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Twenty minutes here saves you from reissuing invoices later. Everything you configure flows into every document you produce.

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Company details

Open Invoicing → Settings → General.

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Bank details

These appear on invoices so customers know where to pay. Getting them wrong is the single most expensive typo in invoicing. You can also add mobile money details if you accept payment that way.
Check the account number character by character against a bank statement, not from memory. An invoice with the wrong account number sends your customer’s money somewhere else, and you will not find out until you chase the payment.

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Tax rates

Configure the rates you actually charge. Set a default rate so it applies automatically to new lines. You can still change it per line.
If you are not VAT registered, do not configure or charge VAT. Charging VAT you are not registered to collect is a serious problem, not a rounding error.

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Invoice numbering

Separate sequences run for invoices, quotes, credit notes and purchase documents.
Do not change your numbering mid-year. Gaps and restarts in an invoice sequence are exactly what a ZRA audit questions. Set it once, at the start.

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Default terms

Setting realistic payment terms matters. Terms of 30 days when you actually expect payment in 7 means your aging report tells you nothing useful.

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PDF template and branding

Open Invoicing → Settings → Invoice Template.
1

Choose a template style

Three are available:
2

Choose what appears

Toggle the logo, tax columns, shipping address and payment instructions on or off.
3

Set your colours

A primary and an accent colour, applied across all documents. Use your actual brand colours, and keep them dark enough to read when printed in black and white.
4

Add default footer and terms

Standard text for every document.
5

Preview and save

Generate a test PDF and look at it properly. Print one. Check the logo is not stretched, the colours are legible, and the bank details are correct.
Changes apply to future PDFs. Documents already generated keep the design they were issued with.

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ZRA Smart Invoice

If you are required to transmit invoices to ZRA, set this up before you start invoicing — not after you have issued fifty invoices that need retrospective transmission. See Smart Invoice for the full setup.

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Setup checklist

  • Legal name and TPIN entered
  • Bank details verified against a statement
  • Tax rates configured, with a default
  • Numbering set and never to be changed
  • Payment terms set to what you actually expect
  • Logo uploaded and a test PDF printed
  • Customers loaded — see Customers and vendors
  • Products and services in the catalogue — see Products and prices
  • ZRA Smart Invoice registered and active, if it applies to you
  • Recurring invoices set up for anything you bill every month
  • Create an invoice to a test customer
  • Generate the PDF and print it
  • Email it to yourself and open it on a phone
  • Record a payment against it and check the status changes
  • Void or delete the test
Next: Customers and vendors.
Last modified on August 4, 2026