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michelemck
Level 1

customised invoices

I am experimenting with QuickBooks Self-Employed.  There's lots about it that seems very useful but I can't seem to customise the invoices I send out to a satisfactory degree.  Is there a way of importing my own preferred format?    And my other question is in relation to automatic invoicing - I was hoping I would be able to set this up in connection with a calendar, to save time.  Completing an invoice with the current software is almost as time consuming as doing it all by hand.  Is there another type of QuickBooks software that does this automatically?  I am self-employed, sole trader, don't have payroll or anything like that, so didn't need some of the more complex stuff.  But invoicing is the real time drainer.  Thanks, Community !

Solved
Best answer October 11, 2020

Accepted Solutions
MaryAnn_E
QuickBooks Team

customised invoices

Hello there, @michelemck.
 

QuickBooks Self-Employed works a little different compared to other versions. The Invoicing feature, for instance, is mainly used to create invoices, send them out to your clients, and collect payments. Please take note that QBSE will only count your income based on the categorized transactions in the Transactions tab.

 

 

Concerning your second question, setting up invoices in connection with your calendar is unavailable. You would need to manually create each individual invoice within the Self-Employed product. 

 

 

Let me share with you this guide article for more details: Easy Invoicing In QuickBooks Self-Employed.

 

 

For the Self-Employed version and want to import transactions, I recommend importing them as CSV files. I'm also adding the support articles I recommend on this:

 

 

I'd be delighted to get back if you have follow-up questions. Have a great day!

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10 REPLIES 10
MaryAnn_E
QuickBooks Team

customised invoices

Hello there, @michelemck.
 

QuickBooks Self-Employed works a little different compared to other versions. The Invoicing feature, for instance, is mainly used to create invoices, send them out to your clients, and collect payments. Please take note that QBSE will only count your income based on the categorized transactions in the Transactions tab.

 

 

Concerning your second question, setting up invoices in connection with your calendar is unavailable. You would need to manually create each individual invoice within the Self-Employed product. 

 

 

Let me share with you this guide article for more details: Easy Invoicing In QuickBooks Self-Employed.

 

 

For the Self-Employed version and want to import transactions, I recommend importing them as CSV files. I'm also adding the support articles I recommend on this:

 

 

I'd be delighted to get back if you have follow-up questions. Have a great day!

michelemck
Level 1

customised invoices

Hi MaryAnn

 

Thank you very much for your reply.  Can you tell me, are there any other Quickbooks products that offer these other services - ie ability to import an invoice template and some sort of automatic invoicing system attached to a calendar?

 

Best regards,

 

Michele

Rejeil_O
QuickBooks Team

customised invoices

Hello there, @michelemck.

 

You can switch your QuickBooks to QuickBooks Online. This way, you will be able to import your customize invoice template. Also, you can set up a Google calendar to imports your calendar events to your invoices so you can bill for your work.

 

Let me walk you through the steps on how to import your invoice template in QuickBooks Online:

 

 Step 1: Turn on the import functionality in QuickBooks

 

  1. Go to the Gear icon.
  2. Under the Your Company column, select QuickBooks Lab.
  3. Click the switch under the Import Style section to turn on the feature.
  4. Hit the Done button to save.

 

Step 2: Prepare your invoice template in Microsoft Word

 

You can read this article to check on what do you need to prepare before importing your invoice template: Uploading invoice template to QuickBooks.

 

Step 3: Import your invoice template

 

  1. Click the Setting button.
  2. Select the Custom Form Styles tab.
  3. Choose Import Style under the New Style drop-down.
  4. Look for your file and hit Next to upload your document.

 

Step 4: Map the field of your invoice template

 

You can review each mapping and update them if needed once the import process is complete.

 

  1. To change the mapping, select the drop-down for the line you want to change and scroll through until you find the mapping you want.
  2. Click Next to see a preview of your invoice template.
  3. Select the Save button and type in a name of your new style.

 

For setting up your Google calendar in QuickBooks Online, you can follow these steps on how:

 

  1. Go to the Apps tab.
  2. Select Find Apps.
  3. Search for Invoice with Google Calendar, then click the App.
  4. Choose Get App Now.
  5. Follow the prompts to complete the process.

 

I've also an article to help you check the comparison between QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Self-Employed: QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Self-Employed comparison chart.

 

Please know that I'm always around here in the Community to help. Take care, and have a good day.

michelemck
Level 1

customised invoices

Hi there,

 

Thanks so much for your detailed message and instructions!  I'm just looking at the comparison page between QuickBooks Self Employed and the other options, via the link you sent me below.  It seems to have the following options (ie none of them is specifically called QuickBooks Online):

 

- Self-Employed 

- Essentials

- Plus

- Advanced

Could you let me know which one of these you meant?

 

Looking at all the different functionalities available I can't quite tell which ones relate to importing your own invoice template and linking invoice sending with an event in a calendar ! 

 

I can see:

'Set up automated recurring transactions' - "Handle expenses, invoices, or other events that happen regularly automatically in QuickBooks."  Which is maybe how you send invoices automatically?
 
But the 'create and send invoices' function is described as "Create, send, and track all your invoices in one place, so you know exactly which invoices have been paid, are pending or are overdue."  Which doesn't talk about importing your own format?
 
Sorry if I'm missing the obvious, I'm not very tech savvy!
 
Thanks again for your help!
 
Best, Michele
MadelynC
Moderator

customised invoices

I’m here to provide information that will surely clear things out for you, @michelemck.


The following options you’ve mentioned including QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE) are the same platform. Features and functionalities vary based on which type you’ve chosen. 


QBSE is designed for freelancers, independent contractors, and home-based entrepreneurs. It has the ability to import transactions, however, importing invoice template is unavailable. While QuickBooks Online has four versions, Simple Start, Essentials, Plus and Advanced that is more ahead features. 


All QBO versions can import a customized invoice template in the program. You can easily link the transactions and sent them with an event in a calendar. All you need to do is follow the instructions provided by my colleague Rejeil_O.


By setting up a recurring transaction, you can automate many types of events such as repetitive journal entries, invoices, Expense, Bill and Checks. QuickBooks memorize it for you, so you get a reminder every time it's due. That said, QuickBooks can automatically enter your memorized transactions to save time.


Here’s how to create a recurring template from scratch:

 

  1. Go to the Gear Icon. 
  2. Select Recurring Transactions.
  3. Click New
  4. Choose the type of transaction to create, and select OK.
  5. Enter a Template name. 
  6. Choose a Type — Scheduled, unscheduled or reminder.
  7. Enter the necessary information.
  8. Once done, select Save Template.


You can visit these links here to learn more on how to create and manage recurring transactions. It contains additional resources for the setup and how to troubleshoot them in case unexpected happens. 


QBO sales page has an Activity section where you’ll able to know the status of each event entered in the system. I’ve attached a screenshot for your visual reference:
Capture.PNG


I’ve also attached a comparison chart that breakdowns all feature available in each QBO version. This way, you can choose which of them works best for you and your business.

comparison.PNG


Please know that the Community is always here to lend a hand. Just give us a message, and we’ll take care of them for you. Have a great day.

Amit14
Level 1

customised invoices

Hi,

I am a self performed companies but my vendors are not salary based. My vendors generate invoices to me and as a client I need few statuses for their invoice.
Below are the statuses:
 Awaiting Invoice, Invoice Received, Invoice Approved, Invoice Rejected, Payment Pending, Paid, Partially Paid

Based on above statuses, my company clear the bills. 

How this can be handled in QB?

JoesemM
Moderator

customised invoices

Thank you for posting here in the Community, @Amit14.

 

QuickBooks Self-Employed can only track invoices for your customers, and there's no option to bill the vendors. QBSE is designed for freelancers, independent contractors, and home-based entrepreneurs. 

 

In your case, you can manually track the bills and record the expense directly on the Transaction page and categorise it correctly since your company already clear the bills.

 

Here's how:

 

  1. Go to the Transactions menu and click on the Add transaction button.
  2. Provide all the necessary information like the date, transaction description, amount, type, category, notes, and receipt.
  3. Click on Save.

 

If the bank account is connected to your QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE) account, just mark it as Business Income. 

 

Also, creating bills is only available in the Essentials and higher versions of QuickBooks Online. In case you want to explore the other versions, you can try our sample company test drive. The article I'm adding below will route you to the QuickBooks URLs: How to Test Drive QuickBooks Online.

 

In case you want to subscribe to the said accounts, I've got you a link that shows the comparison of these versions: Comparison chart.

 

The following article will show you how to add and categorize your transactions as well as Schedule C and expense categories available in QBSE:

 

 

If you also need to add your older transactions, refer to the following article on how to get transactions from your bank and import it successfully to your account: Add older transactions to QuickBooks Self-Employed. 

 

 

Please know that I'm only a post away if you need additional assistance. I'm always here to provide help and answer any questions that you may have. Wishing you and your business all the best, @Amit14.

Pepita
Level 1

customised invoices

I am trying to set up and import my own invoice template in QBO.  However, under Gear icon/Quickbooks Labs, I cannot locate the "Import Style" option.  Is the function switched off?  How can I upload my own invoice template? Thanks.

Charies_M
Moderator

customised invoices

You've reached the right place for help, Pepita.

 

The missing Import Style option in QuickBooks Online (QBO) can be resolved by performing some basic browser troubleshooting. There are times when a browser's cache data becomes full of frequently-accessed pages or damaged. When this happens, pages like accessing your report don't load properly.

 

As an initial step, let's access QBO using a private or incognito window. Kindly use either of the following shortcut keys:

  • Google Chrome: Ctrl + Shift + N
  • Mozilla Firefox: Ctrl + Shift + P
  • Safari: Command + Shift + N
  • Microsoft Edge: Ctrl + Shift + P

If you can, proceed to delete your browsing history to clear out the cache or data that's causing the issue. Use this article as a guide: Clear cache and cookies to fix issues when using QuickBooks Online. Otherwise, try using a different browser to be more thorough.

 

For more information about managing sales transactions like estimate, feel free to visit this article: Customise invoices, estimates, and sales receipts in QuickBooks Online.


Let me know if you require additional information about customising invoices. I'll be here to guide you further. Stay safe and take care!

Mark Armistead
Level 7

customised invoices

@Pepita Ignore the bot reply from Intuit or waste your time trying the copy and paste reply suggestions, it’s wrong. You may notice you’ve picked an old thread up from a few years ago. Intuit have since dropped custom templates. We are now stuck with their pretty basic templates. Don’t even ask if you can put your own logo on statements or purchase orders, because you can’t.

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