A credit ticket is a type of memo that is often used in bookkeeping and accounting to document some type of credit transaction. The use of the ticket aids in reconciling credit and debit transactions and keeping the accounting records up to date and accurate. Many banks and similar financial institutions utilize credit tickets as a means of tracking deposits to savings and checking accounts.
The combination use of a credit ticket and a debit ticket make the process of tracking the history of a given transaction much easier. When an account holder at a given bank chooses to deposit a check into his or her savings account, the bank documents this event by processing the check as a cash item and credits the amount to the depositor’s account. At the same time, a debit ticket is written as a record of the receipt of that check and the value of the instrument to the balance of the depositor’s account. Depending on the policies of the bank, that amount may not be available for use until the check has been honored by the issuing financial institution. Once confirmation is received that the deposited check is indeed good, the bank then issues a credit ticket and grants the depositor full access to those funds.
Companies sometimes use a credit ticket when crediting payments to customer accounts. As with banks, the accounts receivable of the recipient may issue a debit ticket as a means of acknowledging receipt of the payment, while refraining from actually applying that payment to the balance due until the payment clears the issuing financial institution. Once the payment clears, a credit ticket is used to balance the debit ticket and make it possible to deduct the amount of that payment from the customer’s outstanding balance. In some countries, the debit ticket is issued on what is known as the posting date, implying that the transaction took place when the payment was received in the mail. The credit ticket is issued on what is known as the application date, or the date that the payment is actually applied to the balance of the customer account.
The main benefit of the credit ticket is the ability to keep the history of transactions documented within the accounting records. At a glance, it is possible to determine if the originating bank has cleared a payment received, and if that payment has been properly applied to the right customer account. This documentation of the chain of events leading up to the application of the payment makes it much easier to review the series of events that occurred. This is especially helpful should there be any question regarding when a payment was received, how long it took for the payment to clear and when it was finally applied to the account balance.