How to Customize Invoices in QuickBooks Online: Answers to your Top 5 Questions

Customizing your invoices in QuickBooks Online is easily one of the most talked-about topics in our community, especially with the updated layout. When settings don't quite line up with what you expect, getting clear, quick answers makes all the difference. We've gathered practical solutions for the top five invoice customization questions below to help you navigate template styles, company-wide settings, field visibility, access permissions, and custom fields with confidence. 

1. How do I customize my invoice template now that the old layout is gone?

Shaping your invoices to match your brand's unique look is super simple with the new layout settings.

Here are two easy ways to tailor your design:

Right from inside an invoice:

1. Open up any new or existing invoice.
2. Choose Edit company whenever you need to update your business name, address, or logo.
3. Click the Manage icon (that handy gear icon on the right side of your screen).
4. Head to Design to pick a template style, font, and color scheme that fits your vibe.
5. Select Customization to turn specific fields on or off with a quick click.

From Custom Form Styles:

1. Navigate to Settings, then click Custom form styles.
2. To start fresh with a new template, select New style, then Invoice.
3. To update an existing style, simply click Edit next to the template name.
4. Use the Design tab to refine the name, logo, colors, and typography.
5. Use the Content tab to tweak the header, body, and footer, including selecting which columns to display.

Quick tip: If you're using the Modernized template, you can customize fonts and colors directly from the Design tab. Just keep in mind that only the Standard template can be set as the default that automatically applies to every new invoice.

Check out this discussion in the community

2. Why did a change I made in one invoice template apply to all my templates?

You're not alone if this caught you by surprise. In QuickBooks Online, certain settings are company-wide, meaning they update across all your invoice templates at once, rather than just the one you're currently working on.

The most frequent culprit is the message to customer field. Because this pulls directly from your main company message settings, editing it on one template updates it everywhere. Currently, storing distinct default messages on separate templates isn't supported.

Company details work in much the same way. When you click Edit company on an invoice form and update your business name, address, or logo, those updates will seamlessly reflect across all future invoices and estimates throughout your account.

Here are a couple of smooth ways to keep things separate:

• If you want to send a custom message, adjust the Invoice message field on individual invoices as you send them out, rather than saving it into the core template style.
• If you need distinctly different templates (for instance, one tailored for services and another for products), set them up as distinct templates under Custom Form Styles and select the right one when drafting your invoice.

Check out this discussion in the community

3. How do I control which fields appear on the invoice my customer sees?

QuickBooks Online makes it easy to manage field visibility in two distinct views: what you see while creating the invoice, and the final document your customer receives. You can customize both effortlessly.

To customize what your customer sees:

1. Head to Settings, then choose Custom Form Styles.
2. Click Edit on your desired template.
3. Open the Content tab.
4. Click on the section of the form you'd like to adjust (header, body columns, or footer).
5. Simply check or uncheck fields to show or hide them on the final customer-facing invoice.

To customize what you see while creating an invoice:

1. Open any invoice creation screen.
2. Click the Manage gear icon on the right menu panel.
3. Under Customization, toggle any fields on or off to suit your workflow.

Pro troubleshooting tip: If fields that should be visible suddenly vanish from your screen or printed document, try opening QuickBooks Online in an incognito or private browser window. Temporary browser cache hiccups can sometimes obscure fields. If that doesn't do the trick, double-check under Custom Form Styles to confirm your preferred template is still set as default.

Check out this discussion in the community

4. Why can't my staff member access or apply custom invoice templates?

In QuickBooks Online, editing and managing invoice templates is designed specifically for users with Company Admin or Primary Admin permissions. Standard users, even those empowered to create and send invoices, aren't able to switch active templates or modify template settings. We know how essential seamless teamwork is, and this permission boundary is a frequent topic among growing business teams. 

 If your team requires multiple staff members to handle invoicing, there are a few workarounds available.

• If your team member simply needs to switch templates on individual invoices, a quick solution is elevating their permission level. Head to Settings, select Manage users, and update their role to Company Admin (just keep in mind this grants broader access overall).
• If you're using QuickBooks Online Advanced, you can craft custom roles with finely tailored permissions. Just go to Settings > Manage users > Roles to set this up smoothly.
• If these options don't fit your needs, we strongly encourage sharing your thoughts directly with the product team. Click the Gear icon and select Feedback, as user input drives our future updates. 

Check out this discussion in the community

5. Can I add extra columns or fields to my invoice that QuickBooks doesn't show by default?

It depends on exactly what you'd like to add. QuickBooks Online has structured options here, and understanding them helps you find the best setup for your business.

Default columns (like quantity, rate, description, amount): These come predefined in QuickBooks Online. While you can easily show or hide existing columns, adding brand-new line item columns isn't supported directly in Online yet. 

Custom fields: These are your absolute best option for adding custom details that standard columns don't cover. Here's how easily you can set them up:

1. Click the Gear icon, then choose All lists.
2. Select Custom fields, then click Add field.
3. Give your field a name and check off which forms it should appear on (such as invoices or estimates).
4. Save your changes, then open a sample invoice to confirm your new field is right where you want it!

Friendly reminder: QuickBooks Online Essentials and Plus subscriptions let you set up as many as four active custom fields in your account, with Simple Start offering a slightly reduced limit. For greater flexibility, QuickBooks Online Advanced users can have up to 12 custom fields active, where 3 of them can be set to print on any given form type

If custom fields don't fully cover a highly complex layout requirement, exporting your invoice data to format in a spreadsheet tool like Excel before sending is a handy workaround many teams rely on.

Check out this discussion in the community

We hope this clears up some of the most common invoice customization hurdles and helps you get your forms looking exactly the way you want. We'll be back next month with another round of top questions from the community!