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Deadwood Al
Level 6

Modify a screen

I'm confused on modifying screens and invoices or other documents. When I open a template, it shows me what the printed form will look like, but not the screen for creation of the printed document. What am I missing to see the screen image so I can modify that? 

 

The actual screen I see when entering an invoice doesn't look exactly like the image of the screen in the template. And I have looked at every template and don't see a match anywhere. It has to be me ... somebody slap me upside my head and point me in the right direction!  Thanks.

Solved
Best answer January 18, 2025

Best Answers
RCV
QuickBooks Team
QuickBooks Team

Modify a screen

Thanks for coming back and clarifying things to isolate the issue, Deadwood Al.

 

It sounds like there might be a bit of confusion or some overlapping settings that are causing the Terms field to appear unexpectedly. Here are the steps to troubleshoot and properly manage the Terms field in your QuickBooks Desktop invoice template:

 

  1. Go to Lists then Templates.
  2. Select the template you modified and click on Edit Template.
  3. Click on the Layout Designer button to see the detailed layout of your invoice template.
  4. Look for the Terms field in the layout. If it’s there, you can drag and drop it to your desired location. If it’s not visible in the layout designer, it might be managed from another settings area.

 

Once done, we can customize the data layout by clicking on Additional Customization with the invoice template open. Then, navigate to the Header, Columns, and Footer tabs to ensure that the Terms field is not selected in any unexpected sections. Once done, make sure only the fields you want visible are checked for both screen and print views.

 

If the same thing happens, we need to check the customized fields. Sometimes QuickBooks will inherit fields from other areas like customer profiles or item setup. Here's how: 

 

  1. Go to Customers and go to Customer Center.
  2. Select a customer and click Edit.
  3. Check if there is a default Term set and if there are any custom fields created that display by default in transactions.
  4. Check the template settings by going to Edit in the top menu and choose Preferences.
  5. Tap Sales & Customers and go to the Company Preferences tab. Then, verify if any default settings automatically add terms to your templates.

 

After making all the required changes, save the template. When creating a new invoice, please select your modified template from the template drop-down to apply the recent changes. To learn more about this one, check out this article: Use and customize form templates.

 

For future reference, refer to this article for running reports to track sales and expenses: Customize customer, job, and sales reports.

 

The Community always has your back if you have other questions about customizing sales forms or any QuickBooks Desktop concerns. We'll be around to help, Deadwood Al.

View solution in original post

3 Comments 3
KiazzymaeC
QuickBooks Team

Modify a screen

Thank you for reaching out, @Deadwood Al.

 

To provide further clarity, it's important to understand the difference between the Invoice creation page and the final printed document in QuickBooks. The Invoice creation page is all about making it easy and straightforward for you to enter and organize your invoice data. This page might not look exactly like the final printed invoice, but it's designed with simplicity and ease of use in mind. 

 

This approach also allows you to focus on entering data without being distracted by formatting issues during the creation phase, knowing that the output will adhere to your selected template’s specifications. However, even though there are visual differences between the invoice creation interface and the final template, all the information you input during the creation process will accurately reflect to the printed document. 

 

To ensure your invoices reflect your brand’s visual style, QuickBooks provides a selection of templates that you can personalize according to your preferences. Feel free to explore this article : Use and customize form templates. Please note that any adjustments you make will be applied to how your invoice appears when it's both printed and previewed. Enjoy customizing your templates to perfectly represent your brand!

 

After the customer paid the invoice, you can then take and process payments in QuickBooks Desktop.

 

If you have any more questions about your invoice templates, feel free to drop us a message right here. I'm here to help you out!

Deadwood Al
Level 6

Modify a screen

I obviously wasn't clear in my first submission:  I am familiar with working with some templates, but the problem I am having is this: I modified a template to ad a field for Sales Rep on the input screen and on the printed invoice. The template shows the field added, no problem. However, when I create an invoice, the screen shows a field for Terms in addition to the Sales Rep ... but the template did NOT show the Terms field at all. Now since the template doesn't show the Terms field, I'm not sure how to move the Terms field to a different location. I imagine I could delete it by unchecking the mark in the screen column, but I don't want to delete it I just want to move it ... but the template doesn't show that it exists in the area of the form on the template.

 

I hope that is clear enough to get a meaningful answer instead of the rudimentary explanation that must have assumed I knew nothing about working with templates.  Or, well ... maybe I don't?

RCV
QuickBooks Team
QuickBooks Team

Modify a screen

Thanks for coming back and clarifying things to isolate the issue, Deadwood Al.

 

It sounds like there might be a bit of confusion or some overlapping settings that are causing the Terms field to appear unexpectedly. Here are the steps to troubleshoot and properly manage the Terms field in your QuickBooks Desktop invoice template:

 

  1. Go to Lists then Templates.
  2. Select the template you modified and click on Edit Template.
  3. Click on the Layout Designer button to see the detailed layout of your invoice template.
  4. Look for the Terms field in the layout. If it’s there, you can drag and drop it to your desired location. If it’s not visible in the layout designer, it might be managed from another settings area.

 

Once done, we can customize the data layout by clicking on Additional Customization with the invoice template open. Then, navigate to the Header, Columns, and Footer tabs to ensure that the Terms field is not selected in any unexpected sections. Once done, make sure only the fields you want visible are checked for both screen and print views.

 

If the same thing happens, we need to check the customized fields. Sometimes QuickBooks will inherit fields from other areas like customer profiles or item setup. Here's how: 

 

  1. Go to Customers and go to Customer Center.
  2. Select a customer and click Edit.
  3. Check if there is a default Term set and if there are any custom fields created that display by default in transactions.
  4. Check the template settings by going to Edit in the top menu and choose Preferences.
  5. Tap Sales & Customers and go to the Company Preferences tab. Then, verify if any default settings automatically add terms to your templates.

 

After making all the required changes, save the template. When creating a new invoice, please select your modified template from the template drop-down to apply the recent changes. To learn more about this one, check out this article: Use and customize form templates.

 

For future reference, refer to this article for running reports to track sales and expenses: Customize customer, job, and sales reports.

 

The Community always has your back if you have other questions about customizing sales forms or any QuickBooks Desktop concerns. We'll be around to help, Deadwood Al.

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