Vouchers

A voucher is a single accounting entry made of balanced debit and credit lines. Most vouchers are created for you by day-to-day operations; you post manual ones for adjustments, expenses and one-off entries. This page is the practical guide to posting them — the eight types, the quick-fill wizards for GST/RCM/TDS/TCS, advances, bill settlement, and how to correct an entry after it's posted.

The one rule that never changes

Every voucher is double-entry: total Debit must equal total Credit. Raya shows a live "Voucher is balanced ✓" chip at the bottom of the grid — you can only save when it is green.

• Debit (Dr) — value coming in: an asset increases, or an expense is incurred.
• Credit (Cr) — value going out: a liability or income increases, or an asset decreases.

You rarely need to reason this out by hand. The Quick-fill wizards (the coloured buttons above the entries grid) build the correct Dr/Cr pattern for GST, reverse charge and TDS for you, and show a preview before anything posts.

The eight voucher types

Type	Raised for	Typical entry	How it's created
Sales	Customer invoice	Customer (Dr) → Sales + Output GST (Cr)	Auto, from a completed sales order
Purchase	Supplier bill	Purchase + Input GST (Dr) → Vendor (Cr)	Auto, from a purchase order / bill
Receipt	Money received	Bank/Cash (Dr) → Customer/Income (Cr)	Auto, when a payment is recorded
Payment	Money paid out	Vendor/Expense (Dr) → Bank/Cash (Cr)	Auto, when a payment is recorded
Credit Note	Sales return / reduction	Sales + Output GST (Dr) → Customer (Cr)	Auto, from a credit note
Debit Note	Purchase return / reduction	Vendor (Dr) → Purchase + Input GST (Cr)	Auto, from a debit note
Contra	Cash ↔ bank (or bank ↔ bank) transfers	Bank (Dr) → Cash (Cr)	Manual
Journal	Everything else — accruals, depreciation, provisions, RCM, ITC reversal, write-offs	Any (Dr) → Any (Cr)	Manual

:::tip Most vouchers are automatic Sales, Purchase, Receipt, Payment and the two notes flow straight from operations. In practice finance types only Contra and Journal vouchers by hand — for adjustments, expenses and corrections. :::

Voucher status

A voucher moves through a simple lifecycle: Draft → Pending Approval → Approved → Posted. Only a Posted voucher affects the ledgers. A posted voucher can later be Reversed or Amended, but never quietly edited or deleted (see Correcting a posted voucher).

Post a manual journal

Use a Journal for any adjustment that doesn't come from an order or a payment — depreciation, accruals, provisions, expense reclassifications.

1. Go to Finance → Vouchers → ＋ New Voucher.
2. Set Voucher type to Journal.
3. Confirm the date and voucher number (the number comes from the series automatically).
4. Enter a narration — a short description that appears in reports (required).
5. In the Ledger Entries grid, add at least two lines: pick a ledger and type a Debit amount, then a ledger and a Credit amount. Type an account name that doesn't exist yet and choose ＋ Create to add the ledger without leaving the screen.
6. Watch the "balanced ✓" chip turn green.
7. Save, or press Ctrl + Enter.

Worked example — monthly depreciation of ₹25,000 on plant & machinery:

Dr  Depreciation Expense              25,000
Cr      Accumulated Depreciation          25,000
                              ------------------
                              25,000    25,000   ✓ balanced

A Contra voucher works the same way, except both ledgers are cash or bank accounts — e.g. a ₹1,00,000 cash withdrawal from the bank is Dr Cash / Cr Bank.

:::tip Multi-party journal For a set-off between a customer and a vendor, turn on the "Multi-party voucher" switch at the top of the grid — a Contact column appears so you can set the party per row. :::

Quick-fills — GST, RCM, TDS, TCS

The coloured buttons above the grid open wizards that build the tax legs for you. Fill the fields, check the preview, then Pre-fill entries → Save.

GST Quick-fill (cyan)

For any Sales or Purchase entry with CGST/SGST or IGST.

1. Click GST Quick-fill.
2. Direction: Output (selling) or Input (buying — claims ITC).
3. Tick Inter-state (IGST) if the supply crosses states; leave it off for intra-state (CGST + SGST).
4. Enter the taxable base and pick the GST rate (0 / 0.1 / 3 / 5 / 12 / 18 / 28%).
5. Pick the party ledger and the Sales/Expense ledger, then pre-fill.

Worked example — intra-state sale of ₹1,00,000 + 18% GST:

Dr  Customer (Sundry Debtors)       1,18,000
Cr      Sales                          1,00,000
Cr      Output CGST @9%                    9,000
Cr      Output SGST @9%                    9,000

Raya splits CGST/SGST 50/50 automatically and stamps the GST treatment so the figures land in GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B.

RCM Quick-fill (purple)

For purchases where you pay the GST directly to the government — GTA freight, legal fees, security services, import of services (§9(3)/9(4)).

1. Click RCM Quick-fill and pick the scenario (GTA freight, Security, Advocate, Import of services, or Custom) — the default rate fills in.
2. Choose inter-/intra-state, enter the taxable amount and rate.
3. Pick the Expense ledger and the Bank/Vendor ledger, then pre-fill.

Worked example — GTA freight of ₹10,000 @5% intra-state:

Dr  Freight (Expense)                10,000
Dr  Input CGST @2.5% (ITC)              250
Dr  Input SGST @2.5% (ITC)              250
Cr      GTA Vendor / Bank               10,000
Cr      Output CGST (RCM) @2.5%            250
Cr      Output SGST (RCM) @2.5%            250

Raya auto-wires both sides — the input ITC legs and the RCM output-liability legs — so the entry appears in GSTR-3B Table 3.1(d) with the ITC in Table 4, without double-counting.

TDS Quick-fill (orange)

For payments where TDS is deducted (you paying a vendor) or withheld from you (a customer paying you). See the dedicated TDS guide for the full mechanics.

1. Click TDS Quick-fill and set Direction — Deducted by us or Withheld from us.
2. Pick the TDS Section (194C / 194H / 194I / 194J / 194A / 194Q…) — the default rate fills in.
3. Enter the gross base and rate, pick the party and Bank/Cash ledgers.

Worked example — professional fee of ₹1,00,000, §194J @10% deducted by us:

Dr  Professional Fees               1,00,000
Cr      TDS Payable (194J)                10,000
Cr      Bank                              90,000

The section code is stamped on the entry, so a Form 26Q deduction log is created when you post.

Collecting TCS on a sale (§206C(1H))

1. Create the Sales entry (or use GST Quick-fill for the goods part).
2. Add a line crediting TCS Payable for the TCS amount, and increase the customer Debit by the same amount.
3. In Advanced → TDS Section, choose 206C(1H) — it flows to Form 27EQ.

Advances

Advance received from a customer (with GST)

When a customer pays before you invoice, GST is due on the advance.

1. Start a Receipt, pick the customer, and tick "This is an advance receipt."
2. Enter the GST rate on advance (%) (e.g. 18) — Raya treats the receipt as GST-inclusive and books the GST-on-advance automatically.

Worked example — ₹1,18,000 advance at 18% GST-inclusive:

Dr  Bank                             1,18,000
Cr      Advance from Customer           1,00,000
Cr      Output GST on Advance @18%         18,000

It reports in GSTR-1 Table 11A; when you later raise the invoice, Raya offers to adjust the advance (Table 11B).

Advance paid to a vendor

Start a Payment, pick the vendor: Dr Advance to Vendor / Cr Bank. The advance sits on the party record until you allocate it against a future bill.

Bill-wise allocation & settlement

On a Receipt or Payment for a party with open bills, an allocation table appears so the payment reduces the right invoice.

1. Click Auto-allocate FIFO (oldest bills first), or type the amount against each bill.
2. Any unallocated amount is kept as an advance / on-account balance on the party automatically.
3. The live counter shows Voucher · Allocated · Residual. Save.

Worked example — a customer pays ₹50,000 against two open invoices (₹30,000 and ₹40,000). Allocate ₹30,000 to fully clear the first bill and ₹20,000 against the second; the second is left ₹20,000 open, and the customer's residual is nil.

Credit & Debit notes

• Credit Note — customer returns goods or you reduce their invoice. Reverses the sale using the same GST treatment as the original; reports in GSTR-1 CDNR.

  Dr  Sales                           20,000
  Dr  Output GST @18%                  3,600
  Cr      Customer (Sundry Debtors)       23,600

• Debit Note — you return goods to a supplier or reduce their bill. Mirrors the original purchase.

  Dr  Vendor (Sundry Creditors)       11,800
  Cr      Purchases                       10,000
  Cr      Input GST @18%                   1,800

Correcting a posted voucher

Posted vouchers are immutable so the audit trail can't be quietly changed. You never delete a posted voucher — you reverse it. Pick the method by what you need to preserve.

Action	When to use	What happens
Edit & Correct (orange)	Ordinary fix to a posted voucher	Re-balances the ledger and writes an audit-trail entry (who / when / before / after). Blocked if the period is hard-closed.
Amend (Sales/Purchase/CN/DN)	The buyer needs the original bill number preserved on the GST return	The original is reversed and a new amendment voucher posts, linked back — shows under GSTR-1 Table 9A (B2B amendments).
Reverse	Cancel an entry entirely	Raya posts an equal-and-opposite mirror so everything nets to zero in the books and returns. The original stays visible, linked to its reversal.

:::note Locked periods Once a period is closed, backdated postings before the lock date are blocked. Post the correction in the current open period instead. :::

Tips & shortcuts

• Ctrl + Enter saves the voucher.
• Type an unknown account name in a line and pick ＋ Create to add a ledger inline.
• A red border on a line warns that the GST account clashes with the chosen GST treatment — fix it before saving.
• Attach the bill/invoice/receipt (PDF/image) in the right-hand panel before saving.
• Use the Quick-fill buttons for anything with GST or TDS — they prevent the most common posting mistakes.

Cheat sheet

You want to…	Voucher	Easiest path
Raise a GST invoice	Sales	GST Quick-fill (Output)
Record a GST purchase bill	Purchase	GST Quick-fill (Input)
Pay rent/fees with TDS	Payment	TDS Quick-fill (Deducted by us)
Book reverse-charge freight	Journal / Purchase	RCM Quick-fill
Take an advance with GST	Receipt	Tick "advance receipt" + rate
Settle customer invoices	Receipt	Bill allocation table
Collect TCS on a sale	Sales	Add TCS line + §206C(1H)
Return goods to a supplier	Debit Note	Mirror the original purchase
Move cash to bank	Contra	Dr Bank, Cr Cash
Depreciation / provision	Journal	Manual Dr/Cr
Fix a posted voucher	(open it)	Edit & Correct, or Amend for 9A

If you're ever unsure of the debit/credit side, start a Quick-fill wizard — the live preview shows the exact entries before anything posts.

Related

• TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) — sections, thresholds and Form 26Q.
• Chart of Accounts — the ledgers these entries post to.
• GST, e-Invoice & e-Way Bill — how vouchers feed the returns.
• GST & compliance overview
• Purchase Orders — where Purchase and Payment vouchers originate.