How To Attach Custom PDF Invoices With WooCommerce Order Emails?

This article guides you through the process of setting up and sending email invoices to customers in WooCommerce. The process involves using the free PDF Invoices and Packing Slips for WooCommerce plugin, which allows you to attach PDF invoices to WooCommerce order emails.

When a customer successfully places an order on your WooCommerce store, they receive an automatic confirmation email. But what if that email could do more than just say “thank you”?

Picture this: it could also include a sleek, professionally designed PDF invoice, automatically generated and attached, providing your customers with an immediate, clear, and organized record of their purchase.

Say goodbye to the hassle of manual invoice creation or follow-up emails. This not only elevates the shopping experience but also saves you time and enhances your store’s credibility. Thanks to the free WooCommerce PDF Invoices plugin by WebToffee, making this happen is simpler than you might think. 

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the easy steps to seamlessly attach PDF invoices to your WooCommerce order emails.

An invoice is a document that lists the details of payment of the items ordered. It typically includes:

1. The names and details of both the buyer and seller
2. A unique invoice number
3. The date of the transaction
4. Details of the product purchased
5. The quantities and prices of each item
6. Payment method
7. Tax details
8. Payment terms and conditions

It is both beneficial and essential to automatically create and send invoices to customers. You can save a lot of time by maintaining this task and using it for other things. So, why do we insist that you create and send invoices every time? The reasons are here,

• Improving the purchasing experience for customers
• Establish a powerful brand identity
• Save money and time.
• Organize and manage invoices
• Streamline the tax auditing procedure

Step 1: Install the WooCommerce PDF Invoices Plugin by WebToffee

You will need to install and activate the free plugin WooCommerce PDF Invoices in your store to access this feature.

To do this,

1. Log into your WordPress admin account and navigate to Plugins > Add New.
2. Search for the Keyword WooCommerce PDF Invoices, Packing Slips and Delivery Notes and locate the WebToffee plugin.
3. Click Install Now and then Activate to complete the installation process.

This would add an additional section named Invoice/Packing to the left navigation bar of your WordPress admin console. All customizations regarding the order-related documents, such as PDF invoices and shipping labels, can be found there.

Step 2: Enable the Option to Attach Invoice in the General Settings

As mentioned earlier, once the plugin is installed and activated, the Invoice/Packslip menu appears on the WordPress dashboard.

• Navigate to Invoice/Packslip > Invoice > General. All the generic settings about the invoice are included here. 
• To attach invoices to the order emails sent to customers, ensure the Enable Invoice option is toggled on.

Step 3: Define When to Automate Invoice Creation

Select the required order status for automatically creating invoices in the Automate invoice creation option.

• From the list provided, select the order statuses that should trigger automatic invoice generation. Available statuses include: Pending Payment, Processing, On Hold, Completed, Cancelled, Refunded, Failed, and Draft.

You can choose more than one status to fit your store’s workflow—for example, generate invoices for both Processing and Completed orders.

Once selected, the plugin will automatically create PDF invoices whenever an order reaches the chosen status.

Step 4: Define When to Attach invoice PDF to Customer Email

Select the order status emails to which the PDF version of the currently active invoice template has to be attached under the option Attach invoice PDF in customer email.

PDF Invoice Attachment

The image below shows the option to download the PDF attached to the order mail.

Step 5: Add a Print Invoice Button to Order Emails

Enable the Show Print Invoice button for customers on the Order email option to let customers print invoices directly from the order email. This also allows them to print invoices from the order listing and order details pages.

Make sure to Update Settings to save the changes.

A sample email with an invoice attachment with a print invoice button is shown below:

A sample invoice with the logo will be as shown below:

In addition to attaching the invoice with the order email, you may also set up several customizations with this free plugin. Moreover, the WooCommerce PDF invoice template can even be changed or customized from the same setup window.

Some of the other key features of this plugin include:

• Print Button Placement – Add a Print Invoice button to the My Account page and order emails.
• Custom Invoice Date – Set a personalized invoice date.
• Custom Invoice Number – Define your own invoice numbering.
• Number Format Control – Customize the format of invoice numbers.
• Add Company Logo – Display your logo on invoices.
• Order Meta Fields – Insert custom order metadata into invoices.
• Backdate Invoices – Generate invoices for pre-plugin orders.
• Free Order Invoices – Create invoices for free orders.
• Show Free Items – Include free line items in invoices.
• PDF Name Format – Adjust the file name format of the invoice PDF.
• Invoice Template Options – Choose from multiple basic templates.

If you’re using the pro version of the WooCommerce Invoices plugin, you will have to configure the same set of options to attach the invoice PDF to the order status emails.

The only difference between the free and premium variations of the PDF invoice plugin for WooCommerce is that the premium version houses much more advanced features and customizations than the free version. However, there is no change to the process or workflow inside the plugin.

Some of the premium features include:

• Advanced Invoice Templates – Use and customize multiple advanced invoice layouts.
• Product Meta & Attributes – Insert product meta fields and attributes into invoices.
• Add Signature – Include a signature in the PDF invoices.
• Custom Footer Content – Personalize the footer section of your invoices.
• Group by Category – Organize products by category in the invoice.
• Item Sorting – Sort products in invoices based on your preference.
• Bundled Product Display – Choose from multiple display styles for bundled products.
• Payment Links in Invoices – Add direct payment links to the invoice PDF.
• Pay Later Option – Allow customers to select a “Pay Later” option at checkout.

There is no question that all business owners must create and send email invoices to their customers. It is not only crucial for business continuity but also crucial for regulatory compliance and keeping track of customer transactions.

Nevertheless, attaching a WooCommerce invoice soft copy helps to save the document for future reference. This has several advantages when compared to sending hard copies of invoices with the order.

A proper plugin can improve the client experience and make the entire process more methodical. By doing this, you can save time, and money, which means your company can benefit from other online selling opportunities.

Tags: woocommerce invoice, woocommerce invoice extension, woocommerce invoice plugin