When it comes to performing calculations in a Word document, we tend to think of embedding or linking an Excel worksheet—but this can be overkill. Sometimes, a better approach is simply to insert a table in a document and perform the calculations in it. Word tables have a number of applications: staffing rotas, timetables, pricing charts, quotations, and the one I use most, invoices.
It's easy to create an invoice that includes your business details, contact information, and logo, along with a table that itemizes the costs, parts, and labor; automatically calculates the totals and taxes; and presents a total amount payable. You can even include Fill-in fields to automatically prompt for customer information. Once you set up this invoice framework, save the blank form as a template, and you’re in business.
To generate an invoice, you just create a new document using the template, fill in the customer information when prompted, and enter the invoice amounts in the table. You can then update the fields that calculate tax and totals and print the invoice. To help you get started, I've created a sample invoice template that you can customize to fit your needs. Let's look first at some template-building basics; then, I'll explain how to modify and use my sample template.
Laying out the heading
The first step in building an invoice template is to design the heading you want to use for it. Once you've created a heading, save it so you can use it for other marketing material, such as flyers, price lists, and announcements.
AutoText tip: One convenient way to preserve an element such as a heading is to save it as AutoText. Just select the items that make up your heading and press [Alt][F3]. When Word presents the Create AutoText dialog box, enter a name and click OK. Now, whenever you need to insert the heading in a document, you can just position the insertion point where you want the heading to appear and type the AutoText name. By default, Word will offer to auto-complete the name, and you can press [Enter] to insert the heading. If this feature is turned off, just type the AutoText name and press [F3].
Creating the body of the document
Think about the wording you're going to use in your invoice. Be careful not to fall into grammatical errors that can make you and your business look unprofessional. In my template, I used an automatic Date field so that each invoice I create from the template will be correctly dated.
Planning and inserting the table
When you're ready to add the table to your template, display the Tables And Borders toolbar. As with the other toolbars available in Word, you can switch on this one from View | Toolbars. Most of the table options can be reached from this toolbar.
Decide how many rows and columns you need in your table. You can always insert extra rows, but it is nice to start out with something you don’t need to alter too much. Once you have planned the layout, click on the Insert Table button. You will see a dialog box where you can select the number of columns and rows in your new table.
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