Customize the invoice display: fields, columns and layout

You can adapt the invoice display in faktoora to your requirements. This article explains which display elements you can configure and how to customize your invoice templates.

Available display options in invoice templates

Invoice templates in faktoora determine how your invoice is displayed on the generated PDF. You can find configuration options in the invoice settings:

1. Columns for invoice line items: you can choose which information is visible in the line item table.
2. Company details: company, address, commercial register number, tax number and contact details.
3. Contact information: phone, email and other contact details of the seller.
4. Payment terms and bank details: display of payment deadlines, IBAN and account holder.
5. Logo and footer: your own logo and a personalized footer.

Column selection for invoice line items

The standard invoice layout contains a tax column showing the tax rates. faktoora currently does not support an alternative column selection, such as a discount column instead of a tax column.

Customized layouts on request: if you need a specialized layout that deviates from the standard (for example, different columns or a different calculation logic), you can have an invoice layout customized on request. Contact our support with your requirements.

Company details on the invoice

The company details are taken automatically from your profile settings:

• Company name: shown at the top of the invoice
• Address: your company's billing address
• Commercial register number: optionally visible if you have stored it
• Tax number/VAT ID: optionally visible

To change these details, go to Settings → Profile and edit the company data there. Changes are shown on invoices created afterwards.

Customer data and delivery address

The customer data comes from your contacts. When you create an invoice based on a template or a previous invoice:

• Using current customer data: the invoice shows the customer's currently stored data (name, address, etc.).
• Snapshot functionality: when the invoice is created, a snapshot of the customer data is captured. This means that later changes to the address are not visible on this invoice, but appear on future invoices.

If an outdated or wrong address is shown on an invoice:

1. Check whether the customer details in the contacts are correct.
2. An invoice that has already been created shows the data that was valid at the time of creation; it cannot be changed afterwards. Create a corrected invoice or credit note if necessary.

Contact person and reference numbers

Contact person, contract number and service recipient

You can enter this information in the invoice data:

• Contact person: optionally recorded in the invoice XML (for ZUGFeRD/XRechnung). Whether it is shown in the PDF layout depends on your invoice template. The contact person is present in the structured data even if it is not shown in the PDF.
• Contract number: can be entered as a reference in the invoice settings.
• Service recipient: if this differs from the invoice recipient, this information is recorded in the invoice data.

You must fill in these fields explicitly when creating the invoice; they are not taken automatically from the standard customer data.

Logo and footer

The logo alignment (left or right) is a setting you can make in the invoice template.

A specific placement of the logo in the footer area or customization of the footer, on the other hand, is a customized layout change. This is a service available on request and can be configured via our support.

Invoice number and date on the PDF

The invoice number and invoice date should be displayed correctly on the generated PDF. If this is not the case:

• For invoices created via the API: make sure the API request contains the correct values for invoiceNumber and issueDate.
• For invoices created in the web UI: the invoice number is incremented automatically; check your invoice number settings under Settings → Invoices.

See also: Fixing common display problems in invoice PDFs.

Invoice formats and display

The display differs depending on the invoice format:

• PDF invoices: show the complete visual representation with all configured layout elements.
• ZUGFeRD invoices: a hybrid format of PDF and structured XML. The PDF shows the layout; the XML data is additionally available for automated processing.
• XRechnungen: structured XML data only, no visual PDF representation. The layout plays no role here.

See also: Invoice formats and conversion.

Input requirement "Select design"

When creating an invoice, the "Select design" field may be required. This depends on whether the template feature is enabled in your account.

• If required: select a template to continue.
• If optional: you can select a template or work with the default design.

If you cannot fill in the field or receive error messages, contact our support.

Customized layouts on request

If you need a layout that goes beyond the standard options (for example, different columns, a different calculation logic or a completely customized design), you can have your own invoice layout created or changed. This is a service available on request.

Contact our support with your requirements so that we can develop a layout that meets your needs.

Subtotal (net amount)

A "Net subtotal" is shown automatically on the invoice: it appears in the invoice totals above the VAT and the gross amount as soon as at least one tax rate is calculated and you are not registered as VAT-exempt. There is no separate setting to show or hide this line.

Notes and free text in the PDF

Using the "Edit cover letter and notes" button, you can add free-text notes to an invoice (each with a category and a content text). Every saved note appears on the PDF; there is no option to store individual notes internally only and specifically hide them from the PDF. To remove a note from the printout, delete it individually in the editing window using the trash can icon, or use "Delete all free texts" to remove all notes at once.