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Select default template for billing documents

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Select default template for billing documents

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If you have not uploaded any custom templates for the billing document, a standard Zuora template file will be used as the default. To see the system default template, complete the following steps:

  1. Click your username at the top right and navigate to Billing > Manage Billing Document Configuration.
  2. In the Manage Invoice Rules and Templates tab or the Manage Invoice, Credit/Debit Memo Templates tab if you have the Invoice Settlement feature enabled, a template called System Default Template is the system default one for invoices, and the template called Default Template is the default one for credit memos and debit memos.
  3. Click the template name to view the content of the template.
  4. To set a template as the default, click make default in the Actions column.

System default template for invoices

Specifically for invoices, if you upload a custom invoice template and click make default in the Actions column, this action does two things:

  • It copies the template file and all settings from the uploaded template into the template called System Default Template.
  • It creates a relationship between the uploaded template and the system default template.

For as long as the system default template and the copied default custom invoice template remain unchanged, the linking relationship is preserved. Texts are displayed next to the system default template name to indicate it is copied from another custom template.

If you click edit on either template and change the contents in the HTML online editor, the relationship is broken. After the relationship is broken, the system message will no longer be displayed whenever there might be a difference in the results of invoice generation between the two templates. Renaming either template does not affect the relationship between templates.

Specify default templates for customer accounts 

Templates are set at the customer level, not at the product level. The template used for a particular customer is defined in that customer's profile. If you set a customer's profile to use the default template, you can ensure that invoices sent to that customer will always use whichever template is set to be the default template. This allows you to easily change the default template without having to update all your customer profiles each time.

Use Zuora UI to configure templates for customers

For instructions on changing a customer's template, see Create a customer account. To ensure the customer always uses the default template, in the Billing and Payment Info section on the account details page, select the following options:

  • For invoices, select System Default Template in the Invoice Template field.
  • For credit memos or debit memos, select Default Template in the Credit Memo Template or Debit Memo Template field.

Use API to configure templates for customers

The default template has its own unique unchangeable ID value. The template that is used for a particular customer is defined by the following fields. You can set these fields with a SOAP API update() call. If you set the field to the ID of the default template, you can ensure that billing documents sent to that customer always use the default template. 

  • Account.InvoiceTemplateId (for invoices)
  • Account.CreditMemoTemplateId (for credit memos)
  • Account.DebitMemoTemplateId (for debit memos)

To find the ID of the default template, click your username at the top right and navigate to Billing > Manage Billing Document Configuration. In the Manage Invoice Rules and Templates tab or the Manage Invoice, Credit/Debit Memo Templates tab (if you have the Invoice Settlement feature enabled), click show id in the Actions column on the system default template line. The ID is a long hexadecimal number, such as1028e262478a476401478a5034110c2b.