In this article we'll explain how you can use a Free Text Object to add titles/additional description in between Budget Lines in a Budget. This can be useful if you'd like to create a 'Shot' based Estimate.
In a second step we'll explain how you can also show and add the same additional text to the invoice, how you can resort invoice lines so the Free Text goes into the correct position, and how you can Print the quote and the invoice:
A. Add Free Text elements to your Budgets/ Quotes:
First, create a new Object (in any category/type) called Free Text and assign it an icon different from other Objects – here we chose the candy cane icon and created it under Expenses.
You can easily find it in the Object Browser when creating your quotes by typing “free”, and then you can change the text and move it to the desired position.
In the print-out we chose the quoted lines from the Rows section.
- Item Description for the quote lines and a copy of this Element that was renamed to FREE TEXT for the free text elements – see below how each Element is configured with String Operators, so the free text shows bold and no quantity or price displays.
Download the Wife Print Template (*.wpt) examples further down in this article.
The example consists of two WPT files: a cover page and then a summary. They have been grouped together in a group template.
A Group Template can contain multiple other print design templates and when you print the Group template, it prints all those templates, one by one (as one single printout).
This is how you activate it:
- Open any Print Designer.
- In the pop-up menu at the top of the "Templates:" list (top-left), activate the option "Show Group Templates".
- The "Templates:" list will now contain a section for "Group Templates:", followed by a "+" button. Click it.
- Enter a name for the new Group Template and press OK.
- Next to your new Group Template, there is a button labeled "Add". Click it to add other templates into your Group Template.
- Only enable the option "Use > For Budgeting" in the Financial Reports window for the Group Template, so it will display in the Budget window when clicking on the report icon – and disable this option for the two templates belonging to this group, so they will not show in the Budget window.
IMPORTANT: Please note that you can only view (and edit) one template at a time in the Print Designer. So it won't let you select the Group Template for editing.
Using Group Templates has the following benefits over just manually printing the separate templates:
- You don't have to remember which ones to print in order to get a complete printout.
- Page numbering covers the whole printout instead of starting from one with each separate template.
- You can select the Group Template as the default template for Invoices and then batch print multiple Invoices where each Invoice printout consists of multiple templates.
IMPORTANT: Group Templates can not be exported or imported.
B. Sort free text elements into your Invoices:
If you do e.g. part invoices of time-reported bookings every end of the week, the invoice takes numbers from the bookings. This means you have to add the Free Text again to the Invoice.
Once added, select the option to Sort Invoice Lines.
This sorting is what will be used in the Invoice Print Designer, which by default would sort lines by date, unless you use this option.
And in the Print Designer, a print template can be configured in a similar way as for the quote, so the Free Text can be displayed in bold and the quantity and price are hidden.