Setting Invoice Defaults

Configure how every invoice from Biller Genie looks — template, columns, footer text, PDF formatting, and the QR code option. Set once and apply to every invoice.

Written by Thomas Aronica (Super Administrator)

Updated May 24th, 2026

Invoice Defaults control what your customer-facing invoices look like and what data they include. You set them once and Biller Genie applies them to every invoice that syncs in from your accounting software. Take 10 to 15 minutes to lock these in before your first invoice goes out — every invoice your customer ever sees is shaped by these settings.

Invoice Defaults are global, not per-customer

Every setting on this page applies to every invoice for every customer. Invoice Defaults can't be overridden per-customer — that's only true of behavior settings (autopay, late fees, allowed payment methods, reminder cadence) which live on Customer Defaults.

Defaults out of the box

Every toggle on this page starts in the OFF position. The default theme is Simple. So a brand-new Biller Genie invoice with no Invoice Defaults configured shows a stripped-down layout — turn on the columns and options you need.

Where to find Invoice Defaults

Open Control Panel > Invoice Defaults. The page is organized into four sections: Columns To Display, Advanced Options, Custom Messages, and Theme.

Recommended starter setup

If you're not sure what to turn on, here's a configuration that works for most service-based businesses (HVAC, plumbing, property management, landscape, B2B services):

Columns: Item/Product Name, Description, Quantity, Unit Price, Total, Billing Address, Sales Tax, Subtotal, Invoice Amount, Service Date, Invoice Date, Due Date.
Advanced: Show Display Name (so the customer sees the business name on the invoice), Show Memo Field (so notes from QuickBooks come through), Add Invoice PDF to Emails turned off for best deliverability, Send Messages to Inactive Customers off.
Custom messages: Replace the default footer text with a one-line thank-you and your billing phone number. Leave "Bill To" / "Ship To" labels at default unless your customers use a different term.
Theme: Modern is the most common pick. Classic if your customers are used to a traditional QuickBooks-style invoice. Simple if you want the least visual weight.

Product or wholesale businesses usually add Show Shipping Address and Show Job Name. Property management often renames the Bill To label to "Account Holder" or "Owner". HOAs sometimes use "Unit" instead.

Show or hide columns on your invoice

Toggle each column on or off to control what your customer sees on the invoice. All are simple Yes/No toggles.

Show Service Date — the date of service for each line item, if you record it in your accounting software.
Show Item/Product Name — the name of the product or service. Most merchants want this on.
Show Category — the QuickBooks category, if used.
Show Description — the description of each line item.
Show Quantity — quantity column. If quantity is blank in your accounting software, it's left blank on the Biller Genie invoice too.
Show Unit Price — the per-unit price.
Show Total — the line-item total. Usually on.
Show Billing Address — show the Bill To block.
Show Shipping Address — show the Ship To block.
Show Sales Tax — show the tax line.
Show Subtotal — the pre-tax subtotal line.
Show Invoice Amount — the grand total at the bottom.

A good rule of thumb

Turn on every column your customer actually needs to make a payment decision. Turn off the rest. A clean invoice gets paid faster than a busy one.

Advanced invoice options

The Advanced Options section bundles everything that affects what data shows on the invoice beyond the line-item columns. We group these below by what they control.

Customer name and identity

Show Display Name — show the Biller Genie display name above the bill-to address. If your accounting-software customer name and your Bill To first line are the same, you can leave this off to avoid redundancy.
Show Customer Name — show the customer name as a separate field on the invoice.
Show Job Name — show the QuickBooks Job name. Useful for contractors and any business that uses QuickBooks jobs to track work for the same customer.

Memo and custom fields

Show Memo Field — when on, any memo you put on the invoice in your accounting software displays on the Biller Genie invoice. Required if you want to use "Append Customer Message to Memo" (in Custom Messages) or place custom fields in the memo area.
Show Custom Fields — your QuickBooks custom fields appear on the invoice. The field has to be populated in QuickBooks AND have either the "Print" or "Screen" checkbox enabled in QuickBooks.
Custom Fields Location — choose Header or Memo Field. The "Memo Field" option requires Show Memo Field to also be on; otherwise the dropdown locks to Header.

PDFs, QR codes, and email attachments

Add Invoice PDF to Emails — every invoice email includes a PDF copy of the invoice as an attachment. We recommend leaving this OFF. PDF attachments lower email deliverability (more emails land in spam). Customers can still click View Invoice in the email to open the live invoice page and download the PDF from there.
Add Attachments to Reminders — include any files attached to the invoice in QuickBooks Online with the reminder email. QuickBooks Online merchants only.
Show Payment QR Code — adds a QR code to the invoice PDF. Customers scan it on their phone to land on the payment page. QuickBooks Online merchants whose accounts have the new PDF generator enabled. If you'd like it turned on, contact support@billergenie.com.

Dates

Show Invoice Date — display the invoice date.
Show Due Date — display the due date.

Statement and behavior settings

Show Delayed Invoices on Statements — include invoices that are not yet due on the customer's statement. Useful for customers who want to plan ahead.
Show Current Invoices on Statements — include current open invoices on the statement.
Send Paid Reminder for Invoices Closed In Accounting Software — send the standard "thank you for paying" reminder even on invoices that were closed in your accounting software rather than paid through Biller Genie. Off by default — turn on if you want the closing thank-you to fire regardless of where the payment was recorded.
Send Messages to Inactive Customers — when off (recommended), customers marked inactive don't get reminders or statements. When on, they do.

Customize invoice messages and labels

Four text settings let you personalize the wording on every invoice.

Append Customer Message to Memo — when enabled, the per-customer message you set on each customer record is appended to that customer's invoice memo. Requires "Show Memo Field" to be on.
Invoice Footer Message — free-text message at the very bottom of every invoice. Defaults to "Thank you for doing business with us!" Use this for payment terms, thank-you language, or a phone number for billing questions.
Invoice "Bill To" Text — rename the Bill To label. 50-character limit. Defaults to "BILL TO:". Common renames: "ACCOUNT HOLDER", "OWNER", "BUYER", "BILL TO UNIT".
Invoice "Ship To" Text — same idea for the Ship To label. 50-character limit. Defaults to "SHIP TO:". Common renames: "JOB SITE", "SERVICE ADDRESS", "DELIVER TO".

Pick an invoice template

The Theme section is a single radio-button choice across three layouts:

Classic — traditional QuickBooks-style layout. Best if your customers are used to receiving invoices that look like the ones their accountant sends them, or if you've been on QuickBooks-only for a long time and want the change to feel minimal.
Modern — cleaner spacing, larger headers, more visual hierarchy. Best for newer businesses, service businesses, or any brand that wants the invoice to feel polished. Recommended starting point for most merchants.
Simple — the lightest layout with the fewest visual elements. Best when you want the invoice to feel like a quick statement (HOAs, dues, subscription billing).

Default: Simple. If you haven't picked a theme, your invoices use Simple.

Pick whichever fits your brand. The theme you choose applies to every invoice and every reminder going forward.

What happens after you save

Click Save Settings. Biller Genie applies the changes immediately — there's no rendering delay or background queue.

The live invoice page (what your customer sees when they click "View Invoice" in any email or statement) — always renders fresh against your current Invoice Defaults. The next click reflects your new look and rules. This is true for invoices sent months ago and for invoices that synced in five minutes ago.
PDFs generated after Save — when your customer downloads a PDF from the live invoice page after you saved, the PDF is generated with your current settings. This applies to customers re-downloading old invoices too.
The PDF file that was already delivered as an attachment to an old email — that's a file sitting in the customer's inbox. It keeps the look it had when it was sent. Biller Genie can't reach into their email and update it. That's the only thing that stays frozen.
New invoices, reminders, statements, and receipts — all use your current settings immediately.

In short: nothing waits for the next sync, nothing waits overnight. The moment you click Save, Biller Genie behaves as if the new settings were the only settings that ever existed (except for the literal email attachments already delivered to inboxes).

Frequently asked questions

Can I override Invoice Defaults for a specific customer?

No. Invoice Defaults are global — every invoice for every customer uses the same columns, advanced options, custom messages, and theme. The settings that ARE per-customer overridable (autopay, late fees, allowed payment methods, reminder cadence, partial-payment policy) live on Customer Defaults, and you tune those at the individual customer level via Per-Customer Overrides.

Will changing my settings re-send invoices that have already gone out?

No. Biller Genie never re-emails anything after a settings change. But the moment your customer opens any "View Invoice" link from a past email, the live page renders with your new settings. So in practice your customers see the new look the next time they look at any invoice.

I don't see a setting from my accounting software on the Biller Genie invoice. Why?

Three common causes: (1) the corresponding toggle is off in Invoice Defaults — turn it on, (2) the field is empty in your accounting software for that specific invoice — populate it in your accounting software, (3) for QuickBooks custom fields, the "Print" or "Screen" checkbox must be enabled in QuickBooks so Biller Genie can pick the field up.

The "Memo Field" option only opens up when "Show Memo Field" is on. Turn on Show Memo Field (in Advanced) and the dropdown lets you choose either Header or Memo Field. If both Show Custom Fields and Show Memo Field are off, the dropdown is disabled entirely.

Why don't I see the Payment QR Code option?

The QR Code option is available to QuickBooks Online merchants whose accounts have the new PDF generator enabled. If you'd like it turned on, contact support@billergenie.com.

I want to test a setting change without affecting all my customers. How?

Make the change, then open the Biller Genie live invoice page for any single invoice (your own, or a low-stakes customer's). The page reflects the new settings instantly. If you don't like what you see, revert the toggle and Save again. No customer email goes out as part of this test.

Setting Global Customer Defaults — the customer-level settings (payment methods, autopay, late fees, reminders).
Customer Type Defaults — apply different customer-level settings to different QuickBooks customer types.
Per-Customer Overrides — override customer-level settings for one specific customer.
Your First Invoice in Biller Genie — the new-merchant orientation that walks through these settings in order.