Misery loves company, eh? I'm glad I'm not the only one having this issue and thankful I've only been dealing with this for the past month...

We were using QB Enterprise and switched to QBO, biggest mistake of my life. Every single thing that I have an issue with (and honestly 90% of the issues has to do with customers/estimates/billing) QB says the same thing you've seen repeated here from every official response. 'Sorry, that isn't possible', 'we're working on fixing that', or 'here is a work around', which takes 10 times longer than if you were just able to do it the regular way to begin with, or the work around looks terrible. With the other QB products available I am surprised this one is so cumbersome and limiting. In my 30 year career I have never had a conversion go so completely off the tracks and dislike an accounting program as much as I do QuickBooks Online. 

As others have stated the template invoices do not work because even though they are customizable, they are severally limited as to what you can customize, include or exclude. And don't get me started on where the PAID stamp prints... over the description... so you can't read what is behind it. I know we aren't the only company that has to either print a duplicate paid copy of an invoice for a customer (crazy thing, they like to be able to read the description even if they have paid) or we've provided a service at no charge and want to show the customer what we did, so they really haven't 'paid' for services, we don't need the PAID stamp mucking things up.

And please don't bother telling me to contact customer support and get my information added to the list for updates, I've seen the instructions a few dozen times in the above responses...

Hello there, accountingcaliber.

I appreciate you for sharing your thoughts and experience with us. Please know that we are taking note of your preference in customizing invoice templates in QuickBooks Online (QBO). 

For now, I encourage you check out our QuickBooks Blog to be updated to the most recent feature enhancements made in QBO.

Also, here are some of our great resources like video tutorials, articles and webinars to be more familiar with QBO's features and function:

• All QuickBooks Tutorials.​
• QuickBooks Webinars.
• Help Articles 

There you have it. If I can be of help with something else, please don't hesitate to get back to me. I'm always happy to assist.​

Very worthwhile contributions there for the next release of QBO Bingo. Lots of lines of actually no info of any use whatsoever. 

Charies, you say you are taking note. Could you do us a favour and just summarise all of the feature requests that have been noted in the past 3 months? Just so we know you guys aren’t making this up as we all suspect you are?

As suspected... another bot!! :smileylol:

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@JulianC wrote:

Thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns here. This is certainly not the experience we want you to have. Here are some additional details and a solution to use your imported/uploaded invoice template.

 

This concern is caused by a limitation in Progress Invoicing. The best way to fix this is by turning off the Progress Invoicing setting. After that, your imported (custom) invoice will display when converting an estimate to an invoice.

 

The Progress Invoicing setting can be turned off using the following steps:

 

Within QuickBooks Online > Select the Gear Icon > Accounts and Settings > Sales > Progress Invoicing > Uncheck box > Save

 

 

What is Progress Invoicing?

Progress Invoicing (Progress Billing) allows you to create multiple invoices from an estimate so you can keep track of the progress of a particular job.

 

Why doesn’t my imported form display when I convert an Estimate to an Invoice?

The System Template (Airy new) is the only template compatible with Progress Invoicing at this time. This template can be customized to display the progression of invoices and provide key information, such as Estimate Summary and the Due column. This level of detail is not available on imported invoices.

 

What if I do not bill in progression or use Progress Invoicing?

You can simply turn off the Progress Invoicing and your imported invoice will display when estimates are converted to invoices.

 

What if I use Progress Invoicing and an imported invoice?

Imported invoices are not compatible with Progress Invoicing at this time. For the best experience, please utilize the Airy new template, as the level of detail needed will display using this template.

 

We are always looking for ways to improve our products and services and your feedback has been shared with our product teams. Short term, please use the solution provided above. I will circle back with this thread once we have finalized a solution to use imported/uploaded invoice templates with progress invoicing.

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Now We Know why it would not convert an Estimate to an Invoice.

It's because of product innovation like Progress Invoicing. With the introduction of Progress Invoicing feature, Intuit has mentioned this (twice in fact) as one of the reasons why they had to increase price increase from $40 on Plus plan to $70 per month.

It proofs one thing, Intuit as a software company, they obviously don't do their new product software validation test that good. Otherwise, they would have caught this GLITCH before the final product release. 

Now What?...

And the ONE template you can use with progress billing is ugly, limiting, doesn't print all the information and still has to be edited in Adobe in order to get all the information on the invoice in the correct area. Which is why most people end up creating their own, you know, to give their customers ALL the important information they need to know so they can pay the bill, and, now wait, sit down, here's a crazy thought... to make their lives easier AND SAVE TIME by simply pushing a button to print an invoice with correct data on it to send to their customers so they can get paid and turn around and pay the monthly subscription to QuickBooks for such an amazing product (that was sarcasm if you missed it).

And honestly, even what you can create using their 'custom' import is so extremely limiting and fussy it has taken me hours to create and adjust it so that it will print what it is supposed to look like based on a professional looking invoice that is lined up. Get it perfect in Word, import, columns/rows printing off. Back to Word. Adjustments. Import. Closer. Continue for about 20 more times, then print an invoice. Oh look! It doesn't print correct, back to Word for more adjustments.

Hello accountingcaliber,

I know this wasn't an easy process for you. Let me help and get you back to running your business.

The sales forms in QuickBooks Online (QBO) are designed to be customized the way you want it to be. You can import custom form style from Word.

Here's how:

To enable Import Style in QuickBooks Labs:

1. First, click the Gear icon, then choose QuickBooks Labs.
2. Turn on Import Style.
3. Hit Done.

To import a custom template into QBO:

1. Select the Gear icon, then Custom Form Styles.
2. Click the New Style drop-down and choose Import Style.
3. Choose Browse and select the template file.
4. Select Next to upload your document.

For additional information, take a look at this article: Import custom form styles.

I'd like to make sure that you're able to resolve this concern, so please let me know how that works or if you need anything else. Best regards.

I know, that is what I have done, created my own custom templates, but it isn't a simple process, and the information we are able to include is limiting, and it doesn't work when you have progress billing. Which myself and everyone else on this thread needs in order to keep our businesses running efficiently.

Hi there, accountingcaliber.

Thank you for posting here in the QuickBooks Community.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I know that, this option would be benificial to your business. QuickBooks Online is continously working to develop our product.

For now, you can visit our QuickBooks Online Blog to check our latest news and updates.

Please check out this article to watch tutorials for you to be more familiar with QBO's features: All QuickBooks Tutorials.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help you succeed with QuickBooks. 

Thanks for joining these thread, @guyiac.

Let's try to delete and recreate your custom template. Then, make sure to choose the template you've created.

If you get the same results, then let's try basic browser troubleshooting steps to check if the problem is browser related. Let's start accessing your account via a private browser or incognito. Here's how:

• Google Chrome: Ctrl + Shift + N
• Mozilla Firefox: Ctrl + Shift + P
• Internet Explorer: Ctrl + Shift + P
• Safari: Command + Shift + N

If it works, then we need to clear your browser's cache to optimized your browser performance.

If the same thing happens, I recommend using another supported browser.

Also, I'm attaching these great resources that can help guide you in your future task:

• How to create a recurring invoice and manage recurring transactions
• Create templates for recurring transactions
• How to set up a recurring invoice for customers

Please leave a comment below if you have other concerns or questions. I'll be around to help you. Have a great day!

Hey Guyiac

Probably best off ignoring support given their current track record. Their advice will almost certainly be:-

1) Try a different browser/private mode

2) links to other help files

3) ‘we’ll create a feature request’ and consider that the end.

For your issue, definitely for the foreseeable future leave ‘progress invoicing’ turned off as that 100% will not work. I do have it on good authority though that progress is genuinely being made in getting to the bottom of this problem.

Your issue is likely with your template. 

When you initially create your custom template within the custom template creator, are you able to generate a PDF in there showing a rough example of what it is going to look like, or do you get a download or embedded PDF which won’t load or is corrupted? You MUST be able to preview it from within the custom form editor or it won’t work elsewhere. Examples of failures include a weird download when you click to preview (which probably won’t have an extension and even if you force it to open in your desired PDF viewer, still won’t open), or a broken link icon in your embedded PDF window.

Feel free to attach the .doc invoice template file to a post and I’m happy to check it over for you.

Cheers

I recently activated progress invoicing as this has been a long awaiting much needed feature. In doing so, this has erased all my previous form styles back to default! If I deactive progress invoicing it does not revert my form styles back to the state they were in! I have spent hours trying to customise the form styles back to where they were before without success! The layout options seem to have changed and do not allow me to customise certain text sizes and colours. On top of this, the preview does not match the invoice print outs in that certain fields shift to the other side of the page!

How can I get back to my previous Form Styles? This is rediculous!

Hi there, ImagoVisual.

It seems that this is a duplicate post and has been answered by my colleague @AdrianRose_A. You can check this link for reference: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/community/Other-questions/Custom-Forms-Not-Working/m-p/340846#M24276.

We're always here if you have other concerns about QuickBooks.

FYI - yes it is a duplicate post... both this post and the one you sent a link to were created in March of 2019 (putting the year in there so when someone is looking back next year they will understand how long it has been going on...) So obviously, the problem still is not fixed... and at this point I don't think anyone believes it will be.

---

@Kari_G wrote:

Thank you for your patience while we worked on resolving this. We released an update to address your feedback. 

 

Prior to this change, any time an Estimate was converted to an Invoice (with progress invoice setting on), the Airy new template would display. Now, when converting an Estimate to an Invoice (non-progress invoice or progress invoice) any template you have set as default will display, including invoice templates imported into QuickBooks Online via Import Styles. 

 

Note: If you do use progress invoicing, we highly recommend using the Airy new template as this is the only template that is optimized to display key progress invoice information such as the Estimate Summary and the Due column. This level of detail is not available on imported invoices. 

 

To set your imported invoice template as default:

1. Select the Gear icon
2. Select Custom Form Styles
3. Locate the imported template
4. From the Action column select the Down Arrow ↓
5. Select Make default

 

To update the system template to Airy new: 

1. Select the Gear icon
2. Select Custom Form Styles
3. Locate the Standard/Master template (or your desired template)
4. Select Edit from the Action column
5. From the Design tab select Change up the template
6. Select Airy new
7. Select Done

We appreciate your patience while we worked on resolving this.

---

Most be a real though bug to fix it for over one year, even by Intuit Software company can't resolve this. Wow!

Very much looking forward to a resolution to this issue!

Hi there, @PS17.

I've read the entire thread and noticed that it has two different issues. And I'd like to share the resolution for both concerns with you.

If you are still experiencing issues with printing and previewing the custom invoice template, I suggest following the steps and recommendations provided by my colleague Kari_G above. Using the Airy new template will help us fixed this issue.

But if you're experiencing issues with converting estimates to invoice with incorrect data, I recommend performing some troubleshooting steps, like clearing your browser cache. This way, it'll optimize your browser performance and get you back to working order.

If the issue persists, I encourage contacting our Technical Support Team. This way, they can investigate this matter again and help you to get this fixed.

Just hit the Reply button if you have additional questions. We're always here to help.

I see the post has been marked as 'Solved' even though we're all still waiting for the fix.

This has been marked as solved by one of the users here in this thread, ShaunaW.

I was able to confirm that this is resolved already. Since you're still experiencing the same issue after following the recommended troubleshooting steps above, then I recommend reaching out to our QuickBooks Support Team.

They have more tools to check your custom invoice template and further investigate why you're still getting this issue.

1. Go to Help and click on Contact us.
2. Enter your concern in the What can we help you with? field.
3. Click on Let's talk.
4. Choose either Start messaging or Get a callback.

Let us know if you have any other concerns. We'll be here to keep helping.

I use Quickbooks Destop Pro 2020.  I created a customized invoice template yesterday and gave it a name.  When I try to access it to create an invoice by clicking on the name of the customized invoice, the format is completely different than the one I created.  How can I bring up the customized invoice I created.  Thanks for your help.

Hi there, @Lindajp747.

Let's perform some troubleshooting steps to get this fixed and get you back to working order.

To check if it's a data issue, let run the Verify and Rebuild Utility tool. It's a good start when it comes to fixing data-related issues.

To run the Verify Data utility:  

1. Click the File menu.
2. Select Utilities. 
3. Click Verify Data. 
4. If there are issues found, you’ll be prompted to Rebuild Now. 

Here’s how to run the Rebuild utility:  

1. Click the File menu. 
2. Select Utilities. 
3. Choose Rebuild Data. 
4. Click Ok on Rebuild has completed.

After verifying and rebuilding the data, go back and try to use the customized invoice template again to double-check.

For additional troubleshooting steps, please refer to this article: Resolve Data Damage on your Company File.

If the invoice still won't follow the customized template, I'd suggest copying the template and delete the original one. Here's how:

1. Go to the List menu, then select Templates.
2. In the Templates window, select the invoice template.
3. Select Duplicate from the Templates drop-down.
4. Choose Invoice, then click OK.
5. Once done, right-click the original template and select Delete.

You might want to check out this article to learn more about the customized templates: Use and customize form templates.

Please let me know if there's anything else I can help with and I'll be back in touch.