Since the transaction of business began receipts or vouchers in some form have undoubtedly been used. Some form of acknowledgment of money paid has always occupied a place in business. But at first, receipts were not required--they were incidental; given as a matter of courtesy; a "thank you" in written form. When the first man, after paying his grocery bill, was forced to pay it a second time because the merchant had failed to mark his account "paid," he _demanded_ a receipt. He learned then and there that accounts, and those who keep them, are not infallible. He told his neighbors, and the custom of demanding receipts for money paid, came into being. The receipt was demanded as a matter of self-protection, to prevent the possibility of payment of an amount being successfully demanded a second time. But the receipt was not an integral part of the accounting records of a business; it might or might not be demanded without affecting the records. So long as business was conducted by single proprietors or small partnerships, this was satisfactory, since the receipt was not required as a record between partners. With the advent of joint-stock companies and corporations, came ownership by a large number of investors. Having their capital invested, these owners had a right to know what was being done with their property, and there came a demand for a more strict accounting of money and property entrusted to the care of the managers of the business. As business expanded and corporations grew in size and power, with wider spheres of activity, it became necessary to divide the operations of business concerns into departments, with corresponding divisions of authority. This meant the creation of a central authority to whom an accounting must be made by the departments or branches. Audits were introduced. Not only did stockholders want to know that the business was honestly conducted, but the managers demanded proof that property entrusted to subordinates was accounted for and that the accounts were accurate--that is, truthful. Not satisfied with the evidence offered by entries in account books, auditors asked for further proof of the payments recorded; they demanded receipts, _vouchers_. The voucher as used in modern accounting practice is then something more than a receipt for the payment of money; it is a proof that property has been administered as claimed by the accounting records. "A document which vouches the truth of accounts," =2. Use of Vouchers.= The most general use of the voucher still is as an acknowledgment of the payment of money. In fact, when we speak of a voucher it is usually understood to mean a receipt or acknowledgment of the payment of money for a specific purpose.