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 customized 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. Customize 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.

IN THIS PAGE…

Customize PDF Templates

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

General Tab (Available for All Modules)

Template Properties

Fields	Description
Template Name	Enter a name for your template.
Paper Size	You can select either A4 or Letter sizes based on your preference.
Orientation	Select 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 Stub in Invoices	Payment 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

Fields	Description
PDF Font	This 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 Color	Select a different font color for each column being displayed.
Font Color	Choose a font color.
Font Size	Specify the font size for the displayed invoice.

Background

Fields	Description
Background Image	A background image can be added to fill the background of the template.
Image Position	The position of this image can be adjusted using the Image Position dropdown.
Background Colour	With this option, you can change the color of the template’s background.

Header and Footer Tab (Available for All Modules)

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

Fields	Description
Background Image	A 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 Color	The background color of the header section can be changed either by entering a hex color code or clicking the colored sqaure to open the color picker.
Customize your header content	Customize the header content of your template with placeholders and font options.
Apply to first page only	Enable this option to customize the header section differently for the first page. You can also provide separate header content for the other pages.

Fields	Description
Font Size	Adjust the Font Size of the footer of the document.
Font Color	Select the text color of the footer.
Background Image	A background image can be added to fill the footer section of the template.
Image Position	The position of this image can be adjusted using the Image Position dropdown.
Show Page Number	Tick this box to include page numbers in the document.
Customize your footer content	You can add information to be displayed on the lower portion of the document. This content can be completely customized with placeholders, tables, font options, and links to suit your needs.

Header & Footer - Footer

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

Organization Details

Fields	Description
Show Organization Logo	This option shows your business logo and let’s you adjust its size.
Resize Logo	Your organization’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 Image	A background image can be added to fill the footer section of the template.
Show Organization Name	Enable this option to show your organization’s name in the template.
Show Organization Address	Select if you wish to show your organization’s address on the template.
Organization Address Format	This option lets you change your organization’s address format. You can also add or remove placeholders to customize it further.

Customer Details (Available only for Sales Transactions)

Fields	Description
Customer Name	Change the Font Color and Font Size of your customer’s name in the document.
Font Color	Choose the Font Color for the customer’s name.
Bill To	Select this option to include the billing address in the template.
Billing Address Format	Click this option to customize the format of the billing address by inserting placeholders.
Ship To	Select this option to include the shipping address in the template.
Shipping Address Format	Select this option to customize the format of the shipping address by adding the required placeholders.

Vendor Details (Available only for Purchase Transactions)

Fields	Description
Vendor Name	Change the Font Color and Font Size of your vendor’s name in the document.
Bill To	Select this option to include the billing address in the document.
Billing Address Format	Click this option to customize the format of the billing address by inserting placeholders.

Document Details (Available for All Modules)

Fields	Description
Show Document Title	Enable this option to display the document’s title in the template.
Font Size and Color	Set the Font Size and Font Color for the text in the document.
Document Information	Toggle the checkboxes to display or hide the listed fields. You can also edit the label names in the adjacent text boxes.

Table Tab

Labels

Fields	Description	Supported Modules
Label Fields	Enable the fields to add them to PDF templates, noting that label fields vary across templates based on document purpose.	All Modules
Customize Item Name and Description	Customize the item name and description format in PDFs by inserting placeholders and adding custom content.	All Modules
Invoice Created From Projects	You can apply these labels to adjust the project details in the template.	Invoices
Customize table cell width	You can adjust the column width of your table.	All Modules

Layout

Fields	Description	Supported Modules
Table Header, Item Row, and Item Description	Adjust the Font Size, Background Color, and Font Color settings.	All Modules

Total Tab

Total Section

Labels

Fields	Description	Supported Modules
Show Total Section	Select this option to add fields like Sub Total, Shipping Charges, Discount, and Total Taxable Amount, Tax Details, Total, Currency Symbol and Quantity to the template	Quotes, Sales Orders, Invoices, Vendor Credits, Bills, Retainer Invoices
Show Payment Details	Choose 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 Words	Choose this option to display the amount in words on the template.	Quotes, Sales Orders, Invoices, Retainer Invoices

Layout

Fields	Description	Supported Modules
Total (Subtotal, Tax)	Adjust the Font Size, Font Color, and Background Color of these fields based on your preference.	All Modules
Balance Due	Adjust the Font Size, Font Color and Background Color of these fields based on your preference.	All Modules

Taxes

Fields	Description	Supported Modules
Show Tax Summary Table	Check this option if you want to display tax information.	Invoices, Sales Orders, Quotes, Credit Notes
Show Retainer Tax Summary	Check this option if you want to display retainer tax information.	Invoices, Sales Orders, Credit Notes

Other Details Tab

Document Summary

Fields	Description	Supported Modules
Notes	Adjust the Label and Font Size for notes.	Invoices, Quotes, Sales Orders, Credit Notes, Retainer Invoices
Payment Options	Enable this option to include available online payment methods in the template.	Invoices, Quotes, Sales Orders, Credit Notes, Retainer Invoices
Add your bank details	Select 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 Code	Select this option to view the invoice by scanning the QR Code.	Invoices
Terms and Conditions	Check this option if you want to add terms and conditions to your template. Also customize the Label and Font Size of this field.	All Sales and Purchase Modules
Signature	Enable 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

Annexure

Fields	Description	Supported Modules
Add Annexure Content	Check this option if you want to display tax information.	Invoices, Sales Orders, Quotes, Credit Notes
Show Retainer Tax Summary	Click 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 organization. This will be included at the end of every invoice.	All Sales and Purchase Modules

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

Fields	Description
Show Invoice Details	Check this option if you want to add your invoice details to your payment receipts.
Label Fields	Choose the labels you prefer to display in the templates.

Layout

Fields	Description
Table Header	Adjust the Font Size, Background Color, and Font Color for the header of the table.
Item Row	Customize the Font Size, Item Table Color, and Font Color.
Payment For	Adjust the Font Size and Font Color based on your preference.

Bill Details Tab (Available in Vendor Payment)

Labels

Fields	Description
Show Bill Details	Select this option to include invoice details in payment receipts.
Label Fields	Choose any of the labels to include it in payment receipts.

Layout

Fields	Description
Table Header	Customize the Font Size, Background Color, and Font Color for the table header.
Item Row	Customize Font Size, Item Table Color and Font Color.
Payment For	Customize the Font Size and Font Color for this section.

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

Fields	Description
Document Information	Toggle fields to show/hide in the template and edit label names.
Customer Name	Configure the Received From address format, Font Color, Font Size, Amount Received and Currency Symbol.
Vendor Name	In this section, configure the Vendor Name format, its Font Color, Font Size, Amount Paid, and Currency Symbol.
Amount Received	Adjust the Font Size, Font Color and Background Color of this label.
Amount Paid	Adjust the Font Size, Font Color and Background Color of this label.
Signature	Enable this option to include signatures in your PDF Template, with the choice to upload an image for the signature.

Other Actions in Templates

Apart from the customizations 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 Color Theme

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

Go to Settings.
Select PDF Templates under Customization.
In the Templates pane, select the module you want to customize.
Click New in the top right corner to create a new template, or hover over an existing template and click Edit to customize the template.
In the Edit page, click the Select Color Theme dropdown at the top of the page, and select the color theme for your template.
Click Save.

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 Customization.
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.

Change Default Template

By default, each module has a default template. If you’ve customized 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 Customization.
In the Templates pane, select the module you want to customize.
Hover over the existing template and click the Settings icon dropdown.
Click Set as Default.

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 customizations are present in the new template.

In Zoho Books, if you’ve customized 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 Customization.
In the Templates pane, select the module you want to customize.
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.

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 Customization.
In the Templates pane, select the module you want to customize.
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.

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