What is a Source document?
A source document is a written document that provides details of a transaction and the evidence that the transaction has taken place.
Source documents form the bases of accounting entries.
Features of Source Documents
Source documents contain the following information:
- Date of transaction.
- Names and addresses of parties involved in the transaction.
- Description of the goods or services.
- Amount involved.
- Terms and conditions related to trade discounts, cash discount and other details related to delivery.
- Signature of the concerned parties.
Types of Source Documents
Invoice
- Issued by the seller to the buyer.
- Informs how much to be paid for the goods or services supplied.
- Original copy is send to buyer and duplicate retained by the seller.
Credit Note
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A credit note is issued by the seller to the buyer.
- In cases where the goods have been overcharged, or when the buyer returns damaged goods.
- It informs the buyer about the amount credited do the buyers account.
- Original copy is send to the buyer and duplicate is retained by the seller.
Debit Note
- It is issued by the seller to the buyer.
- It acts as an additional invoice in case the seller has undercharged his goods or services.
- It informs the buyer about the extra amount which has to be paid to the seller.
- Original copy is send to the buyer and duplicate is retained by the seller.
Payment Voucher
It records the payment of money to a third party.
Cheque Counterfoil
It contains information related to cheques issued by the business. It usually informs about the cheque number, payee’s name and the amount paid.
Receipt
It acts as an acknowledgement for the payment received. Some retailers also issue the till slip which is considered as goods as a receipt.
The original copy is given to the person paying whereas the duplicate is retained by the receiver.
Bank Statement
This is a report sent by the bank to its current account holder. It contains information related with money deposited into the bank and money withdrawn out of the 
account during a particular period of time.
