Table of Contents

Overview

Vouchers are documents that are used to control cash disbursements. When checks are created and printed for the vouchers, the check(s) will pay one or more vouchers for a vendor. There are four types of vouchers: Normal, Credit, Prepaid, and Void. 

Detail

• Normal vouchers are used to record the need to pay a vendor's invoice. A normal voucher can pay any expense as well as be tied into a purchase order receipt or record an expense for a project - which can then be billed to a client.

• Credit vouchers are used when a vendor sends an account credit. Credit vouchers are combined with other normal vouchers to reduce the total amount on a check. Checks cannot be created for negative amounts so the amount of a credit voucher must be less than the total of normal vouchers on a check or equal to it (for correction purposes).

• Prepaid vouchers are entered when the check was handwritten, and the vendor has already been paid. This is a way of recording the payment information.

• Void vouchers are simply vouchers that have been voided during the entry process. Vouchers are sequentially numbered with no breaks in the sequence. If a voucher needs to be deleted during voucher entry, the voucher is voided rather than deleted. This preserves the sequence of voucher numbers and leaves an audit trail to track/avoid possible theft and Vendor Discrepancies.

Reports and Making Corrections

Once a voucher is entered, the liability to the vendor can be seen on several reports - such as the Vendor Aging. Vouchers cannot be deleted. If a voucher is entered and processed and later it is decided to not pay the vendor, a credit voucher must be entered to offset the amount of the original normal voucher. Then a check is created to pay both vouchers resulting in a check for zero dollars. This clears the liability from Accounts Payable.
Vouchers are entered and processed in either single or batch mode. Single allows for quicker entry, and may be better for smaller A/P departments. The batch processing, however, allows separate persons to enter and process the vouchers, which provides greater control. It all comes down to what is right for your business.

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