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How to send an invoice on Shopify, step by step

Checked against the live sources below on 27 October 2026.

To ask a customer for payment, create a draft order and send its invoice, which carries a secure checkout link. To give a customer a record of an order, print the order page or a packing slip and send the file. To send a branded PDF invoice automatically on every order, you need document templates or an invoice app.

Print an order and send the file

In your Shopify admin, open Orders and click the order.
Click Print, then Print order page.
Save the page as a PDF from your browser’s print dialog, then attach it to an email.

That path is in Shopify’s help center, with two caveats: the printed order page includes the order’s Timeline comments, so read it before you send it, and draft orders cannot be printed. It is a record of the order, not a designed invoice.

Bill a customer with a draft order invoice

Shopify’s help center describes draft orders as a way to create orders on behalf of customers for phone, email or in-person sales: add products, apply discounts, then send an invoice with a secure checkout link so the customer can pay online. When the draft order is paid, it becomes a regular order on your Orders page.

This is an invoice in the sense of a payment request. If a customer or accountant wants a formal PDF document with a tax registration line and an invoice number, you need one of the routes below.

Templates and apps: PDF invoices that send themselves

Shopify’s help center describes order document templates for invoices, packing slips and pick lists, printed from the admin without an app. The page marks it early access and rolling out gradually, so check whether you have it. Its free Order Printer app customises templates with HTML, CSS and Liquid. Those pages describe creating and printing documents, not sending them to the customer automatically.

An app can send them. FlatInvoice, for example, emails its PDF invoice the moment an order is placed, per its listing, with a guided setup that adds a Download-invoice button inside Shopify’s own order emails. Its free Starter plan covers 25 invoices a month; the Flat Plan has a 7-day free trial.

Before you send any invoice, check that your business details are right, the number is unique, the totals match what the customer paid, and the customer’s details are on it if they need them.

How to choose: if you bill a few customers by hand, draft order invoices and printed order pages are enough. If every order needs a document, automate it. Whichever you pick, place a test order first and read the document the way the customer will.

Want invoices to go out on their own? FlatInvoice has a free plan.

FlatInvoice for Shopify Install on Shopify

Frequently asked questions

Can I send an invoice from a draft order?

Yes. Shopify’s help center says draft orders let you send an invoice with a secure checkout link. It asks the customer to pay; it is not a designed PDF invoice.

Does Shopify number my invoices?

The printing pages we read do not describe an invoice-numbering feature. FlatInvoice lists automatic sequential invoice numbers; if numbering matters, confirm it in whichever tool you choose.

Is the printed order page a proper invoice?

It is a copy of the order for your records. If a customer or accountant needs a formal invoice with a tax registration line, use a template or an invoice app.

How this page was researched

Read on 27 October 2026. Native steps come from Shopify’s help center; app features come from the FlatInvoice listing.

Shopify Help Center: Printing an order page — Print > Print order page produces a copy for your own records that includes the order’s Timeline comments; draft orders cannot be printed
Shopify Help Center: Draft orders and invoices — draft orders let you add products and discounts and send invoices with secure checkout links for customers to pay online; a paid draft order becomes a regular order
Shopify Help Center: Order document templates — marked early access and rolling out gradually; invoices, packing slips and pick lists can be created and printed from Shopify admin without an app, under Settings > Shipping and delivery
Shopify Help Center: Shopify Order Printer — templates are customised with HTML, CSS and Liquid code; Theme Support can help with minor customisations, and complex ones may need a third-party designer
FlatInvoice on the Shopify App Store — free Starter plan (25 invoices a month, every feature); Flat Plan with a 7-day free trial; invoices email themselves when an order is placed; Download-invoice button setup; VAT/GST tax ID line and sequential numbering

Disclosure. FlatInvoice is our app (Stelar Digital LLC). This page was written with AI tooling and checked against the sources listed above; we would rather you pick the right tool than ours.