This may sound silly to you, but basically, in Shopify, there are no invoices available for customers.
That is, unless you install the right application, none of your customers will receive an invoice or be able to ask you for one for their order on the site.
A bit strange for an e-commerce solution?
Well yes and no.
Let's see together why Shopify does not offer a default invoice in its E-commerce software and how to fix it.
Why doesn't Shopify offer a default invoice?
Shopify is an E-commerce CMS, so it must offer all the features you would expect to sell online. In these, the creation of invoices is often considered "normal" and included in the shopify price.
Indeed, a basic Prestashop or Magento will, for example, issue invoices by default without using a plugin.
However, an invoice is an accounting and regulated element in many countries.
In France, for example, it is compulsory to have a whole list of specific elements mentioned on the invoice so that it is "compliant".
This list is obviously different from one country to another and an English e-merchant will not have the same obligations as a German or Greek e-merchant.
Since Shopify is a global e-commerce solution, that is to say available in more or less 200 countries on earth, managing invoices accurately can be a challenge.
On the other hand, issuing an invoice commits the company that does it (in this case you) and the e-commerce site may not represent 100% of your invoices.
Indeed, in many companies, such as all those that use Shopify Plus, it is rather the management tool (ERP), like Sage, which will create the invoices.
In order to keep all options open, Shopify has therefore decided not to include invoices in the "core" of Shopify by default.
Do not panic however, there are many solutions to send invoices to your customers.
Add invoices with "Order Printer" app for free.
The first solution, although a bit limited, is totally free. Just use the 100% free "Order Printer" application that you will find in the Shopify appstore.
Of course, if you go through a Shopify agency like Pikka, you don't need to worry about choosing the app or installing it, we do it for you anyway.
In short, why the name "Order Printer"? Well even if it's not very speaking in French, it comes from the fact that the application also allows you to print the order forms to slip into the package. This is also called order preparation Bordeaux sometimes.
In short, Order printer is easily installed in a few clicks and will only "offer" you a PDF template, 100% editable if you master the Liquid, to turn each order into an invoice PDF file.
The application will therefore not automatically send an email to the customer or make the PDF invoice file available online, in the customer account for example.
So it's up to you to send it to each customer who requests it.
Small reminder: In E-commerce it is, in any case at the time of writing, mandatory to provide the customer with an invoice for any online purchase.
In short, Order Printer is free, but to automate all that if you have a little volume, it may quickly become problematic for you.
This is why Shopify has provided an additional "premium" function with the Order Printer Pro application.
Pay and Use "Order Printer Pro".
If you want to automate invoices, you can use "Order Printer Pro", which is paid for but has one more feature: being able to add a link in the order confirmation email so that the customer can download his invoice.
Unfortunately, the application does not offer the ability to download the invoice directly from your customer account. If a customer has lost the email, he will therefore go through you to obtain his invoice. It's still a little restrictive.
By using a blind copy email address and some automation rules via Integromat, you can even save 100% of your customers' invoices on a Google Drive or Dropbox to keep a copy if necessary for your accounting.
Other Invoice Apps
If you haven't found your happiness with these two applications, don't worry! There are plenty of apps on the Shopify app store that let you create and manage billing on Shopify with your customers. They change often and the best advice is to go through a consultant Shopify to analyze your specific needs and advise you on the best solution on a case-by-case basis.
