🧾 Receipt Maker, Build a Free Itemized Receipt Online

What is the Receipt Maker?

A receipt is a simple record of a sale: who sold something, what was bought, how much it cost, and how it was paid for. At its core a receipt is just arithmetic laid out in a readable column. Each line item has a quantity and a unit price, and the line total is quantity times price. Add the line totals together and you get the subtotal. Apply the tax rate to the subtotal and you get the tax amount. Add the two and you get the grand total. This tool does exactly that math for you and formats every figure to two decimal places with your chosen currency symbol.

The preview is styled to look like a paper register receipt, using a fixed-width monospace font so the item names line up on the left and the prices line up on the right, just like a real thermal printout. The store name is centered and capitalized at the top, followed by the address and the date and time. A divider separates the header from the items, another separates the items from the totals block, and the payment method and a thank you line close it out. Because the layout is built from plain text padded to a fixed width, it copies cleanly and prints predictably.

Tax is handled as a percentage of the subtotal, which is how most sales tax and VAT inclusive style receipts present it for a quick summary. If you set the tax rate to zero, the tax line simply shows a zero amount, which is useful for tax exempt items, informal IOUs, or places without sales tax. The quantity field accepts whole units, and the price field accepts cents, so you can record anything from a single coffee to a multi line grocery run. Empty rows, or rows without a name, are ignored so a half finished line never breaks the totals.

Everything runs locally with JavaScript, so the tool works offline once the page has loaded and none of your figures are uploaded or stored. The print button opens a clean, text only print view and triggers your browser print dialog, where you can save to PDF or send it to a real printer. The copy button puts the entire receipt on your clipboard as plain text, ready to drop into an email, a note, or an accounting spreadsheet.

When to use it

• Creating a quick proof of purchase for a private sale, a market stall, or a cash transaction between individuals.
• Generating a tidy itemized receipt to reimburse a colleague or split a shared expense with a clear breakdown.
• Producing a printable PDF receipt for petty cash, a small club, or a school or community fundraiser.
• Making sample or placeholder receipts for a mockup, a demo, or testing a checkout or expense workflow.
• Replacing a faded thermal receipt with a clean typed copy for your own records or an expense report.
• Drafting a simple service receipt for a freelancer, tutor, or handyman who needs a fast paper trail.

How to use the Receipt Maker

1. Fill in the store name, address, date and time, currency symbol, tax percent and payment method at the top.
2. Add each product or service as a line item with its name, quantity and unit price, using Add item for more rows.
3. Watch the thermal-style preview update live, with line totals, subtotal, tax and grand total calculated for you.
4. Press Print receipt to open the print dialog (save as PDF or print on paper), or Copy as text to grab it as plain text.

Formula & method

Worked examples

How each amount on the receipt is calculated

Tax amount on a $50.00 subtotal at common rates

Common mistakes to avoid

• Putting the price for all units in the price field. The price field is the unit price, the cost of one item. The tool multiplies it by the quantity for you. If three apples cost 1.50, enter quantity 3 and price 0.50, not quantity 3 and price 1.50.
• Expecting the tax to apply to a single line only. Tax here is a single rate applied to the whole subtotal, which matches a typical sales receipt summary. If different items need different tax rates, calculate them separately or split the sale into more than one receipt.
• Leaving a row with a price but no item name. Rows without a name are ignored on purpose so a half typed line does not skew the totals. If an item is missing from the receipt or the total looks low, check that every line you want counted has a name filled in.
• Treating this receipt as an official tax invoice. This is a plain itemized receipt, not a legally formatted tax invoice. For VAT invoices or anything your tax authority must accept, add the required fields such as a tax number and invoice id, and confirm the format with local rules.

Glossary

Line item

A single product or service on the receipt, with its own name, quantity and unit price.

Unit price

The price of one unit of an item, before multiplying by the quantity to get the line total.

Subtotal

The sum of every line total, before tax is added.

Tax rate

A percentage applied to the subtotal to work out the tax amount, such as a sales tax or VAT rate.

Grand total

The final amount due, equal to the subtotal plus the tax.

Thermal receipt

The narrow, monospace paper receipt printed by a register, the layout style this tool imitates.

Frequently asked questions