Xero Template Design

GLO’s Xero template design service allows you to upgrade the documents you generate through your Xero accounting software with customised, on-brand templates. Made to impress clients and drive sales at the most critical point in the funnel, Xero template design delivers a wide range of bespoke, on-brand proposals, quotes, invoices, customer credit notes, purchase orders, and customer statements both in standalone and package formats, each tailored to your unique requirements. 

If you’re looking to stand out from the crowd when communicating the most important of details to your customers via Xero, contact GLO’s invoice template design team today. We’ll be happy to create a beautifully bespoke document template in line with your brand guidelines, on your terms.

The term “branded invoicing” generally refers to invoicing or stationery designed in line with a company, product, or service’s image or brand. This customisation can be used to elevate the traditional ‘bare bones’ design of administrative documents and may include brand colours, logos, fonts, imagery, or any other distinctive features in line with the sender’s image.

Branded or ‘customised invoicing’ is an excellent tool for brand messaging and communication, delivering a strong image of professionalism to customers at a key point in the sales funnel. This helps build an ongoing connection with leads, improving the customer experience, and perhaps most importantly, driving conversion at the most pivotal point in the transaction.

Invoices can be customised to meet the precise needs of the sender, but typically need to include a unique ID number, company name, address and contact details, customer address and details (e.g. name), a clear (sometimes itemised) list of the service or goods invoiced for, the date, the amount charged, and VAT in order to ensure functionality.

Beyond the staples listed above, many opt for customised or branded invoices with additional elements in line with their company image – for example, images and graphics, brand colours, logos, tables, and watermarks. For many, these extra elements can truly make the difference between a sale and a loss – differentiating their brand from others with a professional, memorable image at the point of sale or decision.

Put simply, the phrase ‘invoice format’ refers to the way an invoice is laid out, including headers, data, form, and fields. These elements, both individually and collectively, can be hugely important for records, legal purposes, tax filing, and payment tracking on both sides – meaning they must effectively display to the recipient all costs incurred relating to the product or service purchased/to be purchased. 

An invoice format is not, however, the same as an invoice template. A template is a pre-formatted invoice, with fields including dummy data that can be replaced with your own information.

Commonly used accounting software including Xero and Quickbooks allow their users to generate invoices with pre-made templates whilst granting the ability to edit and amend their format to best suit their current needs. General edits can be made to the invoice in this manner, however, if you’re looking for full creative freedom over the look and layout of your invoice and documents, GLO’s custom DOCX branding service is the best path to take.

Invoice branding is an innovative way to optimise an often overlooked tool, allowing companies and individuals to ensure their brand voice is heard at some of the most important points of the sales funnel – proposal, quoting, and invoicing. In submitting a professionally created, on-brand document, you’ll create or add to a perception of quality, trustworthiness, and professionalism, increasing your chances of conversion and fast payment. 

As mentioned above, GLO’s branding and customisation options aren’t solely limited to invoice documents. In line with modern accounting software Xero’s offerings, we’re able to create stunning multi-page proposal templates with the option of adding personal touches for each client. Plus, these unique documents can be converted into a quote with just the click of a button – saving you valuable time and improving the customer experience.

When you choose GLO to create your custom Xero design template, you’ll get access to a fully comprehensive service – meaning we’ll manage as many of the more complex steps of your invoice design as possible on your behalf. With us, all you’ll have to do is upload the file. After approving and receiving your final DOCX file from us, you can import it by completing the following steps:

1. Open Xero.
2. Click your business name, open settings, and go into invoice settings.
3. Select the new branding theme arrow then choose Custom.docx.
4. Enter a name for your custom theme, and click OK.
5. Click upload and select ‘browse for invoice’. This will open your documents.
6. Select and use your custom DOCX file.

Seeing more and more DOCX files in your inbox and documents but unsure of what they actually are? Just like a document with the ending .doc, DOCX files belong to Microsoft Word. Essentially, they’re an updated type of text document designed to use less storage space than their .doc predecessors, taking inspiration from XML files, hence the name ‘DOCX’! 

Besides offering a significantly smaller file format, DOCX files are also highly versatile, being readable in many processors, including Word, Google Docs, and Pages, making them the perfect choice for many purposes – from essay writing to the creation of custom Xero invoice templates!

Whilst both the doc and DOCX file types were developed by Microsoft, DOCX, introduced in 2007, and made the default save file for Word in 2017, is generally seen as the superior successor to doc. 

The primary difference between the two file types is the ‘openness’ of the DOX file type. Whilst doc files are saved in a binary file only accessible by Microsoft programmes, DOCX files are actually a zip file including all XML files related to the document. DOCX’s upgraded format allows the file to be opened with any zip compression software – making them relatively universal. In addition, DOCX’s upgraded setup makes files smaller in size, allowing for easy sharing (particularly through email), and for the use of additional features not present in doc files.

Modern accounting software brings a whole host of features and benefits to the table – including the ability to customise your stationery without going to a print shop! For example, Xero provides a select number of initial templates for invoices, statements, credit notes, quotes, purchase orders, receipts, remittance advice, and proposals, with relatively minimal levels of customisation (e.g. changing fields and adding your own logo), plus the ability to upload your own fully bespoke document as a ‘branding theme’! 

Such themes are generally built outside of the Xero software by graphic designers – allowing for full creative freedom and control, alongside brilliant results. If you’re interested in purchasing a customised invoice of full stationery set for your business’ Xero account, reach out to GLO’s expert team today for a free consultation!

DOCX files are incredibly versatile, and can generally be opened using any full reader application, with both free and paid options available for download. Their ‘default’ editing program is Microsoft Word (2007 and above), but they can also be accessed using the free programme ‘Word Viewer’, and non-Microsoft programs such as WPS, OpenOffice Writer, ONLYOFFICE, Google Docs, and Apple’s Pages application. The opportunities are endless! 

The extent to which DOCX files can be edited using these programmes varies – however, GLO’s custom invoice DOCX files are sent in a perfected template format, meaning all our recipients need to do is upload the final DOCX file to their accounting software. Simple!

Designed to strengthen brands, increase levels of trust and authority, and, of course, drive sales, a custom invoice template really can make all the difference. The best way to go about creating one depends on the platform you use to invoice, the level of customisation you’re seeking, and your desired look. Those seeking simply to complete the suggested fields and add their logo to a plain invoice on Xero might wish to test out the brand’s generic templates, while an entirely bespoke look including imagery, brand colours, and more, requires the use of external software, meaning investing in a graphic designer or Xero invoice template agency is generally the way to go.