This template is designed for those businesses that have have both taxable and non-taxable charges such as consultants, graphic artists and a variety of other service industries. It automatically subtotals both categories, calculates sales tax and total due as well as assigns a unique number to each invoice starting from the number you specify. To view the Service Invoice Form and the Service Invoice Data file, load FORM IT!. Select "Open Template..." from the "File" menu and open the Service Invoice Form file. Then select "Open data file..." from the "Data" menu and open the Service Invoice Data file.
Customization of PICT background of template:
In order to customize the name, address, and other "letterhead" elements of this template for your own use, you must first load the Service Invoice Form file and use the "Export PICT file..." command under the "Design" menu of FORM IT! to create a clone that you can modify. Load the PICT file thus created into your graphics program. The original invoice was created in Canvas™ Version 1.0, but the PICT file exported by FORM IT! should work equally well in MacDraw™, MacDraft™ or any other object-oriented draw program that can import/export PICT files. If the invoice is "grouped", use the "ungroup" command (or equivalent) to gain access to the individual text and graphic elements. Backspace and replace the ABC Business Services name and address text block of the invoice, and make any other changes desired. If you do not make any major changes that reposition the data field placements of the invoice, you will be able to reload your modified invoice into FORM IT! without having to reposition any of the fields used to store data.
To reload the revised invoice into FORM IT!, run FORM IT! and open the original Service Invoice Form file using the "Open Template..." command from the "File" menu. Go to Form Design mode. Select "Import PICT file..." from the "Design" menu. Choose the file you just revised. Go to Form data entry/edit mode. Now select "Open data file..." from the "Data" menu and open the Service Invoice Data file. You should now be able to view the sample data within the revised invoice with your organization's name, address, etc. at the top.
Note: I have had some PICT files that I modified in this way “move up” on the screen when imported back into FORM IT! so that the data fields do not line up with the form. If this happens to you, just go back to the graphics program and open the PICT invoice file and move it down the appropriate distance. Then resave as a PICT file. This may take a couple of trys. I recommend that you "select all" and then "group" your invoice before beginning this procedure.
Another way around this is to take a rectangle the size of the entire FORM IT! page. See the "Form Template" file for a rectangle you can use. Place it all the way to the top left of the page while creating the form in a drawing program. This will anchor all the parts of your drawing to keep them in place. Make the rectangle invisible, but leave it there. This shifting around of the image is not caused by FORM IT! but is somehow caused by saving PICT files from a drawing program. I found this out by saving my work in MacDraw™ and then immediately re-opening it to find some of the objects were moved around!
Changing the tax rate:
The tax rate is a calculated field that multiplies the Taxable Subtotal by .06 (my local tax rate is 6%). It is later summed into the Total field to calculate the total balance due. If you wish to change this tax rate, load the Service Invoice Form file by selecting the "Open Template..." command from the "File" menu, but do not load the Service Invoice Data file yet. Go to the "Layout" menu and select the "Go to Form Design" command from the "Layout" menu. Select the Tax field (C5. TaxTot) by clicking on it and then chose the "Edit Field Attributes..." command from the "Fields" menu. You will first see a dialog box that allows you to adjust the Font, Size, and Justification attributes of the field. Since we are not changing any of these, just "ok" this dialog box without making any changes. Next, you are presented with a dialog box that presents the calculation formula (C3 * .06). You can now backspace away the .06 tax rate and replace it with one appropriate for your area.
Changing the starting number of the invoice:
The invoice number field (C1. #) is also a calculated field. It utilizes a special feature of FORM IT! to automatically calculate a unique invoice number for each invoice. FORM IT! automatically assigns a record number to each invoice created, beginning with number one. To see the formula used to make the invoice begin automatically numbering itself from 100-on, use the same procedure as indicated in "changing the tax rate" above, except, select the invoice field (C1. #) instead of the tax field. When you get to the calculation dialog box, you will see the formula (P + 99). This instructs FORM IT! to take the record number (which is "1" for the first invoice) and add 99 to it, obtaining the displayed total of 100. The next invoice will have a record number of "2" and the calculated field adds 99 to show 101, and so on. If you wish to start your invoices on a different number, backspace away the "99" and replace it with a number, one less than the number you wish the invoices to begin with.
Other Notes:
The template labels were designed using Helvetica 9 and 12 point, and the fields for data entry are formatted for Courier 12 point. These fonts were chosen because they offer some of the best printing results on the Imagewriter II, LQ Imagewriter, and LaserWriter. You should make sure that these sizes of screen fonts are installed in your system file for a clear image on your Mac screen. If you are using the Imagewriter II, you should also install the screen fonts that are double in size of the ones listed. If you are using the LQ Imagewriter the triple size screen fonts should also be installed in your system. This will insure the highest resolution possible in the "Best" mode of printing.
