Custom Fields in QuickBooks
Every business has some sort of unique information that is important to its operation. While QuickBooks provides the places to store the basic information that every business needs, you will usually find that you need to store additional data such as a customer’s vehicle registration number, or the weight of an inventory item. QuickBooks provides us with custom fields, a way that you can define your own places to store information. Today we’ll talk a bit about custom fields and how to use them in estimates, sales orders and invoices.
Note: After reading this see the article on QuickBooks Enterprise 10 Custom Fields for an update
While watching postings in the QuickBooksGroup user forums I see that many people don’t understand how custom fields work in QuickBooks. Part of the problem is that QuickBooks handles them in a quirky way that isn’t always obvious. I’ve worked extensively with custom fields while developing my CCRQInvoice invoice utility for QuickBooks, and I’ll run through a simple example here with an invoice. Note that these steps are essentially the same for invoices, sales orders, estimates and sales receipts (and very similar to what you can do with purchase orders).
What we want to accomplish
For our simple example we’ll create an invoice form for a computer repair shop. On each invoice I want to have a field in the invoice header that identifies the particular computer system that was worked on, and for each detail line in the invoice I want to specify (if appropriate) the serial number of the component that was repaired. The following is a screen shot of what I want my invoice to look like.
How can I add this field and column? If we go to the layout designer we see that we can add a text box or a data field:
Those won’t help, though. A text box is merely a box of text that I enter when designing the form – it doesn’t let me change it when I am entering an invoice. A data field comes closer, but I can only add a limited number of fields that QuickBooks provides to me. I still can’t change the values of these fields when I am entering an invoice. So what can we do? This is where custom fields come into play.
Creating Fields for the Header
Let’s start with adding a field for the computer system that the invoice applies to. I’m making one invoice per computer system, and I want the ID for that system to show in the top (header) of the invoice. Some customers have only one computer system, others may have several.
To start, we have to add a custom field to the customer list. Edit any customer in the customer list and select the additional info tab. Click the define fields button.
This opens a window that lets you define custom fields in the customer list (as well as vendor and employee lists). Enter a name for the field you want to define (I’ve used “Computer System” here) and check the box.
This screen can be a bit misleading. It looks like you can add 15 custom fields here. However, QuickBooks will limit you to seven custom fields for any of the record types shown here.
Click on OK and you will see that the custom field is added to the customer record.
If you have information that you want to always show up in an invoice you create for this customer, enter that value in the field here. You can, however, leave it blank.
Now let’s add this to the invoice template. Edit the template and click on the additional selections (not the layout designer) and scroll to the bottom of the list of fields in the header tab. You will see that your custom fields have been added to the bottom of the list. Place a check mark in the screen and print columns to add the field in both places. You may need to use the layout designer to place the field in the desired location.
If we save this and look at an invoice that uses this template, you see that there is a field for “computer system”.
If you create a new invoice using this template you can enter the value of the “computer system” in this field, and it will print on the invoice. If the customer has one computer system we can put the ID in that field in the customer list, and when we select that customer for the invoice the value will show up in this field by default.
Please note the following:
- You can only enter 30 characters of information in a custom field.
- You cannot change the size of the field on the screen, but you can control the size of the field on the printed form in the layout designer.
- It is not possible to create a drop-down list in a custom field, or to have it formatted so that it only accepts dates or numbers.
Creating Columns
Fields created in the customer list can only be used in the header or footer of an invoice. If you want to create a new column in the invoice you must add a custom field to the item list.
Edit any item in the item list and click on the custom fields button.
In the custom fields screen click the define fields button.
This is similar to what you’ve seen before. You can create a label for the custom field, and place a check mark in the box. Note that you can only create five custom fields in the item list.
As with the customer record you can enter a value in the custom field for any item on the item list, and it will show as the default value in the invoice. You can also leave it blank. Note that you only have to define this field in one item, it will then be available in all items.
Edit the invoice template and select the additional selections button. You will see that the custom field added to the item list shows on the columns tab. Check both the screen and print boxes.
When we look at our invoice on the screen, you see that the serial column has been added.
You can enter the values for the serial numbers in this column. Please note the following:
- You can only enter 30 characters of information in a custom field.
- You can change the width the field on the screen.
- It is not possible to create a drop-down list in a custom field, or to have it formatted so that it only accepts dates or numbers.
- It is not possible to create a column that is used in a calculation, such as the difference of two values, or that has an effect on the quantity, rate or amount columns (this is a feature you can get in my CCRQInvoice product).
- Select the item first, before entering a value in a custom field. When you select an item it will replace the custom fields with the values from that item record (which could be blank).
Looking at the finished invoice
Here is our invoice, with the custom fields:
A few last points to make:
- Edit your template before you create the invoice. If you create an invoice, then edit the template to add the fields, your existing invoices might not contain the information from the lists. These fields are “populated” when the invoice is created.
- Values from custom fields show on some reports, but not always where you expect or with the values you want. Some reports will show the values from the list records (the item and customer list). Some reports will show the values from the transaction records (the invoice). Sometimes you will see the fields listed in a report and they never show any value. It is hard to predict.
- You can erase or remove custom fields from the lists, but only if you first remove them from any form template that uses the field.
This has been a quick review of custom fields – let me know if this helps you, or if there are any points that you would like to see clarified.
Note: See the article on QuickBooks Enterprise 10 Custom Fields for an update to how custom fields are managed in that release – the feature has been expanded significantly
Category: Featured, General Tips, Invoicing
About the Author (Author Profile)
Charlie Russell is the founder of CCRSoftware. He’s been involved with the small business software industry since the mid 70′s, focusing on inventory and accounting software for small businesses. Charlie is a Certified Advanced QuickBooks ProAdvisor. Look for Charlie’s articles in the QuickBooks and Beyond blog, as well as his California Wildflower Hikes blog.
Connect with Charlie at Google
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Can you please confirm whether or not custom fields can be added to a Statement template? I defined three custom fields in my Customer List, but they do not display on the list of fields that can be added to the template.
Sorry, Cathy, but custom fields cannot be added to a statement. You might be able to handle that with a third party addon product. My company produces one that can be used to do that EXCEPT that it won’t include the aging that you usually have on a statement.
My custom field column works on my “dummy file” for a find. But it doesn’t work in our main company file. Why can’t it see the data in this field (much like a serial number)?
Lola, you would have to give me more details. Normally it should work in any company file, but I’d have to see how you set things up. Note also that you need to create a NEW invoice (or whatever) with the modified template for the values to show up – you won’t see custom values if you apply a modified template to an EXISTING order.
Hi there Charles, excellent article, thank you very much! Appologies if this has already been asked: I need to have a cost/amount/price column on my printed invoice displaying the amount EXCLUDING VAT. During the invoice creation in Quickbooks 2008 Premier, I have my amounts displayed as excluding VAT, but on the printed invoice these amounts show including VAT. Your help would be appreciated tremendously!
Werner, I assume you are using the Australian version of QuickBooks. That is very different in several ways from the US version that I work with. I am not familiar with how it deals with VAT. That would be something better asked in one of the Australian forums in the Intuit Community.
Hello Charles,
I run a small export business and my clients require me to include 2 columns
in the packing slip that show the net and the gross weights of each item with a total for each at the bottom of the invoice. I’ve tried to add custom fields but I am not getting anywhere. Can this be done?
Please help!
Thanks,
Andree
Andree, you can add the columns using custom fields, but you can’t get QuickBooks to do the totalling for you. It won’t total any column other than the “amount”. However, if you look at third party add-on products you can accomplish this. My company produces a product that can to the totaling for you, as well as calculate the gross amount if you enter a tare and net weight. See CCRQInvoice for details.
Charlie,
I have estimates that are two pages and more in lenght and need to have only the last page to have the total. I have two templates set up, but unless I print the estimate in both templates and use the last page with the total and signature line for approval, I cannot email the estimate or the first pages will have the total and signature over the items. Can it be done?
Debbie, that isn’t an issue with Custom Fields (this article). You can’t do that in QuickBooks. You can, however, use a third party program. My company produces one, CCRQInvoice, that can help with this. You can see a video that talks about this (and other features) at http://ccrqblog.ccrsoftware.info/, scroll down on the right and look for the print forms with CCRQInvoice video.
Our office enters a job description in the footer area of the invoice. Ever time we create a new invoice for a client it automatically puts the previous description entered on the current invoice. When you change the description on the current invoice it changes all of the previous invoices footer information to what you just typed. How do we get the information to just stay with the individual invoices and not carry over to the next invoice? My boss does not want that information to be in the columns.
Brenda, you don’t mention what kind of field you are using. There are a bunch of ways of doing this – it could be a custom field (but I don’t think so), the “customer message” field (probably, and that isn’t the way to use that field) or you could be editing a text field in the template (probably not, but another lousy way).
You also don’t tell us how long of a job description. If it is 30 characters, you can use a custom field. Customer Messages are longer, but have the problem you describe.
Charlie,
We are using a text box that is a footer. From the invoice we go to customize then select additional customization and then footer and enter that information in the box displayed on that page. The problem is that the footer over writes whatever was typed on the previous customers invoice. The description is almost always more than 30 characters.
We want to be able to save the description per invoice instead of it over writing. But not in the column area.
Could you also tell me what the difference is between a data field and a text field?
Brenda, QuickBooks just doesn’t have a good way to do what you want. You either have to use one or more custom fields (30 characters each) or put the text in the description column of the invoice. Other than that, the options aren’t good. Or you can get a custom program written for you that would let you add that kind of information, but that would be somewhat expensive.
A data field in the layout designer is one of those fields that are found in the QuickBooks database. Unfortunately, if you add it in the layout designer you aren’t going to be able to use it to enter data. You can only add fields that can be used for data entry by using the “additional customization” section. A text field is a place that lets you add static text to the template, not tied to a data field.
Thank you!
Hello Charlie-
Excellent tips on your site! I will be trolling here for sure…
I was wondering if you know of a way to include job description on an invoice or statement? It doesnt make much sense to bill for a job with just the (often internal) job code on the invoice?
We run multiple jobs for the same customer and have many pass-through expenses-
Have you seen anywhere the ability to put the vendor name in the column data?
Thanks very much in advance-
Dee, that is a bit off topic. The “job description” isn’t available -you can use a custom field for that instead to add it to the invoice (but not the statement). There are other ways to get info on the invoice from job related expenses, but that would get into a discussion on job costing which goes beyond what we can do here.
As for vendor name, you don’t mention WHERE you want it – if you mean on an invoice, then QB doesn’t have a way.
Can I add a long description to items, say a paragraph? If not, do you know of any add on software where I can export an Estimate or Invoice to Word to turn the Estimate into an Itinerary for a travel business? Thanks A million, Pat
Pat, a custom field is 30 characters long, that’s it.
However, in an invoice the description field can be 4095 characters long (except in older Mac versions) and you can add as many description lines as you want in an invoice. Just type in the description column, without an item/quantity/rate/amount…
Charlie,
I am creating a Time and Material invoice where I want to include employee name, hours worked, rate, amount. I also want to have a separate subtotal for materials, expenses and time. Is this possible in QB Pro 2009 or any other QB product without manually typing in the information when invoiced?
If each of the items are entered separately, and you group them together so all of the materials are listed together, then the expenses together, then the time together, you can add a “subtotal” item after each group.
Charlie,
I changed my columns in my invoice per your article. Great help! however, now when I print my statements I can do it to pdf, but when I try to print to the printer all I get is the boxes around the data but no data. Every thing looks fine on print preview. I have Quick Books Pro 2009
Terry, I can’t say exactly what is going on without seeing your system, but the most common cause is that you have checked the do not print lines around each field box in the printer settings window, when you ask to print the form.
I am using quickbooks pro 2009, we bill our clients on a monthly basis. Is it possible to use a custom field somehow to show billing month. But I do not want to go thru each of our 100 clients and edit the 1 custom field each month. It would be great if this could be set up somehow. so if I am sending all of my invoices on 12/20/09 for Janurary 2010, the field would show “Month of Service” Janurary.
Thanks.
I’m not aware of any way to do that in QuickBooks, Timm. A custom program could possibly be written to handle some of that…
hi i am using quickbooks Premier 2008 Wholesale and Manufacturing. On my sales order confirmation, i would like to create a custom box displaying at the bottom tallying the Total Number of Items Ordered.
Also, we are having an issue where the Ship To Address Defaults to my company address rather than remaining blank until we select a destination,(generally one of our existing customers).
Not sure how to do this or resolve the 2nd issue and any help is Most Appreciated! Thanks in advance!
MHD:
For the first question, QuickBooks doesn’t have that feature built in. You can use a third party addon to handle that. My company produces a low cost program that will do exactly that, CCRQInvoice. See it at http://www.ccrsoftware.com/CCRQInvoice/InvoiceQ.htm
For the second part – still talking about sales orders? The ship to comes from the customer record. If you are talking about PO’s, the ship to defaults to your company info in the “Company” menu option
I work for a General Contractor, and have recently converted to QB 2009 Premier for contractors. I would like to modify the Time & Material Invoice that I downloaded from QB Forms Library. This form will be an interoffice form only so I would like to see the employee name and the vendor/ supplier name that is associated with the charge to appear on the form
I have defined the field as “Source/Name” in the Emp. list, Vendor List and the Item list.
We edited each employee and vendor to have their name in the custom field box.
Because of the way I have set up the item list, each item can either be labor, material or subcontracted so I have left that box empty.
I have customized the invoice so it has the custom columns for Source/Name and one called Employee (Thinking I might need to set up a separate custom field for employees)
I have not been able to get any of the names to show up automatically when I create an invoice –
The ultimate goal is to have ONE report that I can run that will show a detailed listing of unbilled Material/Sub costs AND unbilled labor, sorted & Subtotaled by each customer/job. All of my searching thru QuickBooks forums have pointed to creating a PENDING Invoice, I just need to be able to identify whose labor hours and where the materials came from.
Any direction or suggestions will be appreciated
Karla, the invoice is only going to let you use custom field information from the customer list and the item list. The employee and vendor lists aren’t accessible in an invoice.
I’m using QB 2009 for Mac. I want to put customer’s phone number and other information (more than just address) on invoice so customer can review and update for us when they remit. The phone is listed in customer info. Do I have to also create a custom field for it in order to be able to include it on the invoice? Do downloadable forms give one access to more fields than the forms installed with QB? Can I even download forms – I found some for QB 2003 but don’t know how to “get them into” QB?
Thanks!!
Susie, unfortunately, I don’t work with the Mac version and I can’t answer that question. In a PC system, downloaded forms don’t give you more fields than you can create yourself. But, in the PC version we have a “layout designer” where you can add “data fields” and the customer phone number is one of those fields you should be able to add. I assume the Mac versions have that, but I can’t say if they do.
I am trying to create a sales report that includes custom fields, but am unable to do so. For instance, three of our custom fields are large – blue – t-shirt. I would like to know how many and the value of the large blue t-shirts I sold without having to go through all of the items in the sales item summary report. Is this possible?
Dean, QuickBooks won’t provide you with a summary of the values in a custom field. You have to export the data or buy a reporting tool of some sort.
Lots of information here. I now know how to add a custom field to a Sales Order. Is there a way to make the field required. IE It must be entered for every sales order.
Then what I need is a way to secure the filed so it can only be read by certain users. it will be used for credit card numbers. I need to take the CC # at sales order time and use it at invoice/ship time. currently it’s in the body of the SO which is a violation of PCI
Or do you know a way a CC# can be taken on the SO. CC#’s can’t be put on the customer list because they tend to be different each time. Sorry for the somewhat off topic question. But I need an expert and you seem to fit the bill
Steve, with Enterprise version 10 you now have the ability to make a custom field required. You don’t have that in Pro/Premier or older versions of Enterprise.
No version of QuickBooks has user permission security down to the field level. You might be able to handle that through a custom program, but it could be expensive.
I don’t have a good answer at this time on the credit card issue, but I’ll give it some thought.
I am trying to change the field names in the “Address Info” tab. I would like to change the field names for the phone/fax #’s to read: Home, Cell, Work and sometime we have 2 cell #’s and 2 work #’s. Is there a way to change those field name?
Jeanie, no, you can’t change those titles on screen. But you can use custom fields to hold the values instead (and then you can name them what you want).
Thanks for the response. if I can make a SO field required and then not have it printed when the SO is printed that will solve most of my problems. That will keep the CC info off the SO’s that are laying around the office. I may contact your firm for some consultation
Thanks again