Make your invoices yours: brand color and document language
A branded invoice carries your accent color and your customer's language. In Swiftly Workspace you set both in Administration under Document Theme: the brand color replaces the theme's accent on your invoice, credit note and proforma PDFs, and labels follow each customer's preferred language, else the company's Default Document Language.
An invoice is often the document a customer reads most carefully. When it carries the same color as your website and proposals, it is recognized at a glance in a pile of supplier mail. When its labels are in the reader's language, the accounts team doesn't have to guess which date is the due date.
What you can set, and where
| Setting | What it changes | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Theme | The colors of headings and rules: Standard, Gold or Corporate | Document Theme |
| Brand color | Replaces the theme's accent with your own color | Document Theme, under Document Branding |
| Default Document Language | The language of the printed labels when a customer has none of their own | Document Theme, under Document Branding |
| Customer's preferred language | The language of the labels on that customer's documents | The customer record |
These settings apply to the PDFs of invoices, credit notes and proformas. They sit next to the invoice layout, which decides the arrangement of the page; choosing an invoice layout covers Modern, Classic and Receipt.
Set your brand color
- Open the settings. Go to Administration, then Document Theme. The screen is on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
- Enter the color. Under Document Branding, type your color as a six-digit hex value such as #3B5BFF in the brand color field, or pick it with the color well. Your designer or your website's style sheet will have the exact value.
- Save it. Choose Save as Company Default. The company owner saves these settings.
To go back to the theme's own accent, clear the brand color field and save again. The step-by-step guides for Mac and iPhone and iPad show the same screen with the layout picker.
A tip on choosing the color: invoices are often printed in black and white or read on a phone in bright light. A mid-tone or dark accent stays readable in both; a very light one can fade into the page.
Send labels in your customer's language
The labels on the PDF (Invoice, Due date, Total and the rest) are printed in one language per document, chosen in this order:
- The customer's preferred language, when the customer record has one.
- Otherwise, your company's Default Document Language.
- Otherwise, English.
Labels are translated into Dutch, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Polish, besides English. So a consultancy in Brussels can keep English as its default, while a customer in Lyon receives French labels and one in Kraków receives Polish ones, from the same settings.
The preferred language is a field on the customer. In a new company it may start hidden; an admin can show it in Configure, then Customer, by ticking Visible. Configuring your forms explains how.
The language setting translates the labels, not your own text. Item names, line descriptions and notes print exactly as you typed them, so write those in the language your customer reads.
A short branding checklist
- Take the color from your brand guide. Use the same hex value as your website and proposals, not one picked by eye from a screenshot.
- Choose the default language your customers read most. If most of your customers read Dutch, make Dutch the company default and set a preferred language on the exceptions, rather than the other way around.
- Write your own text for the reader. Item names and notes are not translated, so neutral names (or names in the customer's language) read better on a translated invoice.
- Agree who changes it. The owner saves these settings, so agree changes beforehand.
- Preview one invoice per language. A label that is short in English can be longer in German or French; one look at each version catches surprises before a customer does.
Check the result
Open the PDF of a finalized invoice: on a Mac with PDF Preview, on iPhone and iPad from the document's detail screen, where you can also share or print it (see sharing an invoice PDF from iPhone or iPad). Check the accent, the labels and the totals. If your invoices mix VAT rates, also check the per-rate table; how to show a VAT breakdown per rate explains what it should contain.
Frequently asked questions
Can I send invoices in a different language to each customer?
Yes. Set the preferred language on each customer who should receive another language, and keep the company default for everyone else. The layout and color stay the same for all customers.
Does changing the brand color affect invoices I already sent?
Copies your customers already received don't change. A PDF made after the change, including a new copy of an older invoice, uses the current color and theme.
Does the document language translate my line descriptions?
No. It changes the printed labels, such as the headings and the names of the totals. Your own text, such as item names, descriptions and notes, prints as you entered it.
How many brand colors should an invoice use?
One accent color is usually enough. Use it consistently for headings and rules, and keep the amounts and payment details in plain dark text. Branding should help the reader find the amount and the due date, not compete with them.
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