How to Make a Custom Invoice the Default in QuickBooks

Customizing your invoice forms in QuickBooks gives your business a unique look.

Creating a customized invoice is done directly in the QuickBooks program in the "Invoice" menu. Making the created invoice the default is a simple matter of using the invoice a couple of times after creating it.

Instructions

1. Open the "Make Invoices" option from the home screen of QuickBooks. Choose the template in the box located in the upper right hand corner of the form. There are product-related templates for invoices and service-related templates.

2. Click the "Customize" button in the upper invoice menu bar between the "Invoice Letter" icon and the "Attach Document" icon. It is an L-shaped ruler with a pencil on it. When the menu pops up, choose the "Customize Data Layout" option. This opens the customization window.

3. Customize your invoice. You can change the fonts, the header and footer, and the size of the columns, and add logos. Click the "Ok" button.

4. Enter a transaction on this completed customized invoice. If you need to enter more than one invoice, do so without closing out of the new invoice screen. Click the "Save and New" button instead of the "Save and Close" button. Since there is no button that reads, "Make Default," you will have to use this method from beginning to end.

   The QuickBooks software automatically uses the template of the last invoice used. If you never change the template for the invoice you use, the last customized form is the one that will be the default. You may have to enter as many as two different invoices to force this template to be the default.

5. Click the "Print" arrow and the "Preview" option. Onscreen, the look of the invoice form will not change; you must use the preview option to see what the printed invoice will look like.

References

• Dummies.com: How to Create a Customized Invoice Form in QuickBooks 2010
• Computor Companion: Customize Your QuickBooks Invoices