How to add payment ID as Order Meta in WooCommerce PDF Invoices for free?

The payment IDs or reference numbers associated with electronic transactions can be attached to the invoices sent out to customers. You can do this by adding the payment ID as order metadata. Learn how you an do this for free in WooCommerce.

Payment identification numbers or payment IDs are unique identifiers associated with electronic payments. This data is critical as it is often used to verify the authenticity of payments.

Adding the payment ID to the WooCommerce PDF invoice would help both you and your customers refer to the payment in case of any confusion or issues. Though this is one of the most common requirements of many WooCommerce store owners, there is no default way to do this in WooCommerce.

The third-party plugin WooCommerce PDF invoice and packing slip can help you with this situation at hand. The plugin lets you add the payment ID as an order meta field in the invoice. Let’s see how we can do this here.

Metadata is usually unstructured data regarding different content in WooCommerce. This means that the additional data (the data that WooCommerce does not store) pertaining to different content types such as orders, products, coupons, customers, etc., can be stored as metadata.

This metadata capability in WooCommerce enables developers to store additional information and create new functionalities without disturbing the WooCommerce internal data structure.

In simple terms, WooCommerce meta fields are custom fields that can be used to add additional information regarding clients, items, orders, and more in the database.

The flexibility and power of WooCommerce mostly depend on its metadata fields. They enable you to save detailed information about your goods, clients, and orders. You can track important information about your company with this bespoke data.

Types of WooCommerce Metadata fields

WooCommerce has two different kinds of meta fields: order metadata fields and product metadata fields.

Order Metadata fields: Data regarding an order, such as the customer’s shipping address or payment method, can be stored as order metadata.

Product Metadata fields: Product meta fields store information about products, such as their SKUs or weights.

The WordPress database stores both varieties of meta fields. The WordPress admin interface can therefore be used to quickly access and edit them.

You can record any kind of information about your products, clients, or orders in meta fields. However, they work particularly well for storing data that cannot be easily viewed in the default WooCommerce interface. In these situations, you must use a third-party plugin to take advantage of these metadata fields.

For example, you might use meta fields to keep track of customer preferences for order fulfillment or to maintain details about a product’s color or size possibilities.

For a WooCommerce store, order metadata is crucial. The WooCommerce PDF Invoice and Packing Slips plugin from WebToffee enables the addition of customized order/product metadata.

Simply by adding a new meta field, you can add further details to the documents like the delivery date, tracking, or payment information. Take the case when you need to display a custom order field Stripe payment ID in your WooCommerce invoices as an example.

Step 1: Install the plugin

From the WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New. On the Add New plugin page, type the keyword “PDF invoice”, install, and then activate the WebToffee plugin to add the order meta field in your PDF invoice.

Step 2: Configure the invoice settings

Again from the WordPress dashboard, go to Invoice/Packing > Invoice.

To add the payment ID field, select the Order meta fields option under the General configuration tab.

Click the Add/Edit Order Meta Field button from the order meta field to provide custom metadata. Enter the appropriate Meta Key and a custom Field Name from the Add new tab.

In this instance, the field name that will appear in the invoice is Payment ID, which can be entered. Enter the custom field meta key exactly as it appears on the WooCommerce orders page.

The Payment ID field will be automatically added to the order meta fields after clicking the Save button.

Note: There is a custom field section of the WooCommerce Order page where you can find the order meta keys.

Once you’re finished, click the Update Settings button below to save your changes.

The WooCommerce PDF invoice, packing slips, and delivery note plugin is also available in the premium version. The premium version offers advanced features that are required for creating a more customized WooCommerce order-related document.

However, unlike other plugins that would have a free and premium version, this PDF invoice plugin has five different variations of premium plugins. It includes,

• WooCommece PDF invoice, packing clips & credit notes
• WooCommerce shipping labels, dispatch labels & delivery notes
• WooCommerce proforma invoices
• WooCommerce address labels
• WooCommerce picklists

Each premium plugin offers you advanced configuration and document template customization options essential to generate a document that is aligned with your branding demands.

Check out the premium plugins to know more about their features.

Sample invoice with custom order metadata

Here is a sample image of a PDF invoice with Payment ID as order metadata:

New possibilities for your PDF invoice template are made available by WooCommerce metadata fields. Along with your current necessary components, you can add a lot more important information.

Any WooCommerce store owner who wishes to make changes to their store PDF invoices beyond the basic settings must use meta fields. Meta fields are the best option if you need to keep track of any kind of unique information about your customers, products, or orders.

Hope this article led you in the right direction. We also encourage you to read how to add a delivery date field on your WooCommerce checkout page.

If you have any additional questions regarding this, please feel free to mention them below.