Skip to content
English
Contact us
Go to ressiosoftware.com
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

FAQ: How to show sales tax on fixed price invoices (and export correctly to QuickBooks)

Step-by-step instructions to display tax by line item or in the invoice summary—and ensure QuickBooks applies sales tax correctly.



How do I show sales tax on a fixed price invoice?

You can show sales tax in two places:
  1. On the invoice lines (as a column)
  2. In the invoice summary (totals area)
Many builders use both so customers can see tax per line and the total tax amount.

 

Before I start: where does the tax information come from?

Sales tax on fixed price invoices is pulled from the estimate.
That means:
  • The invoice will reflect which estimate lines are taxable
  • If something is wrong, you usually need to fix it on the estimate first

How do I check tax while I’m building a fixed price invoice?

  1. Open the project.

  2. Create or open the fixed price invoice (for example, invoice by percent or from changes—whatever workflow you use)

  3. Review the invoice lines to confirm you can see: 

    1. Which lines are taxed
    2. The tax amount
    3. The total amount being invoiced

❗Important: You can review tax on the invoice, but you generally can’t change whether a line is taxable from the invoice, that’s controlled by the estimate.

 

How do I show tax by line item on the customer invoice?

  1. Open the invoice.
  2. Go to Show column data.
  3. Toggle on Tax amount.
This will display a tax amount for each line item so the customer can see the tax breakdown line-by-line.

 

How do I show tax in the invoice summary (totals area)?

  1. Open the invoice.
  2. In the invoice summary/totals section, enable the tax breakdown so the customer can see:
    1. Pre-tax subtotal
    2. Tax
    3. Total

This is useful if you want customers to see total tax clearly even if you don’t show detailed line columns.

Can I hide line item details but still show tax?

Yes. You can turn off line-item detail display (if that’s part of your invoice settings) and still show the tax breakdown in the invoice summary, so customers see the subtotal/tax/total without seeing every line.

Why can’t I edit the tax amount (or taxable status) on the invoice?
Because tax is based on the estimate setup. If a line is taxed incorrectly:

  1. Update the estimate (taxable vs non-taxable)

  2. Return to the invoice and re-check the totals


How does this work if I export invoices to QuickBooks Online?

When you release the invoice and send it to QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks will apply sales tax using the tax settings you’ve configured in QuickBooks.

Best practice:
  • Make sure your sales tax rates/rules are set up in QuickBooks
  • Then export the invoice as normal from Ressio
 

What should I check if I don’t see any tax on the invoice?

Check these in order:
  1. The estimate lines are marked taxable (if they should be)
  2. The invoice has Tax amount enabled in Show column data (for line-level tax)
  3. The invoice summary/totals area is set to show the tax breakdown (for subtotal/tax/total)
If all of the above look correct and tax still isn’t appearing, the issue is likely in the estimate configuration or your tax setup (Ressio or QuickBooks, depending on your workflow).
 

Still have questions? Contact our support team at support@ressiosoftware.com. We're here to help!