Short answer: to send a customer an invoice they can pay online, create a draft order in your Shopify admin and click Send invoice. To get a PDF for an order that already exists, use Shopify’s free Order Printer app. To make a one-off PDF invoice without a store order behind it, use Shopify’s free invoice generator.
Those are three different jobs that share one word. This guide covers each, then the case none of them handles well: the customer who orders the same thing again and again.
The steps and limits below come from Shopify’s own pages, read in October 2026: the draft order documentation, the invoice generator and the Order Printer app listing.
Which invoice do you need?
| You want to | Use | Customer pays online? |
|---|---|---|
| Bill a customer for a custom order and get paid | A draft order with Send invoice | Yes |
| Send a payable link in a chat or DM | A draft order with Share | Yes |
| Print or save an invoice for an order already placed | Order Printer | Already paid, or paid another way |
| Make a PDF invoice with no store order | Shopify’s invoice generator | No |
| Let a repeat customer reorder at their own prices | A reusable checkout link | Yes |
1. Send an invoice from a draft order
A draft order is an order you build on the customer’s behalf. Sending its invoice emails the customer a link to a checkout with the order already in it.
- In your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
- Click Create order, or open an existing draft.
- Add the products and the customer. You need the customer’s email address or phone number before the order can be completed.
- In the Payments section, click Send invoice.
- Write a message. You can also choose whether to lock the product prices and whether discount codes are allowed.
- Click Review invoice, then Send invoice.
The customer opens the email, enters their billing details, picks a shipping method and pays. The draft then becomes a normal order on your Orders page, marked as paid.
Or share the link yourself
In the same draft order, click Share, then Copy link. You get the checkout link without the email, ready to paste into WhatsApp, Instagram or a text.
Limits to know
- Stock still counts. A product with no inventory shows as out of stock, and the customer cannot complete the checkout.
- Prices can move. If you turn the price lock off when you send, the prices in the draft are unlocked and follow the product’s current price.
- Shipping does not refresh. If you add products after sending the invoice, the shipping rates do not update automatically.
- Old drafts are removed. Draft orders created on or after 1 April 2025 are deleted automatically after one year of inactivity.
- One draft, one order. Each invoice is for a single order. The next order needs a new draft.
2. Print an invoice for an existing order
Shopify’s Order Printer app is free and made by Shopify. It prints invoices, packing slips, pick lists and receipts, for one order or many at once, and the templates can be edited with HTML, CSS and Liquid.
Use it when the order already exists and the customer, their accounts team or your own bookkeeping needs a document.
3. Make a PDF invoice without an order
Shopify’s invoice generator is a free web tool that anyone can use without an account. You fill in your details, the client’s details and the line items, and the finished invoice is emailed to you as a PDF to send on.
It does not take payment and it is not connected to your store: no order is created and no stock is reserved. It suits freelance work or a sale that happens outside Shopify. For a product in your store, a draft order is the better route, because the payment and the order end up in one place.
When an invoice is the wrong tool
Draft orders work well for a true one-off: a custom quote, a negotiated price, a single bespoke order. They get slow when the same customer orders regularly, because each order means building and sending a new draft.
A reusable checkout link fits that case. You set it up once, and the customer opens the same link every time they want to order.
With Checkout Links, a Shopify app we make, a link can carry:
- A fixed cart or the customer’s last order, with their details filled in.
- A discount or free gift that applies without a code.
- B2B pricing. On a link with B2B switched on, the customer signs in, and their company’s catalogue prices and payment terms, such as Net 30, apply at checkout. This uses Shopify’s own B2B setup, so the companies, catalogues and terms have to exist in your admin first.
- Its own numbers: clicks, orders and revenue for that link.
Where a draft order still wins: line items negotiated order by order, and any case where you need the invoice email and the paper trail Shopify produces for it. Most stores that sell wholesale end up using both, with links for routine reorders and drafts for the exceptions.
The B2B without Plus playbook covers the wholesale setup, and the draft orders comparison sets the two side by side.
Frequently asked questions
How do I send an invoice on Shopify?
Go to Orders > Drafts, create a draft order with the products and the customer, then click Send invoice in the Payments section. The customer gets an email with a link to pay at checkout.
Is there a free Shopify invoice generator?
Yes. Shopify’s invoice generator is free, needs no account and emails you the invoice as a PDF. It creates a document only. It does not collect payment or create an order in your store.
Can a customer pay a Shopify invoice online?
Yes, when the invoice comes from a draft order. The email links to a checkout where the customer enters billing details, chooses shipping and pays. The draft then becomes a paid order.
How do I get an invoice for an order that is already paid?
Install Shopify’s free Order Printer app. It prints invoices, packing slips and receipts for existing orders, one at a time or in bulk.
Can I send the same invoice to a customer every month?
Not as one invoice. Each draft order becomes a single order, so a repeat order needs a new draft. For regular reorders, a reusable checkout link is less work: the customer opens the same link each time.
Do Shopify invoices support payment terms like Net 30?
Payment terms are part of Shopify’s B2B features and are set on the company in your admin. A B2B customer who signs in at checkout gets the terms set for their company.
