This version of the document, "Invoice Templates", was written for Excel Invoice Manager, which was now renamed to Uniform Invoice Software. For the latest version of this document, please download Uniform Invoice Software.
This chapter is intended to provide general information about the invoice template / workbook installed on your system. To get an in-depth look at the invoice template, see the chapter Customizing Invoice Template.
After installation, you will find a shortcut to the INVOICE.xls template under the Start -> (All) Programs -> OFFICE-KIT.COM -> Excel Invoice Manager menu. Click it to open the invoice template.
By default, in Windows 2000/XP the standard template file is stored in the installation folder of Excel Invoice Manager (\Program Files\Office-Kit.com\Excel Invoice Manager); In Windows Vista and Windows 7, this template is stored in a separated data file folder (<System Driver>\Users\Public\Documents\Excel Invoice Manager\. See Installing / Upgrading for more information.) However, you can move the template to anywhere in your system and create your own shortcut on the desktop. It is recommended that you create a backup copy of the template file before customizing it.
The invoice template contains 7 worksheets: Invoice, Sales Report, Customer Report, Product Report, Customer Statement, Sales Rep. Report, and Payment Report. As the names imply, the first worksheet is used to create, edit, and view invoices, and all other worksheets are used to create and edit reports.
Note: Don't rename the worksheets in the invoice template, as the name is the only identifier of a worksheet.
The Invoice Worksheet
The Invoice worksheet provides not only a What You See Is What You Get free invoice form to create and edit invoices, but also an interface for most of the system functionalities. There are 12 command buttons on the top of the worksheet. The left six buttons are targeted to the current invoice, and the right six buttons are targeted to the system. For example, if you click the Payment button, you are trying to add a payment for the invoice currently displayed.
Below is a screen shot of the invoice.xls template taken from Excel 2003, 1024 by 768 screen resolution.
The invoice form of the default invoice template (Click to enlarge)
For a comparison, here is another screen shot of the invoice.xls template in Excel Invoice Manager 2.10.1014 taken from Excel XP, 800 by 600 screen resolution.
Invoice template in 800*600 mode (Click to enlarge)
| Button | Action |
|---|---|
| Clear & New | Clears the Invoice worksheet. The invoice date and ship date field will be set to the current date, and the Tax Rate, Sales Rep. Name, Ship Via, Terms will also be set to default values. You can set the default values by clicking the Settings button on the Invoice worksheet. |
| Save To DB | Saves the current invoice to the database. If the invoice # field is not filled in, or it is filled in but does not exist in the database, then it will be treated as a new invoice, and a new invoice # will be created automatically if needed. Otherwise, you are updating an existing invoice identified by the Invoice #. |
| Extract/Email | Creates a new invoice template that contains only the current invoice. You can then email it to your customer, format it using various formatting tools, or save it to other formats, such as HTML, PDF, etc. If you check the Email invoice after extraction option on the Workbook Tab of the Settings window, it will create the email message automatically. Click to see an example of the extracted invoice. |
| Prints the current invoice using the default print options. To customize your print options, click Excel menu File -> Page Setup or File -> Print. Click to see an example of the Printed Invoice | |
| Payment | Adds a payment for the current invoice. |
| View Detail | Displays the current invoice in an Invoice Edit window, where you can edit, void, delete the invoice, or manage the payment records for the invoice. |
| Customers | Displays a window to list all customers. (Sample Customers window) |
| Products | Displays a window to list all products. (Sample Products window) |
| Invoices | Displays a window to list all invoices. (Sample Invoices window) |
| Reports | Displays the Reports window, where you can create new reports. (Figure) |
| Settings | Displays the Settings window, where you can set various options to control how the system works. (Figure) |
| Help | Displays the help document. |
There are also three buttons in the customer information area in the invoice.xls template.
| Button | Action |
|---|---|
| Save As New Customer | Saves the customer information you entered as a new customer. This gives you a quick way to add customers when you are entering invoices. You can also use this button to create new customers using existing customer information. For example, click the customer selection button (the magnifier icon) to select a customer, modify the customer information as needed, and then click the Save As New Customer button. |
| View Customer Info | Displays a Customer Edit window to show the customer identified by the customer ID you entered. (Figure) |
| Same As 'Bill To' | Copies the address information in the Bill To section to the Ship To section. |
The Report Worksheets
All report worksheets have a similar structure. Here is an example of the Sales Report worksheet.
Sales Report worksheet (Click to enlarge)
- On the top of the worksheet is a command bar where you will find five buttons to create new report, set visible columns, extract the report to a new workbook, print the report, and clear the current report worksheet.
- Below the command bar is the print titles area. To view the details about the print titles, click Excel menu File -> Page Setup, and then select Sheet in Excel 2000 - 2003, or click Page Layout tab -> Page Setup group -> Print Titles in Excel 2007/2010.
- Below the print title is the report body that is known as Subtotal Report in Excel terms. By default, the subtotal report is grouped by the first column, and uses the SUM function to subtotal numeric columns.
For more information about reports, see the chapter titled Reports.
Note: The invoice.xls template is the standard invoice template included in all editions of Excel Invoice Manager. If you have a Platinum, Pro or Enterprise edition of Excel Invoice Manager, you can also download various pre-customized invoice templates from the member area.