A petty cash request form is the short voucher an employee completes to draw a small amount of cash from an on-site fund for a minor business expense. It records who is taking the money, how much, for what purpose, and who approved it, creating the paper trail that links every dollar leaving the cash box to a specific transaction. Most organizations cap individual withdrawals somewhere between $25 and $50, and the fund itself usually holds $100 to $500 depending on company size and spending patterns.
What the Form Must Capture
Whether the form is a preprinted slip from an office supply pad or a fillable PDF on the company intranet, the core fields are the same:
- Date the cash is being requested, not the date the expense will happen.
- Full name of the person withdrawing the funds.
- Exact dollar amount, down to the cent. Rounding up invites sloppy reconciliation.
- Business purpose, brief but specific. “Office supplies” is vague; “replacement toner cartridge for front desk printer” is useful.
- Department or account code so finance can charge the expense to the right budget line.
- Two signature lines: one for the requestor, a separate one for a supervising manager or authorized approver.
That dual-signature requirement is the single most important control on the form. It ensures someone other than the person receiving cash has reviewed the request and confirmed it serves a legitimate business need. Without it, the custodian is handing out money on the honor system.
A well-built form also has a section at the bottom for the custodian to fill in later: the actual receipt total, any change returned, and the date the voucher was closed out. That closing section turns a request slip into a complete transaction record.
Where to Get One or Build Your Own
Small offices often use preprinted carbonless voucher pads from brands like Adams or Tops. The carbon copy stays in the pad as a backup record while the original travels with the transaction. Larger organizations typically post a fillable PDF or spreadsheet template on a shared drive.
If your company does not have a standard form, building one in a spreadsheet or word processor takes about ten minutes. Include every field listed above, add a sequential voucher number for tracking, and leave space at the bottom for the custodian’s close-out notes.
Digital Approval Workflows
Some organizations have moved away from paper entirely. Expense management software lets employees submit petty cash requests electronically, with timestamped approvals replacing ink signatures. These systems can route requests automatically based on spending limits or department and generate audit-ready reports. For businesses that still maintain a physical cash box, the digital request simply triggers a notification to the custodian that an approved withdrawal is ready for pickup.
Using the Form Step by Step
Once the form is filled out and signed by both the requestor and an approver, the employee brings it to the petty cash custodian. The custodian checks that every field is complete, confirms the approval signature, and hands over the cash. The employee should receive a copy of the voucher or a receipt stub. At this point the cash box is short by the disbursed amount, but the signed voucher accounts for the difference. Cash on hand plus outstanding vouchers should always equal the fund’s fixed total.
This is where most petty cash problems start. Custodians who skip verification and hand out cash from incomplete forms create gaps in the audit trail that are very hard to fill later. Treat every disbursement as a formal transaction, even when it’s $8 for parking.
After the purchase, the employee brings the original merchant receipt back to the custodian. If the actual cost was less than the amount withdrawn, the leftover change comes back too. Someone who withdrew $20 for a $16.50 purchase returns $3.50 with the receipt. The custodian staples the receipt to the original request form, notes the final amount spent, and marks the voucher as closed.
Receipts should come back promptly. Some organizations set a firm deadline, such as returning receipts within 48 hours or by the end of the business week. When a receipt genuinely cannot be obtained, such as a parking meter, the employee should write a short statement noting the date, amount, and purpose. That statement, signed and approved, substitutes for the missing receipt.
What Petty Cash Should Not Cover
The form exists for small, routine business expenses. It is not a lending window or a way around purchasing procedures. Common prohibited uses:
- Personal loans or IOUs, even with a promise to repay.
- Cashing personal checks. The fund is not a bank, and converting a personal check creates commingling and bounced-check risk.
- Purchases above the transaction limit. Splitting a $90 expense into two requests to stay under a $50 cap defeats the cap. Larger purchases go through normal procurement.
- Recurring or predictable expenses. Monthly supply runs are a purchasing function, not a petty cash situation.
The test is simple: is this a small, unexpected, one-time business expense that needs to be paid in cash right now? If not, use a purchase order or corporate card.
Replenishing the Fund
Most petty cash funds run on the imprest system. The fund starts at a fixed amount, say $200. As disbursements happen, cash leaves the box and vouchers with attached receipts take its place. When the cash gets low, the custodian totals the vouchers, submits them to accounting, and receives a check or transfer for that exact total. Once cashed and returned to the box, the fund is back to $200.
The replenishment check equals the amount spent, not the original balance. If $145 in vouchers have accumulated, the check is for $145. The remaining $55 plus the $145 check restores the $200. Accounting records the individual expenses at that point, which is also the primary control moment: the person approving the reimbursement check should review every voucher and receipt before signing. Catching missing receipts, vague descriptions, or unapproved withdrawals here keeps the fund trustworthy.
Keeping the Fund and Records Safe
Physical security matters more than most people assume. A cash box in an unlocked drawer invites problems. Practical safeguards:
- Keep cash in a metal lockbox stored inside a locked file cabinet or safe, with separate keys for each.
- Limit key access to the custodian and one or two backups. Keys stay on the custodian, not in a drawer.
- Separate duties. The person who approves a request should not be the same person who hands out the cash.
- Be discreet during disbursement. The custodian should avoid opening the box in full view of the requestor.
On the documentation side, petty cash disbursements are deductible business expenses, so the IRS expects the same records you would keep for any other expense: payee, amount, date, proof of payment, and a description showing the business purpose.1Internal Revenue Service. What Kind of Records Should I Keep For most petty cash transactions, the signed voucher plus the attached merchant receipt satisfies these requirements.
Federal regulations require documentary evidence such as a receipt for any business expense of $75 or more, and for any lodging expense regardless of amount.2eCFR. 26 CFR 1.274-5 – Substantiation Requirements Below $75, the rules are more flexible on format, but you still need records showing the basic details. Since most petty cash purchases fall well under $75, a dated receipt with the vendor name and amount is usually sufficient. Company policy may set a stricter standard, and that stricter standard is the one to follow.
Hold onto vouchers and receipts for at least three years after filing the tax return that includes those expenses. The IRS generally has three years to examine a return, though the window extends to six years if more than 25 percent of gross income goes unreported, with no limit for fraudulent or unfiled returns.3Internal Revenue Service. How Long Should I Keep Records Three years is the minimum; six is safer and costs almost nothing in storage.
Handling Shortages and Overages
During reconciliation, the custodian sometimes finds that cash on hand plus vouchers does not match the fund’s fixed balance. Small differences of a few cents happen and are not cause for alarm. In accounting terms, these go into a “cash over and short” account. Shortages are debited; overages are credited.
Persistent or growing shortages are different. A pattern of unexplained losses signals either careless record-keeping or theft, and both warrant investigation. Some organizations require the custodian to document and explain any discrepancy at the time of replenishment. Depending on company policy, an employee responsible for a shortage may need to reimburse the fund personally.