How to Add a Footer in QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online is one of the most popular cloud-based accounting platforms in the world, known for its flexibility, accessibility, and professional invoicing tools. One of the advantages of using QuickBooks Online is its ability to create customized forms,  especially invoices, estimates, and sales receipts,  that reflect your company’s brand and style.

Among the many elements you can customize in QuickBooks Online, adding a footer is one of the simplest yet most effective ways to improve your document presentation. A footer may not take up much space, but it can carry a great deal of important information, from legal disclaimers and tax registration numbers to payment instructions and thank-you notes.

In this article, we’ll explore how to add a footer in QuickBooks Online in a step-by-step manner. You’ll also learn best practices for formatting, personalizing, and optimizing your footer for clarity and professionalism.

Understanding the Purpose of a Footer

Before we begin, it helps to understand what the footer is and why it’s useful. In QuickBooks Online, the footer appears at the bottom of your invoices, sales receipts, or estimates. It is a permanent section that stays consistent across all pages of a particular document type.

The footer is typically used for information that doesn’t change from one transaction to another. For example:

• Business registration details or tax identification numbers
• Payment instructions (such as bank account details or accepted payment methods)
• Legal disclaimers or terms and conditions
• A thank-you message to customers
• Contact information (such as phone number, email, or website)
• A company slogan or tagline

Adding a footer makes your invoices look more complete and professional while ensuring key details are always included automatically.

Step 1: Sign In to QuickBooks Online

Start by logging into your QuickBooks Online account. You’ll land on the dashboard that displays your company overview, recent transactions, and financial summaries.

To access your form customization options, you’ll need to open the Custom Form Styles section, where all invoice and sales form templates are managed.

Step 2: Go to Custom Form Styles

In the left-hand menu, click on Settings (the small gear icon near the top-right corner of your screen). From the menu that appears, choose Custom Form Styles under the Your Company section.

This section allows you to create and modify templates for invoices, estimates, sales receipts, and other documents. Each form style controls how your documents look when sent to customers—colors, fonts, logos, and text sections are all managed here.

Step 3: Choose or Create a Template

You’ll now see a list of any existing templates. You can either:

• Edit an existing template, or
• Create a new one from scratch.
  

If you already have a preferred invoice style, select it and click Edit. If not, click New Style and choose Invoice (or another document type) from the dropdown options.

Creating a new template is useful if you want to experiment with different designs without changing your current live form.

Step 4: Open the Content Tab

Once you’ve opened your template, you’ll see several tabs along the top: Design, Content, and Emails.

Click on the Content tab. This is where you can customize the actual text and structure of your invoice,  header, body, and footer.

Within the Content tab, you’ll see a small preview of the invoice divided into three sections. Each section represents a part of the form:

1. The top section (Header) — company name, logo, and customer information
2. The middle section (Body) — product or service details
3. The bottom section (Footer) — total amounts, messages, and additional notes

Click directly on the bottom section of the preview. This will activate the footer area for editing.

Step 5: Add Your Footer Text

After clicking the footer area, you’ll see text boxes on the right-hand side of the screen where you can enter customized messages. These fields allow you to add specific content to your footer.

You can use this area for various purposes depending on your business needs. Here are a few examples of what to include:

• Payment details:
  “Please make payment to ABC Ltd, Account Number 12345678, Sort Code 00-00-00.”
• Legal details:
  “Registered in the United States under EIN 12-3456789.”
• VAT or tax registration:
  “VAT Registration Number: GB123456789.”
• Thank-you message:
  “Thank you for your business! We appreciate your prompt payment.”
• Terms and conditions:
  “Payment due within 30 days. Late payments may be subject to a finance charge.”

You can enter a combination of these, but try to keep the text concise and professional. Overloading the footer with too much text can make your invoice look cluttered.

Step 6: Format Your Footer Text

While QuickBooks Online doesn’t include advanced text formatting tools like bold or italic within the footer editor, you can still organize your content for readability by using short sentences, line breaks, and clear phrasing.

For instance, you can press the Enter key to create line breaks, separating your information logically:

Thank you for your business!
Please make all payments within 30 days.
Bank: ABC Ltd | Account No: 12345678 | Sort Code: 00-00-00  

Using line breaks like this keeps your footer neat and easy to read when printed or viewed on a screen.

Step 7: Preview Your Changes

Once you’ve entered your footer text, click Preview PDF or Done to view a live preview of your invoice.

Check that the footer appears correctly at the bottom of the page. Look for:

• Proper spacing between the totals and the footer text
• Consistent alignment
• Readable font size
• No text being cut off at the edge of the page

If the footer doesn’t look right, go back to the Content tab and adjust the spacing or edit the text until it fits neatly.

Step 8: Save Your Template

After confirming your footer looks good, click Done to save your changes.  If you created a new form style, you can now choose to make it your default template so that all new invoices automatically include the footer.  To do this, return to the Custom Form Styles list, find your new template, and select Make Default from the dropdown menu.  Now, every new invoice you create will include your customized footer automatically.

Step 9: Test Your Footer

To ensure that your footer appears correctly in real-world use, create a test invoice.

From the dashboard, go to Sales → Invoices → New Invoice, and choose any customer (you can even create a test customer). Select your new or edited form style from the “Customize” menu within the invoice editor.

Then, preview or download the invoice as a PDF. Check the footer’s position, spacing, and overall appearance.

This test run ensures that your footer looks exactly how you want before you send an actual invoice to a customer.

Step 10: Editing or Updating Your Footer Later

If you ever need to update your footer, to change your payment details or add new legal information,  you can return to Custom Form Styles, open the template, and modify the footer text.  These changes will apply only to new invoices created after you save the update. Any invoices you’ve already sent or saved will retain the old footer information, preserving historical accuracy.  This allows you to keep your past invoices consistent while ensuring all future ones display your most current information.

Step 11: Using the Footer for Branding and Communication

A well-designed footer isn’t just about compliance or payment details—it’s also a subtle way to reinforce your brand identity.

Adding a short thank-you message, slogan, or tagline can make your invoices feel more personal and aligned with your business values. For example:

• “Thank you for supporting local businesses.”
• “Delivering quality and trust since 2010.”
• “We appreciate your continued partnership.”

Even small touches like these can leave a positive impression and strengthen relationships with your clients.  If your business has a logo and color theme, ensure your invoice design complements your footer message. The combination of branding and thoughtful language gives your documents a polished and professional look.

Step 12: Compliance and Legal Requirements

Depending on your country or region, there may be legal requirements for what must appear on your invoices.  For instance, in some regions, registered businesses must display their registration number, tax identification number, or VAT registration details. If you operate as a limited company, you may also need to show your registered office address.

The footer is an ideal place to include these details without crowding the main body of your invoice. By placing compliance-related information here, you meet legal obligations while maintaining a clean, customer-friendly layout.

Step 13: Tips for Effective Footer Design

Here are some best practices for creating a professional and effective footer in QuickBooks Online:

1. Keep it short and clear: Limit your footer to essential information only. Too much text can distract from your invoice totals or make the page look crowded.
2. Be consistent: Use the same footer on all documents to reinforce your brand identity.
3. Ensure accuracy: Double-check details like bank accounts, tax numbers, and company addresses.
4. Avoid clutter: Don’t repeat information that already appears elsewhere on the invoice.
5. Test readability: Make sure the footer prints clearly on both paper and digital formats.
6. Review regularly: Update your footer whenever your business details or policies change.

Following these simple tips ensures that your footer remains useful, professional, and aligned with your brand.

Step 14: Using Footers Across Other Documents

QuickBooks Online allows you to apply similar customization to other sales forms, such as estimates, sales receipts, and purchase orders.  You can follow the same steps described above,  simply create or edit the desired form type from the Custom Form Styles page, and add your footer text under the Content tab.  Keeping your footers consistent across all your documents helps establish brand recognition and ensures that all customer-facing materials share the same professional tone and design.

Step 15: Troubleshooting Common Footer Issues

While adding a footer is straightforward, you might occasionally encounter minor issues. Here are some common problems and their solutions:

Footer doesn’t show on the invoice:
Make sure you’ve saved your changes and selected the correct template when creating your invoice.

Footer text is cut off or misaligned:
Adjust the line spacing or remove excess text to fit within the visible area. QuickBooks automatically adjusts page margins, but too much text can push content off the page.

Changes not appearing on old invoices:
Only new invoices will show updated footers. Previously sent or saved invoices retain their original layout.

Text overlaps with totals:
Check your form layout under the Content tab to ensure your footer starts below the totals section.

By understanding these small nuances, you can quickly fix layout issues and maintain professional-looking documents.

Step 16: Making the Most of Your Footer

Beyond compliance and payment reminders, your footer can also serve as a subtle marketing tool. You can use it to:

• Encourage repeat business (“Book your next service online at www.ourcompany.com”)
• Highlight a loyalty program or referral discount (“Refer a friend and get 10% off your next order”)
• Share seasonal greetings (“Happy Holidays from our team to yours!”)
• Reinforce professionalism (“ISO 9001 Certified | Serving businesses nationwide”)

When used creatively, your footer can do more than complete your invoice.  It can communicate your company’s personality and values.

An invoice is more than a payment request; it’s a reflection of your business identity. Customers notice professionalism, attention to detail, and tone. A clean layout with a thoughtfully crafted footer conveys reliability and care.  Adding a footer in QuickBooks Online is a small change that can make a big difference. It ensures your invoices are consistent, informative, and aligned with your brand image.  Every time you send an invoice, you reinforce how organized and professional your company is. That impression often carries over to how clients perceive your services or products.

Adding a footer in QuickBooks Online is a simple but powerful way to elevate your invoices and other business documents. By following a few easy steps,  accessing Custom Form Styles, opening the Content tab, and customizing the footer,  you can include important information such as payment details, company registration, or a warm thank-you message.

A well-designed footer not only improves the appearance of your invoices but also helps maintain compliance and fosters better communication with clients. It ensures your documents always contain the right details, automatically and consistently.  Whether you use your footer for legal statements, branding, or customer appreciation, this small section at the bottom of your invoice plays a vital role in your company’s professional image. With QuickBooks Online’s customization tools, you can make sure every document you send reflects the quality and reliability your business stands for.