{"id":43920,"date":"2021-08-10T10:47:49","date_gmt":"2021-08-10T07:47:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themeisle.com\/blog\/?p=43920"},"modified":"2026-07-21T11:19:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T08:19:07","slug":"woocommerce-invoice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themeisle.com\/blog\/woocommerce-invoice\/","title":{"rendered":"WooCommerce Invoice Tutorial: How to Set Up PDF Invoices for Free"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Searching for a way to send a WooCommerce invoice PDF when someone places an order on your site?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By default, WooCommerce already offers a feature to send email invoices when selling online<\/a>. However, that functionality is limited to simple, preset email designs. It also doesn’t offer a PDF option for printing or downloading and there’s no easy way to manually send invoices to customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s why in this article, we’ll walk you through a step-by-step tutorial on how to send a WooCommerce invoice with settings for attaching PDFs, manually sending them to customers, and customizing the design of the invoices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best of all, you’ll be able to set up this functionality using a free plugin<\/strong>. Let’s dig in…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this guide, you’ll install a WooCommerce invoice plugin, run its setup wizard, choose which emails should include PDF invoices, enable manual send options, download or print invoices and packing slips, and make a few optional customizations such as notes and template settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t\t

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\n\t\t \t\tSend better #WooCommerce invoices in #PDF with this step-by-step guide \ud83e\uddfe<\/a>\n\t\t \t<\/div>\n\t\t \t
\n\t\t \tClick To Tweet \n\t\t \t\t<\/span>\n\t\t \t<\/a>\n\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n
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How to send a WooCommerce invoice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In a previous article, we covered the best invoicing plugins for WordPress<\/a>. We encourage you to explore all of those, but for this tutorial, we opted for the free WooCommerce PDF Invoices and Packing Slips plugin because…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. It offers a stellar feature list even though it’s free.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. It’s very popular and well-rated – it’s active on over 300,000 sites with a perfect 5-star rating from well over 1,800 reviews.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    It also remains a strong choice if you want a simple setup wizard for invoices and packing slips. That said, the WooCommerce PDF invoice space is more competitive now, so you may also want to compare alternatives if you need a different customization approach or broader free features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here’s how to set it up…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Install a WooCommerce invoice plugin<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    To get started, install and activate the WooCommerce PDF Invoices and Packing Slips plugin<\/a> in your WordPress dashboard. <\/p>\n\n\n

    <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    If you need help with this, use our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin<\/a>. You should also make sure you have WooCommerce installed<\/a> before trying to use this plugin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you want to comparison shop first, other WooCommerce PDF invoice plugins also exist, including options that focus on different template systems, document types, or free feature sets. We still like this plugin here because it’s easy to set up and handles invoices, manual sends, and packing slips in one workflow.<\/p>\n\n\n

    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    2. Run the setup wizard<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    You can find the plugin’s settings by clicking on WooCommerce > PDF Invoices<\/strong> in your WordPress dashboard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The plugin offers a lot of settings to help you configure it to your situation. Luckily, the WooCommerce PDF Invoices plugin offers a setup wizard to complete most of the process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To get started with it, click on the Run the Setup Wizard<\/strong> button. <\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"WooCommerce<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    3. Put your company name, address, and logo on the invoice<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The setup wizard walks you through the most important settings you need for your standard WooCommerce invoice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For instance, the first step asks you to type in the name of your shop and its address. The plugin will include these details on your invoice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Go ahead and fill in those fields and click Next<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"Setup<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    It’s also important to have your company logo<\/a> on the invoice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    On the next window, click on the Set Image<\/strong> button to upload a logo. <\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"Logo<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    This logo appears as a preview on the screen and the plugin also will include it in your PDF invoices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Click Next<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"Setup<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    4. Attach the invoice to specific eCommerce emails<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    WooCommerce already sends out emails for key events such as new orders, canceled orders, and refunded orders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, none of them have a downloadable, PDF invoice attached to them, so now’s the time to indicate which ones should have those invoices included. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It’s not a bad idea to attach the invoice to every email that goes out for an order. However, you can decide to remove the WooCommerce invoice from some emails if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Click Next<\/strong> to move on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Note: One of the more important ones to select is the Order details (Manual email)<\/strong> box, as this is one of the easiest ways to manually send your PDF invoices.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"Settings<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    5. Choose display options, the paper format, and to show action buttons on the invoice<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The Display Options<\/strong> section lets you control several invoice details, including whether to show the shipping address, email address, phone number, invoice date, and invoice number. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We recommend including most of them unless you don’t want to have the customer’s phone number or email on the invoice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Click Next<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"Invoice<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    You can also specify which type of paper format you desire for the invoice. These dictate how the invoice gets printed out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Go with an A4<\/strong> or Letter<\/strong> format, then click Next. <\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"Paper<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    Sometimes you need to manually send an email. This is a common practice in B2B sales. It’s also wonderful if a customer misplaced an invoice or didn’t get it the first time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Regardless of the reasoning, this section allows you to activate action buttons. If you enable action buttons, you’ll get new invoice and packing slip icons in the WooCommerce order list that let you create or send these documents more quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you think you’ll need to manually send invoices on a regular basis, you should definitely enable this option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Once you check the Show action buttons<\/strong> box, click on the Next<\/strong> button. <\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"Setting<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    And that’s all there is to the setup wizard. The majority of your WooCommerce invoice settings are now ready. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Click the Finish<\/strong> button to go back to the dashboard. <\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"Setup<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    6. Change the order actions to send email invoices<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Now that you’ve configured your invoices, two things occur:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. The plugin will automatically attach PDF invoices to all automated order emails that you selected in the setup wizard (such as order confirmations, cancellations, and shipment confirmations<\/a>). <\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. The plugin will add new options to the WooCommerce order management interface to let you manually send invoices if needed.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      So, you can rest easy knowing that the automated emails have the PDF invoices attached. You can even run some test orders to see if they work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      However, you also have the ability to resend those emails and adjust order actions with the PDF invoices included. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      To do so, open an order in WooCommerce (go to WooCommerce > Orders <\/strong>and choose an order from the list). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Go to the Order actions<\/strong> section, and choose the dropdown menu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You can now perform the following actions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n