Learning Center

QuickBooks Tip: Customizing QuickBooks' Forms

The invoices and other forms you send to customers and vendors should reflect your company’s attention to detail, accuracy, and consistency.

Every opportunity you have to interact with your customers and vendors is critical. Whether it’s a phone call, an in-person connection, or an email, how you present yourself reveals a lot about you. Are you efficient? Friendly? Do you handle orders and problems and payment issues quickly and carefully?

Your accounting forms can also contribute to your image. They should always be:

  • Neat and attractive. 
  • Easy to read, with the most important information displayed prominently. 
  • Consistent with any graphics you use on other company materials. 
  • Accurate, above all. 
You might be able to use at least some of QuickBooks’ form templates as is, without any modifications. But couldn’t they be better? More visually appealing? Formatted to include only the fields that your business most often needs? QuickBooks contains the customization tools you need to make them so.

Improving What Exists



You can personalize your QuickBooks forms and make them consistent with any design themes your brand may use.

We’ll look at the modification options for an invoice, though, depending on what version of QuickBooks you’re using, you can also work with sales receipts, purchase orders, statements, estimates, sales orders, and credit memos. Start by opening the Lists menu and selecting Templates. Highlight Intuit Product Invoice in the list. Click the down arrow next to Templates in the lower left corner and choose Edit Template.

The above image displays part of the window that opens. Here, you can add a logo, change the color scheme, and change fonts for your company’s contact information and the labels that identify each field (like Bill To, Terms, and Quantity). The right pane of this window shows you what the form will look like as you make changes.

Nothing you’ve done so far will prevent you from using Intuit’s pre-printed forms. But when you click Additional Customization at the bottom of the screen, you’ll be warned that if you make modifications beyond this point, the forms may not print correctly. To be safe, click Make a Copy. You’ll be able to print this new version on plain paper.

Deeper Customization

The image below shows you part of the window that opens when you click on Additional Customization

. The first two columns here are the most important; they let you specify the labeled fields that will appear on your invoices. When Header is the active column, you’ll be able to choose the content that will go at the top of your form, like Date, Invoice Number, and Terms.

Next to each default label, you’ll see boxes for Screen and Print. Click in these boxes to create or delete checkmarks; this will indicate whether each label will appear in the software itself and which will be printed for your customers to see. If you’d like to change the language QuickBooks uses to describe each, enter your preferred word or phrase in the Title column.



With the Header column highlighted, you can shape the appearance of the top section of your invoices.

Warning: As you’re checking and unchecking boxes, a dialog box may open telling you that your changes will cause some fields to overlap on your form. If you click the Default Layout button, QuickBooks will make automatic adjustments to fix this. Clicking Continue means you’ll have to use the software’s Layout Designer to make your own adjustments. This tool is not particularly intuitive, and it requires some design skills. If you must work with the Layout Designer, let us help.

When you click the Columns tab, you’ll see a list of the fields available for the main body of your invoices, like Description, Quantity, and Rate. This works similarly to how you just modified the Header, with one exception: You’ll be able to enter numbers in the Order column to specify the placement of each field. Here again, you’ll be able to watch a preview of your form change in the right pane.

If you want to start over, click the Default button to revert the form to its original state. When you’re done, click OK.

Neatness Counts

Whether you print and mail your forms or simply dispatch them electronically, we strongly encourage you to make them as professional and polished as you possibly can. Their appearance will enhance or detract from the image your customers and vendors have of your business. Let us know if we can help here. We’d be happy to help you learn about and implement the customization options that QuickBooks offers.



Share this article...

NEVER MISS A STORY.

Sign up for our newsletters and get our articles delivered right to your inbox.

I confirm this is a service inquiry and not an advertising message or solicitation. By clicking “Submit”, I acknowledge and agree to the creation of an account and to the and .

Social Media

Rose Tax & Financial

8 Pinon Ave
Cedar Crest, New Mexico 87008
Mon - Fri: 10:00am to 6:00pm
Sat: 10:00am to 2:00pm

Check the background of your financial professional on FINRA's BrokerCheck
Avantax affiliated Financial Professionals may only conduct business with residents of the states for which they are properly registered. Please note that not all of the investments and services mentioned are available in every state. Securities offered through Avantax Investment Services℠, Member FINRA, SIPC, Investment Advisory services offered through Avantax Advisory ServicesSM, Insurance services offered through an Avantax affiliated insurance agency. 3200 Olympus Blvd., Suite 100, Dallas, TX 75019. 972-870-6000.
The Avantax family of companies exclusively provide financial products and services through its financial representatives. Although Avantax Wealth Management® does not provide or supervise tax or accounting services, Avantax representatives may offer these services through their independent outside business. Content, links, and some material within this website may have been created by a third party for use by an Avantax affiliated representative. This content is for educational and informational purposes only and does not represent the views and opinions of Avantax Wealth Management® or its subsidiaries. Avantax Wealth Management® is not responsible for and does not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website.
This information is not intended as tax or legal advice. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation.
The information being provided is strictly as a courtesy. When you link to any of the web sites provided here, you are leaving this web site. We make no representation as to the completeness or accuracy of information provided at these web sites. Nor is the company liable for any direct or indirect technical or system issues or any consequences.
For Important Information and Form CRS please visit https://www.avantax.com/disclosures.

FAQs Frequently Asked Questions
Type your message here.
Please fill out the form and our team will get back to you shortly The form was sent successfully