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Customise invoices, estimates, and sales receipts in QuickBooks Online

SOLVED•by QuickBooks•1120•Updated 1 week ago

Learn how to personalise and add specific info to your sales forms.

QuickBooks Online gives you the tools to create attractive, professional-looking invoices, estimates, and sales receipts.

Customising the appearance and layout of sales forms is a simple yet effective way to enhance your business' communications. You don’t need to be a designer to make eye-catching forms. And you get to decide what info your customers see and only add the info that matters most to your business. Here's how to customise sales forms in QuickBooks Online.

Customisation steps are slightly different for different editions of QuickBooks Online. Follow the steps for your edition.

Create customised templates for your invoices, estimates, and sales receipts. You can also save multiple templates for each type, choose a default, or switch between them.

Important: The "Standard" default template represents all your forms. If you make any edits to this template, QuickBooks will apply them to all your forms. If you want to customise a specific form, create a new template for that form first. After you apply customisations to the new template, make it the default template to reflect the changes.

Step 1: Create a new template

  1. Go to Settings ⚙ and then select Custom form styles.
  2. Select New style.
  3. Select a sales form type you want to create a template for.

Step 2: Customise the appearance

Let's start with the layout. You'll see a preview of changes as you make them.

  1. Select the Design tab.
  2. Give your template a name.
  3. Select Change up the template to choose a layout. These layouts are fixed. We recommend using the Airy new.
    Note: If you plan to use Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) or create progress invoices, you have to use the Airy new design.
  4. Select Make logo edits to upload a new logo. You can then select the size out of the three options offered: S, M, or L as well as change the placement of the logo.
  5. Select and pick a colour scheme. You can enter a HEX code (the six-digit combination of numbers and letters for a colour) for a truly custom colour.
  6. Select Select a different font to change the font and size.
  7. Select Edit print settings to adjust the margins. This is important if you send printed forms to your customers.

Step 3: Customise the info on your forms

There are several options for customising the details of your forms. We won't cover them all, but here’s how to get started and a few tips for each section of the form:

  1. Select the Content tab.
  2. Select the header, table, or footer on the sample form to start editing that section. You’ll edit each section separately. 
  3. Select the ticks next to the fields you want to display on your form. Then select a different section (header, table, or footer) on the sample form to customise it.
  4. Whenever you're ready to save your changes, select Done.

Learn more about some customisation options for the header, table, and footer:

Select the header section to customise what displays. Here are some things to keep in mind while customising the header:

  • When you select a checkbox, a preview displays on the sample form. 
  • Your company info automatically appears in sales form headers. Use the check boxes to add or remove what your customers see. You can also update the text fields to edit what displays.
  • Check the Form numbers checkbox to have QuickBooks add invoice or estimate numbers to your form. 
  • You can add custom fields to your form. Here's how:
    • In the Header section, select Manage custom fields.
    • In Custom fields, select Add field.
    • Enter the name of field, and select All Sales forms.
    • Turn on Print on form so it appears in your form's header.
    • Select Save.

Note:

  • You can add up to three custom fields for sales forms.
  • If you are a VAT-registered entity, you can't remove the VAT registration number field.

Select the table section to customise it. Here are some things to keep in mind while customising the table:

  • When you select a checkbox, a preview displays on the sample form. 
  • You can choose how you want to display your description, quantities, and rates: 
    • To display separate columns for item descriptions, quantities, and rates, select the Description, Quantity, and Rate checkboxes.
    • Or include the item description in the Activity column by selecting the Product/Service checkbox and then the Include description here checkbox. 
    • Or select the Description checkbox and then Include Quantity and Rate. 
  • To reorder the columns, drag a grid icon to a new place on the list. 
  • To change the column name or size, you must select Edit labels and widths and then:
    • Change the column names by editing the text fields.
    • Adjust the width by moving the sliders.

The Show more activity options section contains the following options, depending on the form style (Invoice, Estimate or sales receipt) that you select:

  • Group activity by - with the option to select Day, Week, Month, and Type.
  • Collapse activity rows - Combine rows that have the same rate and description. Omits dates.
  • Show progress on line items (email only).
  • Show markup on billable expenses.
  • Show billable time - with 2 more options when selected:
    • Include employee name
    • Include hours and rate
  • Show tax inclusive amounts - This shows the VAT-inclusive amount on the print previews and on the invoices sent to customers.
  • Show tax type indicators - This shows T, ST, and VAT where appropriate in the tax column.

Select the footer section to customise what displays on your footer. Here are things to keep in mind as you customise the footer:

  • When you select a checkbox, a preview displays on the sample form. 
  • Select the Discount checkbox if you're offering a discount and want it to display on the form.
  • You can customise a message to your customer and add text to the footer of the form. Just fill out the message and footer fields. Then choose the font size and/or placement with the dropdown ▼ fields.

Step 4: Personalise your email message

Make things personal by changing the message customers see when they get their estimate, invoice, or sales receipt. If you want to use QuickBooks default messaging, you can skip this.

  1. Select the Emails tab. 
  2. Choose if you want to display full details or a summary by selecting Full details or Summarised details. 
  3. If you’d like to attach a PDF with a full pricing breakdown, select the PDF Attached checkbox. 
  4. Change the subject line, greeting, and message body by entering your customised text. Note: QuickBooks doesn't show shortened URLs when you send emails to customers.

Step 5: Select and use a template for invoices, sales receipts, or estimates

QuickBooks uses your default template each time you make a new invoice, sales receipt, or estimate. You can select a specific template for specific transactions directly from the form:

  1. Create or open an existing invoice, sales receipt, or estimate.
  2. Select Customise in the footer.
  3. Select a custom template from the list.

Step 6: Set a default custom template

QuickBooks uses the first custom template you create as your default for invoices, sales receipts, and estimates. To set another custom templates as the default:

  1. Go to Settings ⚙ and then select Custom form styles.
  2. Find your template.
  3. Select the ▼ in the Action column.
  4. Select Make default.

Step 7: Edit custom templates

To manage your custom templates:

  1. Select Settings ⚙ and then Custom form styles.
  2. Find your custom or standard template.
  3. Select Edit in the Action column.

Once you have created and saved your template, you can use it to create a new invoice. Here's how:

  1. Select + New, then select Invoice.
  2. Select Customise.
  3. Select your new template, fill in the details in your invoice, then select Save.

In QuickBooks Simple Start, you can create multiple invoice templates. You can customise invoices, but not other types of sales forms. All the tools you need to customise invoices are on the form itself:

  1. Create or open an invoice.
  2. Select Settings ⚙ on the Invoice form.
  3. On the Choose what you use panel, select Change what your customers see, and decide what company info you want customers to see. You can select company info from the Content section.
  4. When you're done customising, select Done.

Customise the details

You can add fields, change the colour scheme, and enable payments on invoices. Here are just a few things you can do:

  1. Create or open an invoice.
  2. Select Settings ⚙ on the Invoice form. On the Choose what you use panel, select Change what your customers see to decide what company info you want your customers to see.
  3. Select the Content section.
  4. Under Forms, select the Form numbers.
  5. Under Display, select or clear Terms, Shipping, or Due Date checkboxes to add or remove these fields in the form.
  6. Select the Design section to change the colours, font, and logo.
    Tip: You can enter a hex code in the Colour field if you want a truly customised colour.
  7. Select the Emails section. Personalise the message your customers see when they receive their invoice.

When you're done customising, select Done to close the customisation window. Then finish your invoice.

To import your own customised invoice or estimate templates, follow this step-by-step guide which will show you how to import your template, and provide answers to FAQs in regards to importing.

You can customise your invoices, estimates, and sales receipts in QuickBooks Online. It is not possible to customise purchase orders, payment receipts, or bills.

To add your bank details at the bottom of your sales invoice, follow these steps:

  1. Select the Settings ⚙ icon, then select Custom form styles.
  2. Create a new style or edit your current form style.
  3. Select the Content tab, then select the footer section of the form.
  4. Enter your payment details in the Your payment details field.
  5. Select Done.

This article explains the guidelines and requirements for uploading logos (such as the format and size), plus troubleshooting steps to solve common errors.

To change the date or number format, follow the steps below:

  1. Go to Settings ⚙ and select Account and settings.
  2. Go to Advanced.
  3. Select the pencil icon in the Other preferences section, then select the date or number format that you want to use.
  4. Select Save, then Done.

The date and number format will apply on new form styles.

Use the Custom transaction numbers feature to set your own numbering preference. This adds an Invoice no. field where you can enter any number or letter format you want.

  1. Go to Settings ⚙ and select Account and settings.
  2. Select Sales, then select anywhere within the Sales form content section.
  3. Turn on Custom transaction numbers.
  4. Select Save and then Done.

Open an invoice or any sales form, and in the Invoice no. field, enter the custom number or letter sequence you want to use for your forms.
Note: The sequence you set here applies to all sales forms.

For more information on using custom transaction numbers, click here.

At this time, it is not possible to modify the font size and retire bold. We recommend importing your own custom template to allow more flexibility with invoice designs.

You can’t add a new column in QuickBooks, however, you can edit and rename an existing column when customising a template. All you need to do is:

  1. Go to Settings ⚙ and select Custom form styles.
  2. Create a New style, or choose an existing form you wish to edit.
  3. In the Content tab, select the table section of the template.
  4. Select EDIT LABELS AND WIDTHS.
  5. Enter the new name of the column in the field.
  6. Select Done.

If you need to add a PO number to an invoice, you can manually enter it in the Content tab as either a:

  • Custom field in the header section. Note: Select anywhere within the header section, then select Manage custom fields and follow the steps to add a custom field to your invoice.
  • Message to customer on box in the footer section.
  • Add payment details and footer box in the footer section.

Unfortunately, at this time it is not possible to add a photo in each product/service line in QuickBooks.
We are always looking for ways to improve our current experience, so we strongly recommend leaving feedback on this by signing in to your QuickBooks account, selecting the Gear icon in the top right, and then Feedback.

VAT rates are pulled directly from the VAT settings in QuickBooks. If it isn't showing on the invoice, make sure to check the following:

  • Make sure VAT is enabled in settings
  • The box in the columns section of the contents tab in custom form styles is checked
  • Make sure that the VAT box is checked in the Content tab

This is due to Letterhead settings being applied. To check these settings, follow these steps:

  1. Go to Settings ⚙ and then select Custom form styles.
  2. Select Edit on the relevant template.
  3. Select the Design tab.
  4. Navigate to Edit print settings.
  5. Uncheck the Use letterhead paper setting if you need the information to show, then select Done.

Only the primary admin, company admin and accountants have the ability to change or customise invoices in QuickBooks.

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