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PDF Templates

Templates are predefined formats or layouts that serve as a starting point for creating something, such as a document, website, or design. They provide a structure or framework that can be customised to create professional-looking PDFs without starting from scratch.

In Zoho Books, you can use templates to create standardized documents like invoices, estimates, purchase orders, sales orders, and similar transactions in PDF. Customise the template to reflect your brand identity and include essential information related to your transactions using one of the pre-loaded templates or creating a new one.

Customise PDF Templates

  • Go to Settings.
  • Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
  • In the Templates pane, select the module you want to customise.
  • Click + New in the top right corner to create a new template, or hover over an existing template and click Edit to customise the template.
Customise PDF Template

General Tab (Available for All Modules)

Template Properties  

FieldsDescription
Template NameEnter a name for your template.
Paper SizeYou can select either A4 or Letter sizes based on your preference.
OrientationSelect either Portrait or Landscape as the orientation.
Margins (in inches)The margins of the template determine how much distance there is between the template’s content and its edges.
Include Payment StubPayment Stub is a detachable section that is added to an invoice to collect cash payments, especially when you send invoices via postal services. This option is available only for Invoices.

General Tab - Template Properties  

Font

FieldsDescription
PDF FontThis is the font that will be used to display content in this template. A note will appear under the selected font explaining the languages it’s best suited for.
Label ColourSelect a different font colour for each column being displayed.
Font ColourChoose a font colour.
Font SizeSpecify the font size for the displayed invoice.
General Tab - Font

Background

FieldsDescription
Background ImageA background image can be added to fill the background of the template.
Image PositionThe position of this image can be adjusted using the Image Position dropdown.
Background ColourWith this option, you can change the colour of the template’s background.
General Tab - Background

Note: In Zoho Books, certain modules have separate tabs for Header and Footer.

FieldsDescription
Background ImageA background image can be added to fill the header section of the template.

Note: The size of the background image cannot exceed 1 MB.

Background colourThe background colour of the header section can be changed either by entering a hex colour code or clicking the coloured sqaure to open the colour picker.
Customise your header contentCustomise the header content of your template with placeholders and font options.
Apply to first page onlyEnable this option to customise the header section differently for the first page. You can also provide separate header content for the other pages.
Header & Footer - Header
FieldsDescription
Font SizeAdjust the font size of the footer of the document.
Font colourSelect the text colour of the footer.
Background ImageA background image can be added to fill the footer section of the template.
Image PositionThe position of this image can be adjusted using the Image Position dropdown.
Show Page NumberTick this box to include page numbers in the document.
Customise your footer contentYou can add information to be displayed on the lower portion of the document. This content can be completely customised with placeholders, tables, font options, and links to suit your needs.

Header & Footer - Footer   

Transaction Details Tab (Available for All Sales and Purchase Modules)

Organisation Details

FieldsDescription
Show Organisation LogoThis option shows your business logo and let’s you adjust its size.
Resize LogoYour 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.

Background ImageA background image can be added to fill the footer section of the template.
Show Organisation NameEnable this option to show your organisation’s name in the template.
Show Organisation AddressSelect if you wish to show your organisation’s address on the template.
Organisation Address FormatThis option lets you change your organisation’s address format. You can also add or remove placeholders to customise it further.
Show Dispatch From AddressEnable this option to display the Dispatch From address in your invoice PDF.
Note that this field will be visible only if e-Invoicing is enabled for your organisation.
Dispatch From Address FormatYou can modify the Dispatch From address format displayed in your transaction PDFs. Note that this field will be visible only if e-Invoicing is enabled for your organisation.

Customer Details (Available only for Sales Transactions)

FieldsDescription
Customer NameChange the Font Colour and Font Size of your customer’s name in the document.
Font ColourChoose the Font Colour for the customer’s name.
Bill ToSelect this option to include the billing address in the template.
Billing Address FormatClick this option to customise the format of the billing address by inserting placeholders.
Ship ToSelect this option to include the shipping address in the template.
Shipping Address FormatSelect this option to customise the format of the shipping address by adding the required placeholders.
Transaction Details - Customer Details

Vendor Details (Available only for Purchase Transactions)

FieldsDescription
Vendor NameChange the Font colour and Font Size of your vendor’s name in the document.
Bill ToSelect this option to include the billing address in the document.
Billing Address FormatClick this option to customise the format of the billing address by inserting placeholders.
Transaction Details - Vendor Details

Document Details (Available for All Modules)

FieldsDescription
Show Document TitleEnable this option to display the document’s title in the template.
Font Size and ColourSet the Font Size and Font Colour for the text in the document.
Document InformationToggle the checkboxes to display or hide the listed fields. You can also edit the label names in the adjacent text boxes.
Transaction Details - Document Details

Table Tab

Labels

FieldsDescriptionSupported Modules
Label FieldsEnable the fields to add them to PDF templates, noting that label fields vary across templates based on document purpose.All Modules
Customise Item Name and DescriptionCustomise the item name and description format in PDFs by inserting placeholders and adding custom content.All Modules
Invoice Created From ProjectsYou can apply these labels to adjust the project details in the template.Invoices
Customise table cell widthYou can adjust the column width of your table.All Modules
Table - Labels

Layout

FieldsDescriptionSupported Modules
Table Header, Item Row, and Item DescriptionAdjust the Font Size, Background colour, and Font colour settings.All Modules
Table - Layout

Total Tab

Total Section 

Labels
FieldsDescriptionSupported Modules
Show Total SectionSelect this option to add fields like Sub Total, Shipping Charges, Discount, and Total Taxable Amount, Tax Details, Total, Currency Symbol and Quantity to the templateQuotes, Sales Orders, Invoices, Vendor Credits, Bills, Retainer Invoices
Show Payment DetailsChoose this option to include fields such as Payments Made, Credits Applied, Amount Withheld, Write Off Amount and Balance Due to the template.Quotes, Sales Orders, Invoices, Vendor Credits, Bills, Retainer Invoices
Show Amount in WordsChoose this option to display the amount in words on the template.Quotes, Sales Orders, Invoices, Retainer Invoices
Total - Labels
Layout
FieldsDescriptionSupported Modules
Total (Subtotal, Tax)Adjust the Font Size, Font colour, and Background colour of these fields based on your preference.All Modules
Balance DueAdjust the Font Size, Font colour and Background colour of these fields based on your preference.All Modules
Table - Layout

Taxes

FieldsDescriptionSupported Modules
Show Tax Summary TableCheck this option if you want to display tax information.Invoices, Sales Orders, Quotes, Credit Notes
Show Retainer Tax SummaryCheck this option if you want to display retainer tax information.Invoices, Sales Orders, Credit Notes
Total - Taxes

Other Details Tab

Document Summary

FieldsDescriptionSupported Modules
NotesAdjust the Label and Font Size for notes.Invoices, Quotes, Sales Orders, Credit Notes, Retainer Invoices
Payment OptionsEnable this option to include available online payment methods in the template.Invoices, Quotes, Sales Orders, Credit Notes, Retainer Invoices
Add your bank detailsSelect this option to include your bank account details in the template so that your customers can initiate payments towards this bank account.Invoices, Quotes, Sales Orders, Credit Notes, Retainer Invoices
Show Invoice QR CodeSelect this option to view the invoice by scanning the QR Code.Invoices
Terms and ConditionsCheck this option if you want to add terms and conditions to your template. Also customise the Label and Font Size of this field.All Sales and Purchase Modules
SignatureEnable this option if you want to add a signature to your template. You can upload an image of your signature and add a name for it.All Sales and Purchase Modules
e-Invoicing DetailsCheck the options QR Code, IRN, Ack No., Ack Date to add these details in the bottom section of the invoice template.Invoices
Other Details - Document Summary

Annexure

FieldsDescriptionSupported Modules
Add Annexure ContentCheck this option if you want to display tax information.Invoices, Sales Orders, Quotes, Credit Notes
Show Retainer Tax SummaryClick Add Annexure Content to enter additional information apart from your Terms and Conditions. It can include by-laws, clauses and other details pertaining to your organisation. This will be included at the end of every invoice.All Sales and Purchase Modules
Other Details - Annexure

Note: Annexure is available as a separate tab for Payment Receipts and Retainer Payment Receipts.

Invoice Details Tab (Available in Payment Receipts and Retainer Payment Receipts)

Labels
FieldsDescription
Show Invoice DetailsCheck this option if you want to add your invoice details to your payment receipts.
Label FieldsChoose the labels you prefer to display in the templates.
Invoice Details - Label
Layout
FieldsDescription
Table HeaderAdjust the Font Size, Background colour, and Font colour for the header of the table.
Item RowCustomise the Font Size, Item Table colour, and Font colour.
Payment ForAdjust the Font Size and Font colour based on your preference.
Invoice Details - Layout

Bill Details Tab (Available in Vendor Payment)

Labels
FieldsDescription
Show Bill DetailsSelect this option to include invoice details in payment receipts.
Label FieldsChoose any of the labels to include it in payment receipts.
Bill Details - Labels
Layout
FieldsDescription
Table HeaderCustomise the Font Size, Background colour, and Font colour for the table header.
Item RowCustomise the Font Size, Item Table colour and Font colour of the item row.
Payment ForCustomise the Font Size and Font colour for this section.
Bill Details - Layout

Receipt Information Tab (Available in Payment Receipts, Retainer Payment Receipts and Vendor Payment)

FieldsDescription
Document InformationToggle fields to show/hide in the template and edit label names.
Customer NameConfigure the Received From address format, Font colour, Font Size, Amount Received and Currency Symbol.
Vendor NameIn this section, configure the Vendor Name format, its Font colour, Font Size, Amount Paid, and Currency Symbol.
Amount ReceivedAdjust the Font Size, Font colour and Background colour of this label.
Amount PaidAdjust the Font Size, Font colour and Background colour of this label.
SignatureEnable this option to include signatures in your PDF Template, with the choice to upload an image for the signature.
Receipt Information

Other Actions in Templates

Apart from the customisations that you can do in each tab, there are other actions that you can perform in the PDF Templates module in Zoho Books.

Choose a Colour Theme

In Zoho Books, users can personalize the colours in their document templates by selecting from a variety of available colour themes. To choose a colour theme for your template:

  • Go to Settings.
  • Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
  • In the Templates pane, select the module you want to customise.
  • Click + New in the top right corner to create a new template, or hover over an existing template and click Edit to customise the template.
  • In the Edit page, click the Select Colour Theme dropdown at the top of the page, and select the colour theme for your template.
  • Click Save.
Choose a Colour Theme

Preview Templates

The Preview Templates option in Zoho Books allows you to view how your templates (such as invoices, quotes, etc.) will appear before sending them. To preview templates:

  • Go to Settings.
  • Click PDF Templates under Customisation.
  • Select the module in the Templates pane to preview the template you want.
  • Hover over a template in the module, and click the Settings icon to see more options.
  • Click Preview.
Preview Templates

Change Default Template

By default, each module has a default template. If you’ve customised and created a new template, you can set that as the default template for that module’s PDFs. To change the default template:

  • Go to Settings.
  • Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
  • In the Templates pane, select the module you want to customise.
  • Hover over the existing template and click the Settings icon dropdown.
  • Click Set as Default.
Change Default Tempalate

Now, the default template will be automatically applied to all transactions, ensuring a consistent format.

Pro Tip: You can also set a default template for each customer or vendor in Zoho Books. Learn how to associate templates to customers and vendors.

Clone Templates

Cloning templates simplifies the process of creating a new template, making it quicker and ensuring that all the basic customisations are present in the new template.

In Zoho Books, if you’ve customised a template for one module, you can clone that template for use in another module. To clone a template:

  • Go to Settings.
  • Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
  • In the Templates pane, select the module you want to customise.
  • Hover over the existing template and click the Settings icon dropdown.
  • In the dropdown, under CLONE AS, select the module you want to clone the template into.
  • In the next page, make the necessary changes and click Save.
Clone Templates

Now, by cloning, you can use different templates with the same properties for various modules.

Delete Templates

Prerequisites:

  • Make sure the template is not set as default or associated to any customer or vendor.
  • If the template is associated with a customer or vendor, associate another template before deleting it.

To delete a template:

  • Go to Settings.
  • Select PDF Templates under Customisation.
  • In the Templates pane, select the module you want to customise.
  • Hover over the existing template and click the Settings icon dropdown.
  • In the dropdown, click Delete.
  • In the pop-up, click OK to confirm the deletion.
Delete Templates
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