How to show notes to the customer on a Xero invoice

Why doesn't my contact note show on the invoice?

Because it isn't meant to. The Notes field on a Xero contact is for your team: account history, who to call, reminders. Xero keeps it internal, so nothing you write there appears on the invoices you send that customer.

That is the right default for private notes. It leaves a gap, though, when you want to tell the customer something on the invoice itself: “Delivered to the side gate as requested”, “Includes the second visit on the 14th”, or “Thanks for your business, see you next season”.

What Xero offers today

• Reference. One free-text field per invoice, shown to the customer. Short, and you may already use it for a PO number.
• Line item description. Prints on the invoice, so text typed here reaches the customer.
• Contact Notes. Internal only, not shown on invoices.

There are no custom fields either. The Xero Product Ideas thread “Custom fields on invoices and contacts” has been open since 2012, has 705 votes, and is marked “Not in pipeline”. In its last response, on 21 November 2025, Xero said it is “not on our current development roadmap”.

Workarounds people use

• Writing the note into a line description. The most common fix. The note prints, but it sits inside a billable line, which makes the invoice harder to read and easy to get wrong when you copy an old invoice.
• Using the Reference field. Fine for a few words. It has to compete with the PO number or job reference your customer may need there.
• Keeping notes in a spreadsheet and copying the relevant one into each invoice by hand.
• Buying a full inventory suite at around $69 to $359 a month, mostly for features unrelated to notes.

How Pricefield adds notes your customer can see

Pricefield is a Xero add-on that adds what Xero's invoice leaves out. Xero stays your system of record: invoices are written to Xero through Xero's API, and the extras are shown on a branded invoice page and PDF your customer opens from a private link, with no account needed.

You get three places for customer-facing text, each for a different job:

• A note to the customer on each invoice. A free-text box on the invoice screen. Line breaks are kept, so a few short paragraphs or a list read the way you wrote them.
• Contact fields shown on the invoice. For text that should appear on every invoice for one customer, such as standing delivery instructions or their account manager. Fill it in once on the customer and it appears each time. Fields you don't mark as shown on the invoice stay internal.
• Footer text. Set once in your branding settings, for things every customer should see, such as payment terms or bank details.

Invoice fields cover the structured details, such as a PO number or job site; see how to add custom fields to Xero invoices.

How to add a customer-visible note

1. Connect Xero to Pricefield. Your contacts and items sync across.
2. Optionally, set your logo, brand colour and footer text in Settings.
3. Create the invoice in Pricefield, pick the customer, add the lines, and write your note in the note to the customer box.
4. Save it as a draft or approve it. The invoice is created in Xero.
5. Copy the invoice link, or download the PDF, and send it to your customer.

For an invoice you already raised in Xero, paste its number or ID on the Invoices page in Pricefield and add the note there. Xero's own invoice and PDF are not changed, so if you also email invoices from Xero, include the Pricefield link so your customer sees the note.

Pricefield also handles different prices for different customers. It is $29 a month after a 14-day free trial, and you don't need a card to start.