What should a craft fair receipt say?

This example uses made-up names. Copy the layout, not the names.

Write these on every receipt, in this order. It soon becomes a habit, and a habit is what keeps you accurate when the stall gets busy.

1. Receipt numberThe number printed on the page in your receipt book — write the sale on the next number in the book, every time.
2. DateToday’s date — the day of the fair.
3. Your stall or business nameSo the buyer knows who sold the item when they look at the receipt later.
4. What was soldA short description — the item and anything that sets it apart, like its colour or size.
5. Price in numbersFor example: $25.00
6. Price in wordsThe same amount written out — for example: Twenty-five dollars and no cents. Words are hard to change later, so they back up the numbers.
7. How it was paidFor example: Cash.
8. Your initials or signatureA quick sign-off from you, the seller, at the bottom.

Fill the receipt in while the buyer is standing in front of you — not later, and not from memory.

Memory fades fast at a busy fair. An hour later you may not remember whether the blue scarf or the green one sold, or whether it was $25 or $28. Writing it down on the spot means the receipt is right, and your copy at home matches what the buyer took away.

Use a carbonless duplicate receipt book — the kind where what you write on the top page copies itself onto the page underneath.

The top copy goes to the buyer. The copy underneath stays in your book.

Your kept copies, in number order, are your sales record. Together they show what you sold and when — which is exactly what you need in two everyday moments:

• When a buyer comes back about an item, you can look up the sale in your book.
• When the fair day ends, you can add up your sales from the copies, one by one, in order.

Everyone spoils a receipt now and then — a wrong price, a wrong item, a smudge. Here is how to handle it so your book stays tidy and easy to trust:

• Write VOID in big letters across both copies — the top one and the copy underneath.
• Keep both copies in the book. Do not tear the page out.
• Write the sale again on the next number in the book.

• Before the fair opens, write your stall name on a whole run of receipts in the book. That is one less thing to write at every sale.
• Keep the book and a pen clipped together, in one spot on your table, so you never hunt for either mid-sale.
• If a line forms, you can write the number, the item, and the price in numbers first — then add the price in words before you hand the receipt over.

Four quick glances, taking only a few seconds, before the receipt leaves your hand:

• Number — the receipt number matches the next number in your book’s sequence.
• Words match numbers — the price written in words is the same amount as the price in numbers.
• Item named — what was sold is written on the receipt, in words the buyer will recognise later.
• Copy still in the book — the duplicate copy is underneath and stays in your book when you tear off the top copy for the buyer.