Major Update: Visual Editor and New Invoice Templates

Straightforward, easy invoicing is crucial to good business. And so are well-designed invoices that reflect your brand and professionalism. With Paymo, you get both streamlined invoicing (recurrent profiles and invoices, online payment gateways) and a great design.

In the same vein as our other major updates to Paymo’s invoicing, we’re happy to announce a major UX update that will delight you – a visual editor for your invoices plus ten new aesthetically pleasing templates. We recognized that the HTML editor wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, so all users can now create and customize their invoices based on these new templates.

Let’s first explore the new batch of templates:

Paymo’s 10 new invoice templates

• Art Deco
• Baroque
• Bauhaus
• Corporate
• Eco
• Maximalist
• Neoclassical
• Steampunk
• Victorian
• Vintage

Each template has a unique vibe that can be further customized. Art Deco, Steampunk, and Vintage come off uniquely with a bold background, while Maximalist, Bauhaus, and Corporate stand out thanks to their stark contrasts. There’s Baroque, Eco, Neoclassical, and Victorian on the more elegant or minimalist side.

Also, you’ll find your old templates saved in “My Templates,” which you can customize, rename, clone, set as default, or delete your templates. You can select the language of your choice when adding a new template from the template gallery (“Add from library”); however, once a language is selected, you cannot change it afterward.

Template Gallery in Paymo

Once you add templates from the template gallery, these will appear in the Invoicing interface when adding a new invoice. In Invoicing, you’ll notice the shortcut button that allows you to manage your templates directly in Company Settings.

Customization options

Layout

Size, alignment, and positioning:

• Logo size (%)
• Logo alignment
• Customer position (left/right)
• Item description (column/row)

Go to Settings > Company Settings > Company Details to add your company logo:

Font & colors

HEX color palette and codes to change colors and hues:

• Font (17 fonts)
• Theme color for lines, shapes, and highlights
• Labels color for standard invoice format
• Content color for text descriptions

Customizing fonts – Maximalist template

However, there’s no option to change the background color.

Labels & translations

In-line editing of invoicing labels: Client, Date, Due Date, Delivery Date, No., Service, Description, Price/Unit, Qty., Price, Subtotal, Total, Outstanding Balance.

Changing invoice labels – Bauhaus template

Field visibility

Toggle which fields to show on your invoice:

• Date
• Due Date
• Delivery Date
• Invoice Description – NEW in this update
• Row Number
• Item
• Description
• Price/Unit
• Quantity
• Price

Toggling field visibility – Victorian template

All templates can be customized regarding font & colors, labels & translations, and field visibility.

However, please note that not all templates can be personalized the same. For example, there are limitations regarding logo alignment or positioning: see Art Deco, Vintage, and Maximalist compared to the rest. Take Vintage – the Client column is constrained to the left of the page. You’ll have to test and try out a few templates and see which work best for you.

As for the size, the logo is constrained to the boundaries marked by “Logo.” A 0% size means the logo is disabled.

Another example, Steampunk and Vintage allow signatures, which you can upload and scale:

Adding a signature – Steampunk template

How to design your own template

Remember to keep it simple

The invoice should be easy to read and understand, with a clear layout and concise language, especially if you are billing internationally rather than domestically. Use “Labels & translations” to ensure clear and concise language.

Always include a clear and detailed description of the goods or services provided and the price per unit.

Plus, now there’s an invoice description to avoid confusion when billing the same client multiple invoices. For example, one invoice could state “Retainer – SEO optimization,” while another could say “Long-form Content Creation.”

Include branding principles in your invoicing

Add your company logo and use your brand colors and fonts (if applicable) to make the invoice look professional and consistent with your brand.

Use a transparent .png or .svg logo for a professional look. If the invoices you send need your signature, add the signature with a transparent background and resize it accordingly.

Set clear terms and descriptions

The invoice should include a unique identification number and the date it was issued. To ensure you send it to the right person and address and avoid other invoicing mishaps and errors, frequently update your client’s contact data in the ‘Clients’ module.

Make it easy for your clients to pay by offering multiple payment options through online payment gateways, which Paymo offers: PM Payments in the US, Stripe, authorize.net, and PayPal.

Leave instructions about late fees, payment terms and other helpful info. Number your pages and add identifiers for multi-page invoices.

New to Paymo?

If you haven’t used Paymo before, it’s a powerful tool to keep track of your time and bill your clients for your work. Paymo’s free version includes unlimited time tracking and invoicing, so be sure to sign up:

For tutorials on what an invoice is and how to bill clients, read this easy-to-understand invoicing guide or this article on how to justify your invoices and work to your clients.