How to add a payment link to the proforma invoice in WooCommerce

A proforma invoice is usually shared with the customer before payment is made. Adding a payment link to it lets the customer settle the order directly from the document they open the proforma invoice, click Pay Now, and complete the payment on your checkout page. Combined with the pay later option at checkout and the payment received stamp, this creates a complete pre-payment workflow:

1. The customer places the order at checkout without paying (pay later).
2. The store sends a proforma invoice with a Pay Now link.
3. The customer pays via the link, and the paid document carries a Received stamp.

This article explains how to set up all three using the WooCommerce Proforma Invoices plugin by WebToffee.

• The plugin is installed and activated, and the Proforma Invoice document is enabled.
• A proforma invoice template that supports the payment link (e.g., the Pay Now template) is selected from the Customize tab. The payment link will not appear on templates that do not support it.

1. From the WordPress dashboard, navigate to Invoice/Packing > Proforma Invoice.
2. Under the General tab, scroll to the Payment link section.
3. Tick Enable to add a payment link in the proforma invoice.

This adds a payment link beside the payment method in the proforma invoice.

Select the order statuses for which the payment link should appear on the proforma invoice:

• Pending payment
• On hold
• Failed

The payment link is added only for orders in the selected statuses. If no status is selected, On hold is considered by default. Once an order is paid, the link is no longer relevant and the document can instead display the payment received stamp (see Step 4).

In the same Payment link section, tick Enable to show pay later option at the checkout.

This adds a pay later option on your store’s checkout page, allowing customers to place the order without paying immediately. The order is created (typically in On hold status), a proforma invoice with the payment link can then be sent, and the customer completes the payment at their convenience.

Click Update Settings to save the changes.

1. Go to the Customize tab of the proforma invoice settings.
2. Click Change template and select a template that supports the payment link (e.g., paynow).
3. In the customizer panel on the right, ensure the Payment Link toggle is enabled.
4. Optionally, enable Due Date to display the payment due date on the invoice — useful when giving customers a defined payment window.
5. Click Update template to save.

The proforma invoice will now display the payment method along with a Pay Now link. Clicking the link takes the customer to the payment page of the order, where they can complete the transaction using the available payment methods.

To display the Received stamp only when the order status is Completed, add the following custom code snippet to the active child theme’s functions.php file, or use a third-party code snippet plugin. To learn more, refer to: Adding Custom Codes with a Third-Party Plugin.

With this filter in place, the stamp is printed only on the proforma invoices of completed orders — unpaid orders with the Pay Now link will not carry the stamp.