Customize invoice reports (PDF)
Report rules (the logo, colors, and templates applied to an issuer's invoice PDFs) change the colors and the logo of the official templates. If you need to change the layout, create a copy of the official template, edit it in the report designer, and assign it to the RFC (Mexico's taxpayer ID, Registro Federal de Contribuyentes) in its report rule. Each RFC can use its own copy.
With a copy, you can add, remove, move, and resize fields, bands (header, detail, footer), text, legends, images, and entire sections. You can also change the line items table and its columns, and change the date, currency, and decimal formats and the fonts.
If you only need to change the colors or the logo, don't create a copy. Use report rules with the official templates to keep receiving updates, improvements, and support from Fiscalapi.
A copy is no longer linked to the official template. It doesn't receive updates, fixes, or support from Fiscalapi, including the adjustments for changes the SAT (Mexico's tax authority, Servicio de Administración Tributaria) makes to the printed representation (the PDF of a CFDI; the XML is the legal document) of the CFDI (Mexico's electronic invoice). The design, maintenance, and tax compliance of the copy are your responsibility.
Before you use the designer
Fiscalapi doesn't recommend editing templates with the report designer. The printed representation of a CFDI has regulated content (see Legal basis), and a layout change can omit or alter required information. The official templates are updated with each regulatory change; copies aren't.
The designer is meant for people with experience in reporting tools: bands, controls, expressions, and data binding. It has no documentation, and there are no plans to publish any. This guide covers only how to create a copy and how to assign it to an RFC.
Legal basis
The PDF of an invoice is the printed representation of a CFDI. These are the provisions that apply:
| Provision | What it establishes |
|---|---|
| CFF (Código Fiscal de la Federación, Mexico's Federal Tax Code), Article 29, Section V | The tax document is the XML. The printed representation is required only if the recipient asks for it, and it only presumes that the CFDI exists. |
| CFF, Article 29-A | Not every field of the XML is required in the printed representation (PDF). |
| 2026 RMF (Resolución Miscelánea Fiscal, the SAT's annual tax rules), Rule 2.7.1.7 | In addition to the requirements of Article 29-A, it requires the QR code, the serial numbers of the CSD (Certificado de Sello Digital, the digital seal certificate used to sign CFDIs) of the issuer and of the SAT, the legend "Este documento es una representación impresa de un CFDI" (This document is a printed representation of a CFDI), the date and time of issue and of certification, and the original string (cadena original, the sequence of CFDI data that the digital seal signs) of the digital tax stamp (Timbre Fiscal Digital, the SAT seal the PAC adds to a CFDI). |
| Anexo 20 (the SAT technical standard that defines the CFDI: its XML structure, catalogs, and validation rules) | Structure of the QR code. |
| CFF, Article 83, Section VII | Penalizes issuing CFDIs without the requirements and not delivering the printed representation when the recipient asks for it. |
The official templates comply with the legal provisions. If you create a copy, that compliance is your responsibility.
Step 1: Create the copy
- In the dashboard, go to Developers > Designer.
- Open the designer menu (the three-line icon at the top left), select Open, and choose the official template for the document type:
-
income invoice (type
I, the regular sales invoice) -
credit note (an Egreso CFDI, type
E) -
payment complement (the complement that records each payment received against a
PPDinvoice; the typePCFDI that carries it is also called REP) -
payroll CFDI (the CFDI issued for each salary payment, type
N) -
transportation
-
- Before you make any changes, select Save as... and save the template with a descriptive name. From here on, you work on the copy and the official template stays intact.
- Apply your changes and check the result in the PREVIEW tab.
- Save the copy.
Opening an official template in the designer and saving it as a copy with “Save as”.
Step 2: Assign the copy to an RFC
The copy doesn't apply until you assign it in the report rule of the RFC.
- Go to Configuración > Reportes (Settings > Reports).
- Create or edit the report rule of the RFC. See report rules for details.
- In the field for the document type, for example Reporte de ingresos (Income report), select your copy.
- Save the rule.
Selecting the copy in the document type of the report rule.
From then on, the invoices of that type issued with that RFC use the copy, both in the API and in the dashboard.
Frequently asked questions
Can I go back to the official template?
Yes. Edit the report rule of the RFC and select the official template (System category) in the document type.
Does a copy get the improvements of the official template?
No. To get them, create a new copy from the updated official template and apply your changes again.
Does Fiscalapi provide support for editing a copy?
No. Fiscalapi doesn't provide support for the design of copies or for the use of the designer.
Does it work with other document types?
Yes. The process is the same for credit notes, payment complements, payroll, and transportation. Assign each copy in its field of the report rule.
Can I use the same copy for several RFCs?
Yes. Select it in the report rule of each RFC.