Create and activate PDF templates

Create a branded PDF layout and decide which documents use it. You need an onboarded company with a source linked to at least one branch.

Create the template

Open PDF Template in the Invoice Portal. Find the company and choose Manage templates beside one of its branches, then choose New template.

The PDF Templates page for Test Entity 1. Its branch row shows the source, source version, Draft and Active template counts, and a Manage templates button. Company default and New template controls appear above the list. — Start on the PDF Templates page, then manage a branch or create a template from the main page.

Complete the template details:

Field	What to choose
Template name	Enter a unique, recognisable name.
Base	Choose the document type, such as Tax Invoice.
Modifier	Choose any conditions that further describe the transaction. More than one modifier can apply.
Variant	Choose the country-specific variant, or leave it empty when none applies.
Onboarded company	Choose the company whose documents use the template.
Branches	Choose one or more branches. Only branches with a linked source are available.
Integration mappings	Optionally associate the template with one or more current integrations for this country.

Base, modifiers and variant form the template’s document profile. Automatic selection uses an exact profile match, so choose the same values that the intended documents use.

Choose Create & edit. The new template starts as a Draft and opens with a layout for the selected profile.

You can also choose New template from the main PDF Templates page and select several companies and branches. Complyance creates one Draft per selected company, covering the branches selected for that company, then opens the first Draft for editing.

The New PDF template dialog with a template name, Base, Modifier and Variant controls, followed by company, branch and integration selections and a Create and edit button. — The main-page workflow can create Drafts for several selected companies and branches.

Design the PDF

Use the controls on the left to set the template-wide appearance:

Upload a logo, header image, footer image or other images. PNG, JPEG and SVG files are supported.
Set the primary, secondary and text colours.
Choose the font and base font size.
Choose A4, A5, US Letter or US Legal in portrait or landscape.
Set the page padding.

Drag blocks from the palette onto the page. The available blocks cover:

document headers and footers;
rows with one to four columns, dividers, spacing and page breaks;
headings with fields and label–value lists;
line items, subtotals and totals;
text and QR codes; and
logos, header and footer images, and uploaded images.

Select a block on the page to edit its properties on the right. For a field block, add the rows you need and bind each value to document data. Use static text only for content that should be the same on every PDF.

The PDF template editor. Template-wide controls and draggable blocks appear on the left, the invoice page is in the centre, and the selected block's properties appear on the right. Undo, Redo, Layout preview and Save controls are above the page. — Build the invoice layout in the editor, then select individual blocks to change their properties.

Use Undo and Redo while you work. Adjust the zoom to inspect the page, then choose Layout preview to check page breaks and the complete layout.

Layout preview for a Tax Invoice template. A complete A4 invoice with seller, buyer, invoice details, line items and totals appears centred on the page, with a Hide sample data button above it. — Layout preview shows the complete page with sample data before you save or activate it.

Choose Save. The button changes to Saved when the Draft is stored. If you leave with unsaved changes, choose Save, Don’t save or Cancel when prompted.

Copy the Template ID

Return to the branch’s template list. Draft and Active templates are shown in separate sections, and every row has a Template ID.

The qwerty branch template list with two Draft templates. Each row shows the template name, a copyable Template ID, Base, Modifier, Variant, updated date and an actions menu. — Copy the Template ID from the Draft or Active template list.

Choose the ID to copy it. The button briefly changes to Copied.

Use this value when one document must use an exact template. Add it to the document’s PDF_TEMPLATE_ID custom field, or map an incoming PDF_TEMPLATE_ID column to that field in your integration. The exact template is used even when it is a Draft; its source, document-profile and buyer rules are not used for that PDF.

Keep the explicit ID inside the workspace where it was created. An unknown ID or an ID from another workspace prevents the PDF from being generated and returns a 422 error.

Activate the template and choose buyers

Open the Draft’s actions menu and choose Activate. Confirm the activation, then choose its buyer coverage:

A Draft template list with the actions menu open. The available actions are About, Rename, Edit scope, Edit template, Duplicate, Delete and Activate. — Open a Draft's actions menu to edit, duplicate, delete or activate it.

Select one or more named buyers for a buyer-specific template.
Choose Rest of the buyers to cover every buyer that does not already have a more specific active template for the same profile and branch coverage.

The Select buyers to activate dialog with Rest of the buyers selected. An information panel explains that buyers assigned to a more specific active template keep using that template while all other buyers are covered here. — Use Rest of the buyers as the fallback for buyers without a more specific active template.

Buyer names and identifiers come from Masters. Complyance matches Party ID, VAT, TRN, TIN, registration and Peppol identifiers. A buyer marked Already assigned is covered by another active template with the same document profile and overlapping branch coverage, so it cannot be selected here.

Choose Activate template. You should see the template under Active, with either the buyer count or Rest of the buyers in the Buyers column.

The branch template list split into Draft and Active sections. The Active template shows Rest of the buyers in its Buyers column. — After activation, the template moves to Active and shows its buyer coverage.

When creating from a single branch, you can select Move to active status before choosing Create & edit. The buyer selector opens immediately. The template becomes Active only after you choose eligible buyers and complete activation.

The branch-level New PDF template dialog with Tax Invoice as the Base, Self-Billed as a Modifier, the current company and branch selected, an integration mapping control and a Move to active status option. — From a branch, you can create the template as a Draft or continue directly to buyer selection and activation.

Check the generated PDF

Submit a document whose country, source, Base, modifiers, variant and buyer match the Active template. Open the document in Documents and open its PDF.

Creating or activating a template does not create an invoice PDF by itself. Complyance chooses the design when a PDF is generated or previewed. If the submitted document contains PDF_TEMPLATE_ID, that exact template takes priority over automatic selection.

How Complyance chooses a template

When a PDF is generated, Complyance uses the first available match in this order:

Priority	Template used
1	The template named in the document’s `PDF_TEMPLATE_ID`, including a Draft.
2	An Active template assigned to the document’s buyer, with the same profile and source coverage.
3	The Active Rest of the buyers template with the same profile and source coverage.
4	The company’s saved default for the country and profile.
5	The built-in Complyance layout for that country and profile.

Within automatic selection, a template for the document’s branch takes priority over a broader fallback. Drafts are not selected automatically.

Manage buyer coverage

Open an Active template’s actions menu and choose Manage buyers. Search for buyers, change the selection, then choose Save changes.

When a Rest of the buyers template already exists, another template can cover only unassigned named buyers.

Rest of the buyers is a dynamic group. If you later activate a buyer-specific template, that buyer moves to the more specific design and everyone else stays on the rest-of-buyers template. Only one rest-of-buyers template can cover the same profile and branch scope.

Buyer assignments are kept separate for each Base, modifier and variant combination. The same buyer can therefore use different templates for different document profiles.

Understand Draft and Active status

Status	What you can do	When it is used
Draft	Edit the layout, change its scope, preview it, duplicate it or activate it.	Only when a document supplies its `PDF_TEMPLATE_ID`.
Active	Preview it, manage buyers, rename it, duplicate it, deactivate it or delete it.	Automatically for matching new PDF generation, or explicitly by Template ID.

The branch template list with separate Draft and Active sections. The Draft section contains a Self-Billed template, while the Active section contains one buyer-specific template and one Rest of the buyers template. A Draft actions menu is open. — Draft and Active templates stay in separate sections, with management actions available from each row.

An Active template is read-only. To change its layout, open it and choose Move to draft, or choose Deactivate from its actions menu. It stops applying automatically and its buyer assignments are cleared. Edit and save it, then activate it and select buyers again.

Set a company default

On the main PDF Templates page, choose Company default beside a company. Design and save the layout in the same editor.

The Company default template editor with the invoice canvas in the centre, appearance and layout controls on the left, block properties on the right, and Layout preview, Restore Complyance default and Saved controls above the page. — The company default uses the same layout editor and includes a Restore Complyance default action.

The company default becomes active when you save it. Branches without a matching branch template use it before falling back to the built-in Complyance layout. It does not need buyer assignments.

Choose Restore Complyance default to remove the custom company design and return those branches to the built-in layout.

Work with more than one branch

A template can cover several branches of the same company. When you open that template from one branch and save, activate or deactivate it, Complyance asks where the change should apply:

This branch only separates that branch so you can manage it independently.
All branches keeps the shared scope and applies the change everywhere listed.

Check the branch names in the confirmation before continuing. A buyer assignment is evaluated only within the chosen branch coverage.

Rename, duplicate, inspect or delete a template

Open the actions menu beside a template:

About shows its status, Base, modifiers, variant, buyers and integration mappings.
Rename changes the display name. Names must remain unique.
Edit scope changes a Draft’s document profile, branches and integration mappings without removing its design.
Duplicate copies the design into new Drafts for the companies and branches you select.
Delete permanently removes the template. This cannot be undone.

Use the search box in a branch’s template list to find a template. Filter or sort by status, Base, modifier, variant or last updated date.

If something goes wrong

What you see	What to do
The company or branch is missing	Check the selected country and environment. Finish onboarding, then link a source to the branch.
Template name already exists	Use a different name, or rename the existing template first.
No buyers appear	Add buyer records to Masters in the same country and environment, then reopen the selector.
A buyer shows Already assigned	Find the other Active template with the same profile and branch coverage. Change its buyer coverage or deactivate it.
Rest scope already assigned	Manage or deactivate the existing rest-of-buyers template for that profile and branch coverage.
The template cannot be activated	Open the editor and save the design, then select a named buyer or Rest of the buyers.
A PDF uses an unexpected design	Check for `PDF_TEMPLATE_ID` first. Then check the document profile, source, buyer identifiers and the template’s status and coverage.
PDF generation returns `422` for a requested template	Copy the Template ID again and confirm that the document is sent to the same workspace.