How to customize a Xero statement template (and add a PO number)

Your biggest customer's accounts payable team emails again. They cannot match your statement to their ledger because it does not show their PO numbers, and the reference column cuts off half of each one. You open Invoice settings in Xero and look for a statement option that is not there.

This guide covers what a Xero statement template can change, where its limits are, and how to build a statement layout of your own.

What can you customize on a Xero statement template?

A Xero statement takes its look from a branding theme. You can use the standard theme, or a custom DOCX template that you edit in Microsoft Word and upload again. Xero applies your branding theme's logo to statements as well as invoices, as its guide to adding a logo to your invoice template describes.

Xero also has a newer invoice template editor. In a reply on 4 September 2026, Xero's community manager said this editor will replace the older standard branding over time, and that Xero is exploring statement support for it. Until then, a statement still uses the standard theme or a DOCX template.

The common requests on the Xero product ideas forum show where the limits are:

So a DOCX theme changes the look and the labels, but not the data on the statement. It also forces a choice between your layout and the invoice links.

How do you add a PO number to a Xero statement?

Xero has no PO number field on sales invoices, so most Xero users type the customer's PO number into the invoice Reference. The statement then shows the PO as the reference.

The idea for a PO field has 220 votes and the status Accepted. In May 2022, Xero's community manager suggested renaming the Reference label to "Purchase Order Number" in a custom template. In July 2026, Xero said its product teams want to explore a PO field, but made no commitment.

The rename has two costs. Your reference column now holds only PO numbers, so you lose it for job numbers or internal references. And a custom DOCX statement loses its invoice links.

Here is an example layout with the PO beside each invoice:

Scroll sideways for more columns

In Paidnice you ask for this layout in plain words, such as "Label the Reference column PO number". Preview it with a real customer to check that each line shows the PO before you publish.

How do you design a statement template in Paidnice?

In Paidnice you design a PDF statement template by describing each change to an AI assistant, checking the preview, and publishing it. Every organization has the templates, under Organisation Settings, Statements, on the Custom tab.

The first chat message asks for consent to use your data with AI. A user who can edit settings clicks I consent on behalf of my organisation, and that covers every AI feature in Paidnice. The statement settings and templates help article has every setting.

What do the template options change?

Each PDF template has an Options tab with three settings that belong to that template only. One Save at the bottom saves all three.

• Recent activity: how far back the template's recent activity section goes, if it has one. It starts at 30 days and goes up to 1096 days, or 36 months, counted back from the end date of the statement period.
• Aged analysis: up to three breakpoints, in days overdue. Set 30, 60 and 90 for the buckets Xero's statement does not have. Our guide to 30/60/90 day aging on Xero statements covers the choices.
• Group statement lines: groups lines by days until due. Use 0 to split overdue from outstanding on the due date.

A new template copies its aged analysis and grouping from your organization's statement settings, so you start from what you use now.

The recent activity section sits on an outstanding statement. It is not a date range activity statement. On Xero, the activity statement PDF needs the standard activity statement, and any Xero organization can send an activity CSV instead.

How do drafts, publishing and version history work?

Your customers only ever get the last published version of a template. Chat edits and saved options change the draft, so you can work on a layout for a week without a customer seeing a half-finished statement.

• Click Publish and confirm. After the first time, the button reads Publish version 2, and so on.
• While the draft differs from the published version, the header shows Unpublished changes, and you can switch the preview between Your draft and Published version.
• Version history lists each published version, with who published it and when.
• A template must be published once before a statement policy, a download or the default can use it.

To make a template your default, turn on Default in the editor header, or pick it under Default statement template on the Common tab. A statement policy can also attach other templates as well as the default, or instead of it. That is how you send one layout to one group of customers and another layout to the rest.

Who can edit templates, and what are the limits?

Only users who can edit settings can create, edit, publish or delete templates. Two people cannot change one template at once, so wait for the assistant to finish a change before you save options or publish.

The builder has a daily usage limit for each organization. If you reach it, chat is unavailable until the next day. You can still publish, change options and pick templates.

The Manage menu has Duplicate, which copies the draft and its options into a new template, and Reset draft to base, which puts the draft back to the base layout and starts a new chat. This cannot be undone. The published version stays as it is until you publish again.

Can you send a statement template as a CSV?

Yes. A spreadsheet template is built from columns you pick, not from chat, and it comes out as a CSV file that opens in Excel. You choose up to 30 columns, write your own header for each and add a totals row. On Xero, a spreadsheet lists either the outstanding items or the activity in a period.

One statement email can attach the PDF for the person who reads it and the CSV for the accounts payable system. Our guide to the Xero customer statement CSV covers the columns and the file format, and the statement of account CSV layout lists the columns AP teams use to reconcile.

To send your new template on a schedule, add a statement policy. The guide to automatic Xero statements covers the setup, and customers can download the statements you choose from the customer portal. Paidnice includes customer statements on every plan.

Frequently asked questions

About the editorial team

Written by Ashley Schroder Co-founder of Paidnice

Ashley is a co-founder and lead developer of Paidnice and has built accounting software for more than 10 years. He builds the ledger connections that put reminders, late fees and payments into Xero, QuickBooks and ERPs such as NetSuite and Business Central. Before Paidnice he co-founded A2X, ecommerce accounting software for Xero and QuickBooks.

Reviewed by Jack Daffron Co-founder of Paidnice

Jack is a co-founder of Paidnice and has built accounting software for more than 10 years. He builds the product that sends reminders, adds late fees and takes payments for businesses on Xero, QuickBooks and ERPs such as NetSuite and Business Central.