How to generate PDF invoices in WooCommerce

WooCommerce includes an order-details or customer invoice email, but it does not create a downloadable PDF invoice by itself. You can send the email manually from the order screen, but PDF generation, invoice numbering and automatic attachments require an extension or custom development.

For a shop that only needs an occasional document, the manual method is acceptable. For regular orders, use the automated route because manually saving every invoice becomes easy to miss.

Before generating invoices, confirm your shop name, address, contact details, tax or VAT number, payment details, refund wording and the information required by your local tax authority. An invoice is a legal document, so the correct fields depend on where your business and customers are located.

Decide whether the invoice number should match the WooCommerce order number or use a separate sequence with a prefix, date or zero-padding. Do not reset a live sequence without checking whether it could create duplicate numbers.

Open WooCommerce > Orders, edit the order, then use the order actions menu to choose Send order details to customer. This sends the standard WooCommerce invoice or order-details email and, for unpaid orders, can include a payment link.

Open the email in a browser and choose the browser's print command, then select Save as PDF. This is fine for a small number of orders, but it is a poor long-term system: there is no automatic PDF attachment, separate invoice sequence, bulk generation or dependable customer download area, and the printed result depends on the email template and browser.

For the practical automated route, install and activate WPC PDF Invoices And Packing Slips. Configure the shop details, logo, invoice template, paper size and invoice numbering, then choose which WooCommerce email notifications should receive the PDF.

Enable customer invoice downloads if customers should retrieve documents from their order history. The plugin also supports packing slips, custom templates, bulk downloads and automatic PDF attachments, so it suits stores that need more than a one-off printed order summary.

Generate a PDF from an existing test order before enabling it for live customers. Check the invoice number, date, tax totals, discounts, shipping, refund wording, currency symbols, logo and page breaks. Official WooCommerce invoice documentation recommends testing a sample PDF and checking the email status rules before relying on attachments.

If the PDF is missing from an email, first check that the relevant order status and email notification are enabled. Then check WordPress email delivery, attachment size limits and server permissions. A logo that disappears usually points to an unsupported image format, rendering issue or cache; skipped numbers should be investigated before changing the sequence.