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posted
‎September 13, 2019 05:51 PM
last updated ‎September 22, 2021 9:57 PM

Customise invoices, estimates, and sales receipts in QuickBooks Online

SOLVED•by QuickBooks•QuickBooks Online•390•Updated 21 hours ago

Learn how to personalise and add specific info to sales forms.

QuickBooks Online gives you the tools to create attractive, professional-looking invoices, estimates, and sales receipts.

Customising the appearance and layout of sales forms is a simple yet effective way to enhance your business' communications. You don’t need to be a designer to make eye-catching forms. And you get to decide what info your customers see and only add the info that matters most to your business. Here's how to customise sales forms in QuickBooks Online.

Customise the look and info on your forms

You can create specific templates for your invoices, estimates, and sales receipts. And you can also have multiple templates for each type.

Step 1: Start a new template

  1. Go to Settings ⚙ and then select Custom Form Styles.
  2. Select New Style.
  3. Select a sales form type you want to create a template for.

Step 2: Choose the overall appearance

Let's start with the layout. You'll see a preview of changes as you make them.

  1. Select the Design tab.
  2. Give your template a name.
  3. Select Change up the template to choose a layout. These layouts are fixed. We recommend using the Airy new.
    Note: If you plan to use Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) or create progress invoices, you have to use the Airy new design.
  4. Select Make logo edits to upload a new logo. You can then select the size out of the three options offered: S, M, or L as well as change the placement of the logo.
  5. Select and pick a colour scheme. You can enter a HEX code (the six-digit combination of numbers and letters for a colour) for a truly custom colour.
  6. Select Select a different font to change the font and size.
  7. Select When in doubt, print it out to adjust the margins. This is important if you send printed forms to your customers.

Step 3: Customise the info on your forms

Go to the Content tab to start fine-tuning the details. Forms have three sections: header, table , and footer. Select a section on the sample form to start editing. Edit each section separately. Whenever you're ready to save your changes, select Done.

You have many customisation options. We won't cover them all, but here are a few highlights:

  1. Select one of the sections (header, table, or footer).
  2. Select a data field tick to add or remove it from the template.
  1. Select the table section.
  2. Select Edit labels and widths.
  3. Select a data field you want to change the name for (for example, change the Description column to be called Details).
  4. Enter a new name. 

Your company info automatically appears in sales form headers. You can remove or edit the fields if you want customers to only see certain info.

  1. Select the header section.
  2. Edit the info in each field.
  3. Select the checkboxes to add or hide a field.

Note: If you are a VAT-registered entity, you can't remove the VAT registration number field.

  1. In the header section, select Manage custom fields.
  2. In Custom fields, select Add field.
  3. Enter the name of field, and select All sale forms.
  4. Enable Print on form so it appears in your form's header.
  5. Select Save.

Note: You can add up to three custom fields for sales forms.

  1. Select the header section.
  2. Select the Form numbers checkbox.
  1. Select the table section.
  2. Select Edit labels and widths.
  3. Select the Description checkbox.
  4. Select the Include Quantity and Rate checkbox.

You can also select the Product/Service and then the Include description here checkboxes to keep the description in a single column.

  1. Select the table section.
  2. Select Edit labels and widths.
  3. Use the sliders to adjust the width.
  1. Select the table section.
  2. Select Edit labels and widths.
  3. Drag the square icon next to a data field to a new spot on the list.
  1. In the Content menu, Select the Footer section of the form.
  2. In Add payment details and footer, enter the payment details and the footer description.
  3. Select Done.

Step 4: Personalise your email message

Make things personal. You can change the message customers see when they get their invoice or sales receipt. If you want to use your default messaging, you can skip this.

Go to the Emails tab. Change the subject line, greeting, and message body. You can even customise reminder emails. Note: QuickBooks doesn't show shortened URLs when you send emails to customers.

Step 5: Select and use a template for invoices, sales receipts, or estimates

QuickBooks uses your default template each time you make a new invoice, sales receipt, or estimate. You can select a specific template for specific transactions directly from the form:

  1. Create or open an existing invoice, sales receipt, or estimate.
  2. Select Customise in the footer.
  3. Select a custom template from the list.

Step 6: Set a default custom template

QuickBooks uses the first custom template you create as your default for invoices, sales receipts, and estimates. To set another custom templates as the default:

  1. Go to Settings ⚙ and then select Custom Form Styles.
  2. Find your template.
  3. Select the ▼ in the Action column.
  4. Select Make default.

Step 7: Edit custom and manage templates

To manage your custom templates:

  1. Select Settings ⚙ and then Custom Form Styles.
  2. Find your custom or standard template.
  3. Select Edit in the Action column.

Note: Once you have created and saved your template.

  1. Select + New and then Invoice
  2. Select Customise (at the bottom of the invoice).
  3. Select your new template and then Save.

In QuickBooks Simple Start, you can have one invoice template at a time. You can customise invoices, but not other types of sales forms. All the tools you need to customise invoices are on the form itself:

  1. Create or open an invoice.
  2. Select Settings ⚙ on the Invoice form.
  3. On the Choose what you use panel, select Change what your customers see panel, decide what company info you want customers to see. You can select company info from the Content section.
  4. When you're done customising, select Done.

Customise the details

You can add fields, change the colour scheme, and enable payments on invoices. Here are just a few things you can do:

  1. Create or open an invoice.
  2. Select Settings ⚙ on the Invoice form. On the Choose what you use panel, select Change what your customers see to decide what company info you want your customers to see.
  3. Select the Content section.
  4. Under Forms, select the Form numbers.
  5. Under Display, select or clear Terms, Shipping, or Due Date checkboxes to add or remove these fields in the form.
  6. Select the Design section to change the colours, font, and logo.
    Tip: You can enter a hex code in the Colour field if you want a truly customised colour.
  7. Select the Email section. Personalise the message your customers see when they receive their invoice.

When you're done customising, select Done to close the customisation window. Then finish your invoice.

To import your own customised invoice or estimate templates, follow this step-by-step guide which will show you how to import your template, and provide answers to FAQs in regards to importing.

To add your bank details at the bottom of your sales invoice, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Settings ⚙ icon, then select Custom Form Styles.
  2. Create a new style or edit your current form style.
  3. In the Content menu, select the Footer section of the form.
  4. Enter your payment details in Your payment details section.
  5. Select Done.

This article explains the guidelines and requirements for uploading logos (such as the format and size), plus troubleshooting steps to solve common errors.

To change the data or number format, follow the below steps:

  1. Select the Settings ⚙️ icon, then select Account and settings.
  2. Go to Advanced.
  3. Select the pencil icon under Other preferences, select the date or number format that you want to use.
  4. Select Save, then Done.

The date and number format will apply on new form styles.

Use the Custom transaction numbers feature to set your own numbering preference. This adds an Invoice no. field where you can enter any number or letter format you want.

  1. Select the Gear icon on the Toolbar, then Account and settings.
  2. Select Sales, then select anywhere within the Sales form content section.
  3. You can turn on Custom transaction numbers.
  4. Select Save and then Done.

Open an invoice or any sales form, and in the Invoice no. field, enter the custom number or letter sequence you want to use for your forms. Note: The sequence you set here applies to all sales forms.

For more information on using custom transaction numbers, click here.

At this time, it is not possible to modify the font size and retire bold. We recommend importing your own custom template to allow more flexibility with invoice designs.

You can’t add a new column in QuickBooks, however you can edit and rename an existing column when customising a template. All you need to do is:

  1. Go to Settings ⚙️ icon.
  2. Select Custom form styles.
  3. Create a New style, or choose an existing form you wish to edit.
  4. In the Content tab, select the table section of the template.
  5. Select EDIT LABELS AND WIDTHS.
  6. Enter the new name of the column in the field.
  7. Select Done.

If you need to add a PO number to an invoice, you can manually enter it in the Content tab as either a:

  • Custom field in the header section.
  • Message to customer on box in the footer section.
  • Add payment details and footer box in the footer section.

Unfortunately at this time QuickBooks is unable to add a photo on each product/service line.
We are always looking for ways to improve our current experience, so we strongly recommend leaving feedback on this by logging into your QuickBooks account, selecting the Gear Icon in the top right, and selecting Feedback.

VAT rates are pulled directly from the VAT settings in QuickBooks. If it isn't showing on the invoice, make sure to check the following:

  • Make sure VAT is enabled in settings
  • The box in the columns section of the contents tab in custom form styles is ticked
  • See if the VAT box ticked in the Content tab

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