Create an advanced invoice template

To set up an advanced invoice template, you need to add a new DOCX template:

1. Click the organisation name, select Settings, then click Invoice settings.

2. Click the New Branding Theme arrow and select Custom .docx.

3. Enter a name for your template and click OK.

4. Next to your new template, click Download to download a ZIP file of templates.

   

5. In Microsoft Word, open the saved template you want to customize.

If a default template doesn't include all the information you need to show, you can insert additional fields to your template. See a list of the available fields to help decide which ones to add to your template.

​​​Microsoft Word for Windows

1. On your template, click where you want to insert the field.
2. Click the Insert tab.
3. In the Text group, select Explore Quick Parts, then select Field.
4. In Field names, select MergeField.
5. In the Field name section, enter the name of the field.
6. Click OK.

Microsoft Word for Mac

1. On your template, click where you want to insert the field.

2. In the Insert tab, click the field  icon.

3. In Categories, select Mail Merge.

4. In the Field names section, select MergeField.

5. In the MergeField text box, enter the name of the field.

   

6. Click OK.

Fields should only be deleted according to the instructions below. Using other methods, like the space bar, might cause fields to remain in the field code view.

When deleting fields, be careful not to remove the default TableStart and TableEnd fields. If these fields are missing, your invoices won’t display correctly.

1. In your template, click on the field you want to delete to highlight it.
2. Press Delete or Backspace on your keyboard.
3. In the field code view, confirm that the field is deleted correctly.
   • If you’re using Windows, press Alt + F9 on your keyboard.
   • If you use a Mac, go to Preferences and click into Authoring and Proofing Tools. Here, select View and click Field Code.
4. If the field is visible in the field code view, delete the field using Delete or Backspace on your keyboard.
5. Exit the field code view.

If you want to include text that won’t change, add it as static text to your template. You can add information like new headings, bank account details, terms and conditions, or your address details.

When you add static text, add it to a table to make sure the text isn’t hidden on the PDF copy of your transaction.

1. On your template, select where you'd like to add static text.
2. In the Insert tab, click Table and select Insert Table.
3. Choose the number of columns and rows you'd like to add for your static text, then click OK.
4. Add the static text to your table.

You can align the text in the table by clicking on the table, then under Table Tools clicking Layout and selecting View Gridlines.

Alternatively, if you typed the text directly into your template, you might need to adjust the pagination setting for the text.

1. On your template, highlight the static text.
2. Right-click it and select Paragraph.
3. Click the Line and Page Breaks tab.
4. Under Pagination, select the Keep lines together checkbox.
5. Click OK.

You can add a specific currency symbol to your transactions. 

1. In the «InvoiceCurrency» field, right-click and select Toggle Field Codes.
2. Highlight all of the code that appears, including brackets, and delete it.
3. Enter the currency symbol ($, £ etc) where you want it to appear on the invoice. This might be in multiple places, such as next to each amount. 
4. Save your changes.

Once you've made your changes to the Word document and saved them, upload the document to Xero so it can be applied to invoices and other documents.

1. In Xero, go back to the DOCX template you added in Invoice settings and click Upload.

   

2. Under the template type, click Browse and select the customised DOCX template you want to upload, then click Open.

3. Click Upload to confirm.