Payment Voucher (Sanad Sarf) Guide - Everything You Need to Know

Every dirham your business spends should be documented. That's the job of the payment voucher — سند صرف. This guide covers when, why, and how to use it correctly.

What is a Payment Voucher?

A payment voucher is an internal document authorizing and recording a payment from your business to any external party — supplier, employee, landlord, service provider, tax authority. It's the mirror image of a receipt voucher.

Receipt Voucher vs Payment Voucher

	Receipt Voucher (سند قبض)	Payment Voucher (سند صرف)
Direction	Money IN	Money OUT
Issued by	Recipient of money	Payer
Given to	The payer	The payee
Purpose	Proves receipt	Proves payment

When to Issue a Payment Voucher

• Salary payments to staff.
• Rent payments to landlords.
• Supplier and vendor payments.
• Utility bills, phone, internet.
• Cash purchases for the business.
• Refunds to customers.
• Tax settlements with ZATCA.

Essential Components

1. Sequential voucher number.
2. Date of payment.
3. Payer (your company).
4. Payee name and ID.
5. Amount in figures and words.
6. Payment method (cash, check, transfer).
7. Purpose — specific and clear.
8. Three signatures: Payee, Accountant, Authorized Manager.

Approval Workflow

Best practice for payments over 500 SAR:

1. Request from department (invoice, contract).
2. Verification by accountant.
3. Approval by manager per delegation limit.
4. Execution — voucher creation + payment.
5. Filing — voucher stored with supporting documents.

Common Fraud Risks and Prevention

• Duplicate payments: Cross-reference invoice numbers.
• Fake vendors: Verify supplier registration.
• Kickbacks: Rotate approval authority.
• Amount tampering: Amount in words prevents alterations.

Digital vs Paper Vouchers

Digital vouchers (like those from Daqiq) automatically:

• Sequence numbers (no gaps).
• Link to bank/cash accounts.
• Update inventory or expense accounts.
• Generate reports and audit trails.

Free Template

Use our Free Payment Voucher Generator to create professional PDFs.

Full Expense Management

For real business control, Daqiq tracks every voucher, links it to suppliers, and generates monthly expense reports automatically.