Legal fees receipt voucher template
A legal fees receipt voucher is issued for every amount the office receives from or for a client: serial number and date, the amount in figures and in words in Qatari riyals, the payment method, and its purpose linked to the agreement and case. It is the client’s proof of payment and the office’s accounting record.
In a law office, the receipt voucher is issued by the accountant or by the receptionist in charge of the cash box, at the moment the money is received, not at the end of the day: they sign and stamp it, hand the original to the payer and keep the copy. A legal fees receipt differs from a general commercial receipt in that it belongs to a file: a client with a file number, a fee agreement with instalments, and a particular case or service. That is why the template below includes, besides the usual details, the fee agreement number and the instalment paid, and a small table of the total value, the amount paid and the balance remaining, so the client knows where they stand on the agreement from the paper itself, without having to call and ask.
When do you need this template?
- When receiving an instalment of the fees under a signed agreement, including the first instalment on signing.
- When receiving a consultation fee, or the fee for a legal service that no agreement covers.
- When receiving money from the client on account of court fees and expenses before they are spent.
- When someone other than the client pays for them, such as a relative or an employer, and the money is for the client’s own account.
What must it include?
- The office’s name and letterhead, the voucher’s serial number and the date of receipt.
- The amount in figures and in words in Qatari riyals, with the dirhams if any.
- The payer’s name, and the client’s name and file number even if someone else paid.
- The payment method in detail: the cheque’s number, date and bank, or the transfer or transaction reference.
- The description: what the money is for, the fee agreement and instalment numbers, and the case or service number.
- The agreement’s total value, the amount paid including this voucher, and the balance remaining.
- The name and signature of the person receiving the money, the office stamp, and a mark telling the original from the copy.
Receipt Voucher
Amount: QAR [Amount in figures]
Received from Mr/Ms/Messrs: [Payer name]
For the account of client: [Client name] — Client file No.: [File number]
The sum of: [Amount in words, in riyals and dirhams] only
Payment method (delete as appropriate): cash / cheque No. [Cheque number] dated [Cheque date] drawn on [Bank name] / bank transfer, reference No. [Reference number] / card, transaction No. [Transaction number]
In payment of: [Description] — instalment [Instalment number] of Fee Agreement No. [Agreement number] — Case No. [Case number] before [Competent court]
| Total agreement value | Paid including this voucher | Remaining |
|---|---|---|
| QAR [Total fees] | QAR [Total paid] | QAR [Amount remaining] |
Cheques are received subject to collection, and their value is not treated as paid until they are cleared. This voucher is not valid unless it is signed by the recipient and stamped with the office stamp.
If the amount is not linked to a fee agreement, delete the total-value table, and write in the description the consultation or service it was paid for.
How to fill in the template
Issue the voucher when the money is received
Write the voucher with the money in front of you and the payer present; do not leave it until the end of the day. Use the next number in the sequence without skipping any, because a missing number is the first thing an auditor asks about.
Write the amount in figures, then in words
Write the amount in figures, then in words in Qatari riyals, closed with the word “only” so that nothing can be added to it, for example: “One thousand five hundred Qatari riyals only”. Check that the two match before signing.
Give the payment method in detail
Delete whatever does not apply, and write the cheque’s number, its date and the bank it is drawn on, or the transfer’s reference number. If the cheque is later returned unpaid, you will know exactly which voucher is affected.
Link the amount to the agreement and the instalment
In the description, write the fee agreement number, the instalment paid and the case number, then fill in the table of amounts paid and remaining. If someone other than the client pays, write their name under “Received from” and the client’s name under “For the account of client”.
Sign, stamp and hand over the original
The recipient signs, the voucher is stamped with the office stamp and the original is handed to the payer, while the copy stays in the voucher book or in the client’s file with a copy of the cheque or the transfer receipt.
Common mistakes
- A voucher with no serial number, or dated later than the day the money was actually received.
- The amount in words differing from the amount in figures, or a blank left that allows something to be added.
- A general description such as “fees”, without the agreement, instalment and case numbers, so no one can tell later which instalment was paid.
- Tearing up or crossing out a wrong voucher instead of cancelling it with a written reason and keeping it in the book.
- Recording a post-dated cheque as paid before it clears, so the account shows as paid while the money has not yet arrived.
Issue this document from your office’s data
In Murafe, the receipt voucher is issued from “Receipt vouchers” or from the “New” button: you choose the client, then the agreement and the instalment if there are any, and enter the amount, the description and the payment method in detail: cash, a cheque with its number, date and bank, a card, or a transfer with its reference number. On printing, the amount is written out in Arabic words in Qatari riyals automatically, and the voucher comes out on the office’s letterhead with boxes for the total, the amount paid and the balance: the original and the archive copy on a single A4 sheet, a single copy, or on A5 paper in landscape; it can also be saved as a PDF and sent. A voucher is never deleted once issued: it is cancelled with the reason stated and stays visible, stamped “Cancelled”.