. Someone then has to match that lump sum invoice by invoice. Put each invoice number on the receipt of payment, with the amount applied to it.
Quietly edited dates
Changing a date after the fact to shift income into the next financial year comes up more than you’d expect. If a document needs to change, issue a corrected version and keep the original. It’s cleaner for the ATO and fairer on the customer.
What are the most common receipt mistakes?
| Mistake | Why it bites | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Printing “No refunds” | Customers keep their consumer guarantee rights for faulty goods, so the line is misleading | Write “Returns handled in line with the Australian Consumer Law” |
| Calling it a tax invoice when you’re not GST-registered | Your customer could claim a GST credit for tax that was never paid | Head it “Receipt” and show the total only |
| Leaving off your ABN | Business customers must withhold 47% from suppliers who don’t quote one | Put your ABN on every receipt and invoice |
| Restarting receipt numbers each year | Two receipts with the same number make refunds and audits messy | Add a year prefix, like RCT-2026-0001 |
| Relying on thermal paper | The print fades well inside the 5-year record-keeping period | Scan it or keep digital copies |
| Vague descriptions | Goods $120″ won’t settle a refund or warranty dispute | Itemise with quantity and unit price |
Frequently asked questions
Is it a legal requirement to give a receipt in Australia?
Yes. For any sale over $75 (excluding GST), you must give proof of transaction at the time of sale. For smaller sales, you must provide one within 7 days if the customer asks. Giving a receipt for every sale is simpler and costs almost nothing.
What needs to be on a receipt in Australia?
Five details: your business name, your ABN or ACN, the date of supply, a description of the goods or services, and the price. A receipt number and payment method aren’t required, but they make refunds and bookkeeping far easier.
Can I write a receipt by hand?
Yes. A handwritten receipt is just as valid as a printed one if it includes the five required details. Use a duplicate receipt book so you keep a copy, and pre-stamp your business name and ABN on every page.
What’s the difference between a receipt and a tax invoice?
A receipt proves a customer paid you. A tax invoice is a GST document that lets a registered business customer claim a GST credit. Only GST-registered businesses can issue one, and they must provide it within 28 days if asked, for sales over $82.50 including GST.
Do I need an ABN to write a receipt?
Your receipt must show an ABN or ACN. Business customers have to withhold 47% of payments to suppliers who don’t quote an ABN, apart from a few exceptions. Registering for an ABN is free.
What if my business isn’t registered for GST?
You still give receipts, but leave off any GST amount and don’t use the words “tax invoice”. Show the total price only. A GST line on a receipt from an unregistered business can lead customers to claim credits they aren’t entitled to.
How long do I have to provide a receipt after a customer asks?
For purchases under $75 (excluding GST), 7 days from the request. Purchases over $75 need a receipt at the time of sale. If a customer asks a GST-registered business for a tax invoice on a sale over $82.50, the deadline is 28 days.
Do emailed receipts count as proof of purchase?
Yes. Emailed, SMS and other digital receipts are valid if they include the required details. For online and phone orders, an order confirmation or receipt number also counts as proof of transaction.
How long should I keep copies of receipts?
Keep business records, including copies of the receipts you issue, for at least 5 years. Thermal paper fades well before then, so scan or photograph paper receipts and store them with your accounting records.
Can I print “no refunds” on my receipts?
No. Customers keep their consumer guarantee rights no matter what a receipt says, so a blanket “no refunds” line is misleading. Write “Returns handled in line with the Australian Consumer Law” and set out any change-of-mind policy separately.
Ready to sort your receipts?
If you’ve been winging it with receipts, you’re in good company. Most owners set them up once, early, and never look again until something breaks. Now you know how to write a receipt that holds up: five details, a number, a payment line, and the tax invoice version if you’re registered.
That’s one afternoon of setup, not an ongoing chore. Create your Tax Invoice template in under five minutes and use it for every sale from today.
