FREE Petty Cash Voucher Template (Excel)

Petty cash may seem minor, but mismanaging it can create unnecessary headaches for finance teams. Whether it’s buying office supplies, paying for last-minute courier services, or topping up EZ-Link cards, small expenses add up - and so does the risk of poor documentation.

That’s why every organisation needs a clear and consistent way to track these transactions. Enter the petty cash voucher. With the right process and template, you can improve financial control, reduce errors, and keep your records audit-ready.

What is a petty cash voucher?

A petty cash voucher is a form used to record and approve small, incidental expenses paid from a company’s petty cash fund. These expenses are usually below a set threshold and don’t go through the formal procurement process. Common uses include reimbursing employees for taxi fares, minor office expenses, or quick service purchases. The voucher serves as both a record of payment and a control mechanism to ensure that all cash disbursements are documented, justified, and approved.

It’s a simple but essential tool for maintaining transparency in small transactions and forms a key part of an organisation’s expense claims and finance controls processes.

Why petty cash management matters

Small expenses may not trigger red flags on their own, but over time, poor tracking can lead to overspending, misuse, and even fraud. Without proper documentation, it’s difficult to verify who spent what, and why.

Clear, consistent petty cash management is essential for maintaining financial integrity. When every disbursement is logged with the right details and approvals, it reduces errors and protects both the employee and the organisation. It also supports employee reimbursements, making sure staff are paid back fairly and promptly. Good petty cash practices also make audits smoother, ensuring finance teams can easily produce records when needed.

Key elements in a petty cash voucher template

A reliable petty cash voucher template should include all the information required to validate the expense and support reimbursement. The key fields typically include:

• Date of transaction
• Amount disbursed
• Purpose of the expense
• Name of the requester
• Name and signature of the approver
• Attached receipts or supporting documents

These details ensure accountability, make reconciliation easier, and provide proof for both internal reviews and external audits.

Challenges with manual vouchers

Manual voucher systems - especially those based on paper forms or spreadsheets - are prone to inefficiencies and errors that can drain both time and resources. When employees fill out vouchers by hand, it’s easy for critical fields to be left incomplete; like missing approval signatures, incorrect amounts, or vague descriptions of the expense. Without a standardised format, each department may handle petty cash differently, making it difficult for finance teams to enforce consistent controls across the organisation.

One of the most common issues is missing receipts. Physical receipts are often lost, faded, or never submitted, leaving finance teams with incomplete documentation. Without proper evidence, it becomes difficult to verify transactions, and reimbursements may be delayed or questioned.

Reconciling petty cash manually is also a time-consuming process. Finance staff must chase down approvals, double-check calculations, and manually update spreadsheets - sometimes days or even weeks after the original transaction occurred. These delays increase the risk of oversights and duplicate entries, especially when multiple petty cash transactions are being logged across departments at once.

Manual systems also make spend analysis nearly impossible. With records scattered across folders, desks, or personal drives, there’s no central visibility into how funds are being used. Finance teams lack the data needed to detect patterns of overspending, monitor budget compliance, or identify misuse until it’s too late.

In a fast-paced business environment - especially in sectors like logistics, events, or retail - this lack of real-time insight and control can lead to non-compliance, audit challenges, and unnecessary financial exposure. Over time, these small inefficiencies can erode trust, increase risk, and negatively impact the bottom line.

By digitising the process, organisations can close these gaps and bring consistency, speed, and accountability to petty cash management.

How Summit replaces manual vouchers

Summit simplifies petty cash tracking by replacing paper vouchers with digital expense claims. Employees submit their claims through the platform, attaching receipts and entering key details directly into the system. Approval workflows are fully automated, ensuring every request is reviewed by the right person.

All claims are logged in real time, creating a complete and audit-ready record of petty cash usage. Finance teams can view reports, track reimbursement trends, and reconcile expenses quickly, all in one place.

By removing manual paperwork, Summit improves accuracy, speeds up reimbursement, and gives finance teams full control over petty cash.

Want to eliminate paper vouchers for good? Talk to us today and see how Summit can help you manage petty cash with confidence.