Receipts are necessary whether you sell products or accept rent checks from tenants. If you take payments from customers or tenants and do not have a cash register that prints receipts, you can handwrite a stub out of a receipt book. The receipt serves as proof of the transaction for both parties if there is a dispute in the future. Your receipt book should have a duplicate for your records and a preprinted number that corresponds to the customer's copy.

Print the date of the transaction at the top of the receipt. Include your name or employee number, if applicable. If you are not using a preprinted receipt book, write a unique identifying number on both copies of the receipt.

Describe the item sold or services rendered in as much detail as possible. Include the name, quantity, item number and any other relevant information. Use a separate line of the receipt for each type of product or service. For a rent receipt, record the time period to which the rent is applied: "Rent, January 2013."

List the price of each item sold. Multiply the price by the quantity sold to find the total cost for each product or service. Write the result in the column to the right of the price.

Total the cost of all taxable items and list this number in the final column. Add the applicable sales tax and list the subtotal at the bottom. Add any charges that are not subject to sales tax, such as shipping and handling, to find the customer's grand total.

List the amount of the payment you received from the customer. Note whether the customer paid in cash or another method. Include details applicable to the payment method, such as a check number or the type of credit card. For security reasons, do not print the customer's entire credit or debit card number on the receipt. If this was only a partial payment, list the customer's remaining balance due at the bottom of the receipt.