A security deposit receipt records that money was taken, how much, and on what terms it is held, and it is one of the few documents in a tenancy that several states require rather than merely recommend. It is also the cheapest insurance in the file, because the deposit is what most end-of-tenancy disputes are about. This page is what it records and when.
What it records
The amount, the date, the property and unit, the tenancy it relates to, and where and how the money is held. Where your state requires the depositing institution to be named or interest to be paid, that belongs on it too. The receipt is not merely an acknowledgement of money; it is the statement of the terms on which you hold somebody else's money.
Issue it at handover
At the moment the money changes hands, not when the lease is filed a week later. A receipt issued later is an acknowledgement reconstructed after the fact, and in states with a notice requirement the timing may itself be part of the obligation. Making it part of the handover routine, with the keys and the inventory, is what stops it being forgotten.
State requirements often attach here
Where the money must be held, whether it earns interest and at what rate, what the tenant must be told and by when, and the deadline and format for returning it with deductions. These vary considerably and several carry statutory penalties. The receipt is where several of those obligations are discharged, which is why a generic template is often not enough.
It pairs with the inventory
The receipt says what you hold; the inventory says what condition the property was in when you took it. Neither is much use without the other at the end of the tenancy, and both are produced in the same ten minutes at handover. A landlord who does both at move-in has already won most of the deposit arguments they will ever have.
Questions people ask about security deposit receipt
Is a deposit receipt legally required?
In several states yes, sometimes with specified content and timing. Even where it is not, issuing one is the cheapest protection available.
Does the receipt have to name the bank?
In some states yes. Check the rule where the property is, because it is a common and easily-met requirement.
What if the deposit is paid in instalments?
Issue a receipt for each payment showing the running total held, and say in the lease that the tenancy begins on the terms agreed rather than on the deposit being complete.