Due to Desktop being retired we are moving to Online. I find the Invoice Template editing features very basic and practically useless ! Is there an alternative ?

Explore an invoicing app for free.

https://go.zoho.com/FuW

then utilize a connector to duplicate transaction into your QBO

https://www.integromat.com/?pc=quickbooks

Hi @Electronics81 

After 2yrs, I still miss QB Desktop & regularly come across things that make me think that QBO is 'good enough' but not quite what it could/should be.

(rather like the navigation in these help forums which used to be OK but now almost impossible to identify/answer new questions)

You can create an invoice template in Word (as a .docx file) & import into QB.

It's much better than using the standard templates but does take a bit of work to get right.

This only works for invoices & estimates.  Nothing to be done if you want a professional looking delivery note unfortunately - nor statements, which are also ToyTown style.

It used to be under Quickbooks Labs - but it looks like it's now moved out of beta (after about 3yrs!)

Look for Import Style (under New Style) in Custom Forms.

From there you can download a few docx templates & the import guide - which gives you the field mappings.

Hope this helps.

Hi Paul72,

Thanks for the info but the problem is Import Style and Custom Forms do not exist !!

There are only the 6 built in style templates and thats it !

Amazing to think that Intuit think we can be forced away from Desktop due to them pulling it, to the Online version that doesn't even allow the user to create a form that looks anything like what they have in the Desktop version.

But thanks for the pointers but as I say .... these do not exist any more !

Cheers

Iain

@Electronics81 

Last option, consider migrating to another cloud based accounting app.

They do Iain - I'm using them.

(QB Essentials - the mid-level product)

They have moved though - as mentioned above.  They used to be in Quickbooks Labs but they've been brought into the basic product.

Click the Gear icon > under Your Company, click Custom Form Styles > top right click New Style, then Import Style

Paul72,

Sorry ... if I follow your instruction I get a drop down box with only ...

Invoice

Estimate

Sales Receipt

Definately no Import Style !

I am using Essentials .... just from about 2 weeks ago, I have read that the Custom Import Style has been removed from QBO since a few months ago ! Why I don't know.

Cheers

From another post ....

Reading through your previous post, it looks like you are just trying to enable this feature. From the information we got from our Notifications Team, any company files who did not enable Import Styles from QBLabs on or before 6/24/2021 will no longer be able to activate it.

Any existing QBO companies who enabled this feature before the said date are currently not affected and will continue to have access. The Import Styles feature was disabled for newly created companies, and there are plans to completely remove this from all QBO companies in the future.

Another sad example of QBO lack of performance capability when compared to the number 1 piece of software on the market - QB desktop. I am still struggling to understand why Intuit is retiring such a wonderful piece of software and exchanging for a weaker substitute. Please Intuit reconsider and keep QBD alive! Happy to cooperate with anything you need to make this happen.

I am struggling to understand why QBO have decided to remove the custom invoice template feature from the on-line version of Quickbooks. The in built facility is inflexible and cannot cope with a business (like one of my clients) that trades with two different trading names and addresses - in the past, I was able to create a custom invoice for each - now I cannot do that any more. Furthermore, QBO assume their invoice fields are all that you need to appear on an invoice - my clients sometimes have other items they'd like to appear on an invoice and QBO offers me no facility to adjust. If the developers argument is that the databases that store our info in the background can only cope with a certain number of fields (I get that), then all they need to do is to allow us to rename or remap fields so we have at least some flexibility. And changing styles and layouts (multiple logos etc....) shouldn't make any difference to all that. For a business that is supposed to me making it easy for customers, this is just the opposite and I hope QBO will remedy this soon.  

I completely agree and have made my comments on this previously.

If we are forced to switch from Desktop to On-line we should get all the same facilities at the VERY LEast

Iain