
Templates
You can change the look of various sales and purchase transactions in Zoho Books to suit your needs and reflect your brand better. This can be done by customising one of the pre-loaded templates or creating a new one.
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Customisation That’s Common to All Modules
This section covers customisation options that are applicable to templates in all modules. You can also check out the module-specific customisation section.
Template Properties
You can change the overall look and feel, such as the font, background, orientation and size of your templates. This can be done with ease:
- Go to Settings on the top right corner of the page.
- Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
- Click the module for which you’d like to edit a template.
- Hover your mouse pointer over a template preview and click Edit. You can also create a new template by clicking + New and selecting one of the pre-loaded templates.
- Go to the Template Properties tab.
Customisations Available in Template Properties:

Fields | Description |
---|---|
1. Template Name | Enter a name for your template. |
2. Paper Size | You can select either A4 or Letter sizes based on the medium where this template would be printed. |
3. Orientation | This option is for printing purposes as well. Select either Portrait or Landscape based on the medium where this template would be printed. |
4. Margins (in inches) | The margins of the template determines how much distance there is between the template’s content and the edges of the medium on which it’s printed. |
5. PDF Font | This is the font that will be used to display content on this template. A note will appear under the selected font explaining which languages it’s best suited for. |

6. Add Attention Content | You can add attention content to draw the recipient’s attention towards an important message in the template. You can also use placeholders to autofill related information. |
7. Background Image & Image Position | A background image can be added to fill the background of the template, other than the header and footer section. The position of this image can be adjusted using the Image Position dropdown. Warning: The size of the background image cannot exceed 1 MB. |
8. Select Colour Theme | Select one of the colour themes available from this dropdown to change the overall colour tone of the template. |
9. Colours and Font Size | You can change the colour of the template’s background, font and labels either by entering a Hex Colour Code for a specific colour or by clicking the coloured square and using the colour picker. You can also customise the size and colour of the font that’s used in the template. |

Header
This section lets you customise the header of the template along with customisation options for other information displayed in the document.
- Go to Settings on the top right corner of the page.
- Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
- Click the module for which you’d like to edit a template.
- Hover your mouse pointer over a template preview and click Edit. You can also create a new template by clicking + New and selecting one of the pre-loaded templates.
- Go to the Header tab.
Customisations Available in the Header Section

Fields | Description |
---|---|
1. Show Organisation Logo | Enabling this option will display your organisation’s logo and allow you to resize it. |
2. Resize Logo | Your organisation’s logo can be be resized to fit the template by dragging the slider to the left or right. Pro Tip: Click the reset icon to switch to the image’s default aspect ratio. |
3. Show Organisation Name | Enable this option to display your organisation’s name on the template. |
4. Show Organisation Address | Choose whether to display your organisation’s address on the template. |
5. Show Document Title | Enabling this option will display title of your document, which can be changed according to your needs. |
6. Background Image & Image Position | A background image can be added to fill the header section of the template. The position of this image can be adjusted using the Image Position dropdown. Warning: The size of the background image cannot exceed 1 MB. |
7. Background Colour | The background colour of the header section can be changed either by entering a hex colour code or clicking the coloured square to open the colour picker. |
8. Customise your header content | You can add information to be displayed on the upper portion of the document. This content can be completely customised with placeholders, tables, font options and links to suit your needs. |
9. Apply to first page only | Enable this option if the document is likely to have multiple pages and you want to customise the header section for the first page alone. You can also provide separate header content that will be displayed on the other pages. |

10. Document Title | You can change the document title’s font size and colour either by entering a hex colour code or by clicking the coloured square to open the colour picker. |
11. Organisation | Customise your organisation name’s font size and colour either by entering a hex colour code or by clicking the coloured square to open the colour picker. |
12. Organisation Address Format | This option lets you change your organisation’s address format. You can also add or remove placeholders to customise it further. |
13. Customer/Vendor Name | Change the colour and font size of your customer’s or vendor’s name in the document. |
14. Customer Address Format | Click this option to change the format in which your customer’s billing and shipping addresses are displayed in the document. You can also add or remove placeholders to customise them further. |
14.a. Change Position | Adjust the position of the Billing and Shipping address to the right and/or to the bottom by a maximum of 30mm. This will be useful while placing the addresses in the transparent part of the envelope.
![]() Make sure the Bill To and Ship To boxes are marked in the Document Information section. |
15. Document Information | Mark or unmark the listed fields to show or hide them in the template. The label names of these fields can be changed as well by editing the text box next to them. |

Item Table
The look and feel of all the elements in the item table–from the size and names of columns to the item rows and their descriptions, can be customised to suit the type of content that would be displayed in the document.
- Go to Settings on the top right corner of the page.
- Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
- Click the module for which you’d like to edit a template.
- Hover your mouse pointer over a template preview and click Edit. You can also create a new template by clicking + New and selecting one of the pre-loaded templates.
- Go to the Item Table tab.
Customisations Available in the Item Table
Labels
You can choose the rows that are to be displayed in the item table by marking or unmarking the listed fields. The label names of these fields can be changed as well by editing the text box next to them.
The width of these columns can be adjusted by entering a percentage, which is relative to the overall width of the table. Editing the width of columns is especially useful when a column contains lengthy information. In this case, the column width can be adjusted to make the column proportionate to the content.

Insight: When editing the column width for custom fields, the width will be applicable to all custom fields that are created with the “Show in all PDF” option enabled.
Layout
This section lets you customise the font colour, size and background colour of the Table Header and Item Row, along with the font size and colour of the Item Description.

Fields | Description |
---|---|
1. Table Border | You can either enable or disable the lines bordering the table. The colour of these borders can be changed using a hex colour code or by clicking the coloured square to open the colour picker. |
2. Table Header | The background colour, font size and colour of label names in the header section can be customised. |
3. Item Row | Customise the font size, background colour and font colour of the item row, which includes item names and other information in the same line. |
4. Item Description | Customise the font size and colour of the description below each line item. |

Total
You can customise the various fields that are displayed in the Total section of your document. To customise:
- Go to Settings on the top right corner of the page.
- Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
- Click the module for which you’d like to edit a template.
- Hover your mouse pointer over a template preview and click Edit. You can also create a new template by clicking + New and selecting one of the pre-loaded templates.
- Go to the Total tab.
Customisations Available in the Total Section
Labels

Fields | Description |
---|---|
1. Show Total Section | Marking this option will enable the total section and also provide further customisation options. |
2. Sub Total and Total | Marking/Unmarking the Sub Total and Total option will show/hide the total and sub total in your document. The label names of both the total and sub total can be edited in the text box. |
3. Currency Symbol | Choose whether to display the currency symbol before or after the amount. |
4. Quantity | Enable this option if you’d like to display the total number of line items below the item table. The label name of this field can be changed as well. |
5. Show Tax Summary table | Enable this option if you want to display tax details in the total section of your document. These fields can be shown/hidden and their label names can be changed as well. |

Layout
You can customise the background colour, font size and font colour of the Total section by clicking the Layout subtab. The font size can be entered in points, whereas the font and background colour can be customised with a hex colour code or by clicking the coloured square to open the colour picker.

Footer
Customise the bottom portion of your document with Notes, Terms & Conditions and any extra information that needs to be conveyed.
- Go to Settings on the top right corner of the page.
- Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
- Click the module for which you’d like to edit a template.
- Hover your mouse pointer over a template preview and click Edit. You can also create a new template by clicking + New and selecting one of the pre-loaded templates.
- Go to the Footer tab.
Customisations Available in the Footer Section

Fields | Description |
---|---|
1. Notes | Customise the label name for the notes field as well as the font size used for the note content. The note content can be changed by going to Settings > Preferences and then clicking the module for which you want to add the note. |
2. Terms & Conditions | Enabling this option will display your terms & conditions and enable you to customise its label name and font size. Pro Tip: The content for the Terms & Conditions can be changed by going to Settings > Preferences and then clicking on the module for which you want to add the note. |
3. Signature | You can add an image to be used as the signature for your document along with a customisable label and signature name. |
4. Footer | The font size, font colour and background colour of your footer content can be changed either by entering a hex colour code or by clicking the coloured square to open the colour picker. |
5. Background Image and Image Position | A background image can be added to fill the footer section of the template. The position of this image can be adjusted using the Image Position dropdown. Warning: The size of the background image cannot exceed 1 MB. |
6. Show Page Number | Enable this option to auto-generate the page number in the footer section in case your document has multiple pages. |
7. Customise your footer content | You can add information to be displayed in the bottom portion of the document. This content can be completely customised with placeholders, tables, font options and links to suit your needs. |

Module-specific Customisation
Apart from customisation that’s common to all modules, there are some options that are available only for particular modules. This section will cover these specific customisation options.
- Quotes
- Sales Orders
- Invoices
- Credit Notes
- Purchase Orders
- Retainer Invoices
- Payment Receipts
- Retainer Payment Receipts
- Customer Statement
- Bills
- Vendor Credits
- Vendor Statement
Quotes
To customise templates for your quotes:
- Go to Settings on the top right corner of the page.
- Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
- Click the Quotes tab.
- Hover your mouse pointer over a template preview and click Edit. You can also create a new template by clicking + New and selecting one of the pre-loaded templates.
Insight: These options are available only for certain modules and weren’t covered under the customisation that’s common to all modules section.
In the Header section, the Project and Expiry Date fields display the name of the project that’s associated with the quote and the expiry date of the quote. These fields can either be shown or hidden and their label names can be customised as well.
The Shipping Charges field in the Total section lets you display the shipping charges in your quote. The label name of this field can be customised.
You can choose to Add your bank details, which your customers can use to transfer an amount, in the Footer section of your quote.
The Annexure section enables you to add extra information other than the notes and terms & conditions at the bottom of the quote.
Sales Orders
To customise templates for your sales orders:
- Go to Settings on the top right corner of the page.
- Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
- Click the Sales Orders tab.
- Hover your mouse pointer over a template preview and click Edit. You can also create a new template by clicking + New and selecting one of the pre-loaded templates.
Insight: This option is available only for certain modules and wasn’t covered under the customisation that’s common to all modules section.
You can choose to show the Delivery Method in the Header section of the sales order. The label name of this field can be customised.
Invoices
To customise templates for your Invoices:
- Go to Settings on the top right corner of the page.
- Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
- Click the Invoices tab.
- Hover your mouse pointer over a template preview and click Edit. You can also create a new template by clicking + New and selecting one of the pre-loaded templates.
Insight: These options are available only for certain modules and weren’t covered under the customisation that’s common to all modules section.
You can choose to include a payment stub in your invoice in the Template Properties section. In case your customers are going to pay the invoice amount by cash, including a payment stub will add a section for entering the amount enclosed along with other invoice details. This section can be chosen to be included on the first page of the invoice or on a separate page.
The following fields can be customised in the Header section of your invoice.
Fields | Description |
---|---|
1. Terms | Choose whether or not to display the terms for your invoice’s due date. The label name of this field can be customised. |
2. Project | Marking this box will display the name of the project that your invoice is associated with. |
3. Show Status Stamp | Enabling this option will display the current status, such as “Paid” or “Draft” in the header section of your invoice. |
You can also customise the label names in the Item Table for projects created from invoices.
The following fields can be customised in the Total section of your invoice.
Fields | Description |
---|---|
1. Shipping Charge | Display the shipping charges in the invoice. |
2. Quantity | Enabling the Quantity option will display the total number project-related items and logged hours in the total section. The label names of these fields can be customised. |
3. Show Payment Details | Mark the Show Payment Details option in the Total section to display the following payment related information in your invoice: Payment Made, Credits Applied, Amount Withheld, Write Off Amount and Balance Due. The label names of all these fields can be customised. |
4. Show amount in words | Enable this option to display the total amount of the invoice in words. |
You can add an Online Payment Link for your configured payment gateways in the footer section of your invoice PDFs. In case your customers want to do a bank transfer, you can Add your bank details in the footer section of the invoice.
The Annexure section enables you to add extra information other than the notes and terms & conditions at the bottom of the invoice.
Credit Notes
To customise templates for your credit notes:
- Go to Settings on the top right corner of the page.
- Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
- Click the Credit Notes tab.
- Hover your mouse pointer over a template preview and click Edit. You can also create a new template by clicking + New and selecting one of the pre-loaded templates.
Insight: These options are available only for certain modules and weren’t covered under the customisation that’s common to all modules section.
Enabling the Balance Due option in the Header section of your credit note will display the remaining credits available in the credit note.
You can choose to display the Credits Used, the Refund amount and the Credits Remaining by enabling the Show Payment Details option in the Total section in the credit note. The label names of these fields can be customised.
The Annexure section enables you to add extra information other than the notes and terms & conditions at the bottom of the credit note.
Purchase Orders
To customise templates for your purchase orders:
- Go to Settings on the top right corner of the page.
- Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
- Click the Purchase Orders tab.
- Hover your mouse pointer over a template preview and click Edit. You can also create a new template by clicking + New and selecting one of the pre-loaded templates.
Insight: These options are available only for certain modules and weren’t covered under the customisation that’s common to all modules section.
The option to customise the Customer Name in other templates has been replaced with the Vendor Name for purchase orders in the Header section.
You can also choose to display the Shipment Preference in the Header section of the purchase order.
Retainer Invoices
To customise templates for your retainer invoices:
- Go to Settings on the top right corner of the page.
- Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
- Click the Retainer Invoices tab.
- Hover your mouse pointer over a template preview and click Edit. You can also create a new template by clicking + New and selecting one of the pre-loaded templates.
Insight: These options are available only for certain modules and weren’t covered under the customisation that’s common to all modules section.

Fields | Description |
---|---|
1. Balance Due | Choose whether to display that amount that’s due in the header section of your retainer invoices. |
2. Project | Marking this box will display the name of the project that your retainer invoice is associated with. |
3. Show Status Stamp | Enabling this option will display the current status, such as “Paid” or “Drawn” in the header section of your invoice. |
The Show amount in words option in the Total section displays the total amount of the retainer invoice in words.
You can add an Online Payment Link for your configured payment gateways in the footer section of your retainer invoice PDFs. In case your customers want to do a bank transfer, you can Add your bank details in the Footer section of the retainer invoice.
The Annexure section enables you to add extra information other than the notes and terms & conditions at the bottom of the retainer invoice.
Payment Receipts
To customise templates for your payment receipts:
- Go to Settings on the top right corner of the page.
- Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
- Click the Payment Receipts tab.
- Hover your mouse pointer over a template preview and click Edit. You can also create a new template by clicking + New and selecting one of the pre-loaded templates.
Insight: These options are available only for certain modules and weren’t covered under the customisation that’s common to all modules section.

Fields | Description |
---|---|
1. Over payment | Choose whether to display the amount that was paid in excess in the payment receipt. The label name for this field can be customised. |
2. Payment Refund | Choose whether to display the amount that was refunded to the customer in the payment receipt. The label name for this field can be customised. |
3. Show amount in words | Enable this option to display the total amount of the payment receipt in words. |
The Invoice Details section contains field customisation for the invoices associated with the payment receipt.
Retainer Payment Receipts
To customise templates for your retainer payments receipts:
- Go to Settings on the top right corner of the page.
- Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
- Click the Retainer Payment Receipts tab.
- Hover your mouse pointer over a template preview and click Edit. You can also create a new template by clicking + New and selecting one of the pre-loaded templates.
Insight:These options are available only for retainer payment receipts and weren’t covered under the customisation that’s common to all modules section.

Fields | Description |
---|---|
1. Unused Amount | Choose whether to display the available amount in the retainer payment receipt. The label name for this field can be customised. |
2. Payment Refund | Choose whether to display the amount that was refunded to the customer in the retainer payment receipt. The label name for this field can be customised. |
3. Retainer Date | Marking this box will display the date on which the retainer invoice was created. The label name for this field can be customised. |
4. Show amount in words | Enable this option to display the total amount of the retainer payment receipt in words. |
The Invoice Details section contains field customisation for the invoices associated with the retainer payment receipt.
Customer Statement
To customise templates for your customer statements:
- Go to Settings on the top right corner of the page.
- Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
- Click the Customer Statement tab.
- Hover your mouse pointer over the template preview and click Edit.
Insight: These options are available only for certain modules and weren’t covered under the customisation that’s common to all modules section.
Enabling the Total Account Summary option will display various account related fields in the Header section of the customer statement. The label names of all these fields can be customised.
The Show Project Name option under Transaction Details in the Statement Table displays the name of the project in the statement table, if the transaction is associated to a project.
You can also edit the odd and even row colours in the Statement Table to differentiate between alternate rows better. This can be done by entering a hex colour code for a specific colour or by clicking the coloured square to use the colour picker.
Bills
To customise templates for your bills:
- Go to Settings on the top right corner of the page.
- Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
- Click the Bills tab.
- Hover your mouse pointer over a template preview and click Edit. You can also create a new template by clicking + New and selecting one of the pre-loaded templates.
Insight: This option is available only for the bills and wasn’t covered under the customisation that’s common to all modules section.
Enabling the Balance Due option in the Header section of your bill will display the balance that you owe your vendor.
Vendor Credits
To customise templates for your vendor credits:
- Go to Settings on the top right corner of the page.
- Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
- Click the Vendor Credits tab.
- Hover your mouse pointer over a template preview and click Edit.
Insight: This option is available only for certain modules and wasn’t covered under the customisation that’s common to all modules section.
Mark the Show Applied Bill Details box in the Bill Details section to customise fields related to the bills to which the vendor credit was applied.
Vendor Statement
To customise templates for your vendor statements:
- Go to Settings on the top right corner of the page.
- Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
- Click the Vendor Statement tab.
- Hover your mouse pointer over a template preview and click Edit.
Insight: These options are available only for certain modules and weren’t covered under the customisation that’s common to all modules section.
Enable the Total Account Summary option in the Header section to choose whether to display fields related to your vendor’s account. The label names of these fields can be customised.
You can also edit the odd and even row colours in the Statement Table to differentiate between alternate rows better. This can be done by entering a hex colour code for a specific colour or by clicking the coloured square to use the colour picker.
Create Templates in Multiple Languages
You can tailor-make templates in multiple languages and assign them to a particular customer or vendor. This makes it easy to send transactions to your customers and vendors in their native languages, if they prefer it. To do this:
- Go to Settings on the top right corner of the page.
- Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
- Navigate to the module for which you’d like to customise the template.
- Click + New.
- Hover your pointer over the template you’d like to customise and click Use This.

- Select a language from the dropdown and click Use This.

- Customise the template if required, and click Save.
Now, this template will be added to your list of templates from where you can edit or delete it, if necessary.
Clone Templates from One Module to Another
Your templates can easily be cloned from one module to another. This will save considerable time and effort when you’ve customised a template in one module and want the templates in the other modules to look similar.
To clone a template:
- Go to Settings on the top right corner of the page.
- Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
- Navigate to the module for which you’d like to customise the template.
Hover your pointer over a template and click the Gear dropdown next to the Edit button.
Select a module listed under Clone as.
Customise the template if necessary, and click Save.
Now, the cloned template will appear in your list of templates for the cloned module.