The invoice designer does not match the pdf preview.

I'll help you sync the template to your invoices, tsunamic. 

Let's check first if you selected the correct template on the invoice. I'll show you how: 

1. Go to the Sales menu and click Invoices.
2. Locate and open the Invoice. 
3. At the bottom menu, click Customize and check if the template name you customized is the one checked. 
4. Toggle to any template and back to the correct one. Then, click Print or Preview. 

If the PDF preview is still incorrect, we can follow these steps on how to resolve problems opening, viewing and printing PDF files. Then, go back to opening an invoice selecting the correct template to see how it works. 

Keep me posted for any updates. I'm here to walk you through it. Take care always and have a great day!

My question is about the invoice designer. 

Gear -> Custom form styles -> Edit. Under Design tab there is a depiction of the and invoice which shows the logo, font, font size, and layout. Click "Preview PDF". The pdf does not match what is in the Design tab. The pdf does not have the same layout (the total summary is missing), the logo size does not match, content layout (margins in particular) do not match. How can my invoice template match what is shown in the Design tab so that my invoices match what I design?

Thanks for getting back to this thread with additional details, tsunamic.

A browser issue might have caused the template show a different appearance when clicking the Preview PDF. Let me share some steps that can resolve common browser issues when working in QuickBooks Online.

Start by using or switching to an incognito or private browsing session. Use these keyboard shortcuts to open one depending on the browser that you're using:

• Ctrl + Shift + N  for Google Chrome
• Ctrl + Shift + P  for Firefox
• Control + Option +P if you're using Safari

Once done, go back to the template and click the Preview PDF button once again. 

You can also contact our phone and chat support teams just in case you're still getting the same issue when using it on a private browsing session. Here's how:

1. Go to the Help menu and click Contact us.
2. If you can't see the Contact us button, type in something in the search bar.
3. Click Start messaging or Get a callback.

I'll be around if you need anything else. 

It's not the browser as you suggested. I tried Chrome and Edge and it's the same result. I'm confident the issue is on your end.  If you try the steps I posted above you will see the issue. 

Thank you for getting back us here on the Community page, @tsunamic.

I checked from our records and haven't found any ongoing investigation about the problem you're having. At this time, you can try logging out and back into your QuickBooks Online (QBO) account and examine if you're still getting the same problem.

If the issue persists, I recommend reaching out to our Support Team so a representative can review and investigate the cause of this unexpected behavior.

To contact support, tap on Contact us from the Help menu.

Also, consider reading this article for additional information about customizing form templates in QBO.

Post again if there's anything you need assistance with. I'm a few clicks away to help. Have a good day!

I Had similar problem the style I was choosing was not matching the pdf preview 

However I found out if the font you are selecting for the style is not installed in your PC it wont display correctly 

Try to change the font in the style to a one you already have installed like times new roman , It solved for me 

Regards 

I am having this same problem, the PDF's don't look the same as the on-screen design and it looks really messy/unprofessional. Did you find a solution to this?

Hello there, @9130349847652156.

There are a few reasons why the changes on the invoice won't reflect on the PDF. Before we do any troubleshooting steps, make sure your PDF reader and your browser are updated.

Display issues are usually caused by a piled-up cache on your browser. Here's how to remove cache-related issues:

1. Open a private browser and access your account again. It uses but doesn't store cache.
2. If the changes are reflected on the invoice successfully, we can go back to your regular browser and clear the cache.
3. You can also use other supported browsers as an alternative. Each of them uses a different cache.

You can check out this article if you need more troubleshooting steps: Resolve PDF printing issues.

You have us if you encounter a specific error message. 

It's not the browse as you suggested. I tried Chrome and Edge and it's the same result. It is not related to the pdf generation either (Adobe acrobat). I'm confident the issue is still on your end.  If you try the exact steps I posted originally you will see the issue.  I look forward to this issue being fixed by qb support. 

Hello there, @tsunamic.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I'm here to help point you in the right direction, so the invoice designer matches the PDF preview.

I appreciate you performing all the troubleshooting steps to resolve this. Since none of them work, I recommend reaching out to one of our experts. They'll be able to pull up your account securely to check the unforeseen conditions of your company file and perform a screen-sharing session for further isolation.

Here's how you can reach them:

1. Go to the Help menu.
2. Choose Contact Us. 
3. Enter your specific concern in the What can we help you with? box. 
4. Click Let's talk. 
5. Select Get a callback. 
6. Enter your contact details. 
7. Hit Confirm my call. 

Also, make sure to request a callback or start a chat session during business hours (Monday to Friday, from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM PST and Saturdays from 6:00 AM to 3:00 PM PST. This to ensure we're able to address your concern on time.

In case you want to import your form style into QuickBooks, check out this article for more details: Import custom form styles for invoices or estimates.

Please know that you're always welcome to comment below if you have other concerns or follow-up inquiries about managing your custom form styles in QBO. I'm just around to help. Take care always.

Thank you for the quick reply. The issue resides on the QB side. I hope this issue is forwarded to the QB online technical/coding team for analysis and resolution.  My position on this is it is not resolved.

In the meantime, I will look at importing custom invoice styles as you suggested.

Hey Tsunamic, was this ever resolved for you? I'm having the same issue and its very frustrating. Makes the invoices look incredibly amateur, almost enough to push me to another service.

Has anyone resolved this issue? 

In my case, the only difference between what is in the design tab and what appears in PDF is that I chose not to display the date in the description area of the invoice (by unchecking "date") and the date is indeed gone in the design tab, however when I preview in PDF, the date is there, despite the fact that I de-selected that option!

Thanks for joining this thread, @stenolynn-gmail-. 

When you have too much historical data stored in your browser, it can cause issues like recognizing your settings. I recommend clearing your browser's cache. This way, you can access QuickBooks with a clean slate.

We can remove them in just a few easy steps. Let's start by accessing your account through an incognito window to rule out the possibility of a webpage issue. You can refer to these shortcut keys to open an incognito window in all supported browsers:

• Chrome: Ctrl+Shift+N
• Firefox: Ctrl+Shift+P
• Safari: Command+Shift+N

If it matches the output, clear your browser's cache. You can also switch to a different supported browser to see if it has something to do with your browser. Otherwise, I'd recommend reaching out to our Customer Care Support team. This way, they can take a look at your case and raise a ticket for further investigation if needed.

Here's how:

1. Click the (?) Help icon in the upper right-hand corner of the Dashboard.
2. Select Talk to a Human.
3. Enter a short description of your concern and press Enter.
4. Click I still need a human.
5. Select Contact Us to connect with our live support.
6. Choose Get a callback.

For more details about our support availability, refer to this article: Contact Support. 

For more insights about customizing sales templates and fixing PDF problems, refer to these links: 

• Custom Form Style
• Fix printing issues on browsers

I'd be happy to see you again here in the Community. We're always here to help if you need assistance with personalizing your forms. Have a good one.

Has anyone managed to resolve this? I have tried everything and it is driving me nuts.

Thank you for responding in this thread, dsfasd.

Let me help and address your printing issues in QuickBooks Online.

To isolate this issue, you can perform troubleshooting steps for your browser. You can check the links below for the detailed steps in clearing cache for browsers.

• Google Chrome
• Firefox
• Microsoft Edge
• Safari for Mac
• Safari for iPad or iPhone

After that, make sure to restart your browser. This will help in opening your browser in a clean slate.

If that doesn't work, I recommend following the steps provided by my colleague LieraMarie_A above in reaching our Support Team.

Let me know how it goes by leaving a follow-up comment below. I'll be here to check. Have a good one.

Did anyone figure out how to resolve this? The email attachments look terrible and nothing like the pdf design preview.

Hi CCtb,

Have you already tried the steps shared by my colleagues above? I'd suggest giving it a try.

If the same thing happens, I'd recommend reaching out to our Phone Support team so we can take a look at your account and check this further.

Once everything's good, you can open these references as your guide in customizing sales forms:

• Custom Form Style
• Fix printing issues on browsers

You can always mention my name as to how things work on your end. I'll be around to ensure that this gets resolved.

Has this issue been sorted? I'm with the above post it makes quotes/invoices look amateur, about to pull the pin on quick books.

There needs to be simple directions to fix this not automated messages.

Hi, SE Marine.

Unexpected behaviors in QuickBooks Online are sometimes caused by a browser-related issue. The stored cache can affect the performance of the program.

To resolve this, I'd suggest logging in to your QuickBooks Online account via a private window. This doesn't use the existing cache files, which makes it a good place to determine if there's an issue with the browser.  

Here are the keyboard shortcuts: 

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

Once logged in, check if the invoices. Once resolved, let's clear the browser's cache. This removes its stored cache to ensure the program performs efficiently.

If private browsing doesn't work, I'd recommend using other supported browsers. They'll provide the best and most secure experience with QuickBooks. 

Please keep us posted if you have other questions or concerns about managing and tracking invoices in QuickBooks. It's our priority to ensure your record is accurate.

For all of you out there that cannot get your invoice to preview and print like your screen shows and have tried to your wit's end to explain to intuit help and get nothing but inane suggestions like clearing your cache or going to private browsers or even switching browsers to see if it helps.  I read through pages and pages of community questions and came to a conclusion- the date. So, I looked at my invoice and noticed that qbo was taking my data and reordering it according to service date on the print pdf view- regardless of how I set it up.  It took me a bit to actually see it on the invoice in question because it is a very large multi-page document.    So, I created a fake invoice and did one with dates all over to see what would happen and sure enough it ordered everything according to date.  I then REMOVED all the service dates off the invoice and VOILA! magic! (not really- but sure felt like it after no help from intuit) my invoice appeared as I created it.   I then went into my invoice I was having issues with- duplicated it- removed all the service dates (which I did not want to print on the invoice anyway) and BOOM! It previewed and printed EXACTLY as I created it!

SO! INUIT support- the correct solution to this issue- is that you need to have your tech dept remove their data sort by date function from the back side and for all the consumers- don't use service dates unless you want the order by those dates.  

Bravo!  Finally somebody figured this out.   I long ago abandoned the online version and went back to desktop version, because of this frustrating problem...

Thanks for posting what you found. This is a good work-around for some. Unfortunately, I (and others) need the service date. I'm still amazed that this issue hasn't been fixed by QB programmers after 2+ years. 

The problem with your expectation of a quickbooks service update to solve this is that you will be hopelessly waiting forever.  It is not going to happen.  THEY never listen to us and the errors to fix them....why do you think my user name is FRUSTRATED? Because they never fix things- they change a lot- you can reach out to help- you can file ticket after ticket- but the only solutions that happen are after YEARS of them going oh we need to make changes we think you all need.  So good on you for still having hope, I on the other had will continue to work on work arounds to make things work properly for myself.  cheers!