QuickBooks 2005: The Missing Manual

Filling in Invoice Header Fields

If you fill in all the fields in your customer and job records (see Chapter 3), your work in the invoice header section is limited to filling in a few fields. Here's what the header fields do and where QuickBooks gets the values it fills in automatically.

Choosing an Invoice Template

As you scan from the top left of the Create Invoices dialog box (Figure 8-1), the first box you encounter is the Customer:Job field--but it shouldn't be the first field you fill in. The template you choose in the Template field determines the fields that appear on your invoices and how they're laid out. For example, you might have two templates: one for printing on your company letterhead and another one for invoices you send electronically. Choosing a template first is the best way to prevent printing the wrong invoice to your expensive letterhead. But you can switch templates any time you want. If you've already filled in an invoice, changing the template doesn't throw out the data; QuickBooks simply displays the data in the new template.

When you choose a template, in the Create Invoices dialog box, you'll see the fields and layout for the new template. However, QuickBooks won't display settings like your company logo, fonts, and other formatting until you print or preview your invoice (page 216).

Note

QuickBooks remembers the template you chose when you created your last invoice. If you use only one invoice template, choose it on your first invoice and the program chooses ...