How to Create Payment Receipt PDFs for WooCommerce

October 28, 2026

An invoice asks for money; a payment receipt confirms that it arrived. Customers who pay by card or wallet expect one straight away, business customers file it with their expenses, and support teams answer “did my payment go through?” with it. With PDF Invoice for WooCommerce + Drag and Drop Template Builder (plugin slug pdf-for-woocommerce, by add-ons.org) the receipt is a small A5 document with the amount paid, the payment method, the gateway transaction ID and a big green PAID mark, generated the moment the order becomes Processing (paid) and attached to the “order received” email. This guide builds it from a blank template. The proforma invoice guide covers the document before payment and the credit note guide the one after a refund.

Video tutorial

1. What the Receipt Contains

Block	Content	Merge tags
Header	Store line, “PAYMENT RECEIPT”, receipt number, date, order number	`Yee Add-ons`, `RCPT-8448`, `August 28, 2026`
Payment	Received from, payment method, paid on, transaction ID	`PIERLUIGI CIPRIANI`, `PayPal`,
Items	Product, quantity, price and the totals	the Order Detail table block with totals on
Amount paid	Total with currency, the amount in words, a green PAID mark	`19.00`, `USD`, `nineteen`
Footer	What the receipt is (and is not), contact	`[email protected]`, `https://add-ons.org`

The transaction ID is the reference the payment gateway (Stripe, PayPal, Mollie…) stores on the order; printing it on the receipt lets the customer match the receipt to the line on their card statement and lets you find the payment in the gateway dashboard.

2. Build the Receipt Template

Builder note: a new element is inserted just above the element you drop it on. Create the footer (the last block) first and drop every other block onto it in reading order.

Step 1: New template, A5 page

Go to PDF Templates → New Template and name it Payment Receipt. Click Settings PDF and set Paper Size to A5: a receipt is short, and A5 looks right on screen and in print.

A new empty PDF template named Payment Receipt — A blank template.

The Settings PDF panel with Paper Size A5 — Settings PDF → Paper Size A5 (148 × 210 mm).

Step 2: Footer

Drag a Text/HTML element into the row, centre it and type the footer in 10 px:

This receipt confirms that the payment for order #8448 has been received in full.
It is not a tax invoice; the invoice is attached to your order confirmation and available in My Account.
Questions: [email protected] · https://add-ons.org

The footer Text element selected with the receipt disclaimer in the Editor panel — The footer, 10 px, centred.

Step 3: Header

Drop a Text/HTML element onto the footer:

Yee Add-ons · 123 Main Street · Anytown, US 11155 · [email protected]       ← 12 px
PAYMENT RECEIPT                                                                  ← 26 px bold
Receipt No: RCPT-8448 · Date: August 28, 2026 · Order: #8448

The header Text element selected with the store line, PAYMENT RECEIPT and the receipt number merge tags — The header with the receipt number derived from the order number.

Step 4: Payment details

Drop another Text/HTML element onto the footer:

Received from: PIERLUIGI CIPRIANI · [email protected] · 3286550379
Payment method: PayPal · Paid on: August 28, 2026
Transaction ID:

prints any order field; _transaction_id is where WooCommerce stores the gateway reference. Use the Shortcodes menu in the editor for the other tags.

The payment Text element selected with the received from, payment method, paid on and transaction ID merge tags — The payment block. On the canvas the sample order shows “Order meta _transaction_id” until a real order is rendered.

Step 5: Items and totals

In the WooCommerce section drag the Order Detail block onto the footer. Click the table and keep Show totals on; switch SKU, image and description off so the table stays compact on A5.

The Order Detail table selected with Show totals on and SKU, image and description off — The items table with totals.

Step 6: Amount paid

Drop a last Text/HTML element onto the footer, align it right:

Amount paid: 19.00 USD        ← 18 px bold
nineteen USD                  ← 11 px
✔ PAID                                                                      ← 30 px bold, colour #1a9b4a

Set the colour with the text colour button in the editor toolbar; the ✔ character comes from the Special character menu or can be pasted.

The amount paid Text element selected with the total, the amount in words and the green PAID mark — Amount paid, amount in words and the PAID mark.

Open Settings PDF → Custom CSS and add a little spacing, then click Save:

p { margin: 0 0 5px; }
table { margin: 8px 0 10px; }

The finished Payment Receipt template in the builder: header, payment block, items table with totals, amount paid, PAID mark and footer — The finished template with the sample order.

3. Generate the Receipt When the Order Is Paid

Go to WooCommerce → Settings → PDF → Add new PDF:

The PDF setting for the receipt: label Receipt, template Payment Receipt, file name receipt-RCPT-8448, statuses Processing and Completed, attached to the processing and completed order emails and order details, My Account download for processing and completed orders — The receipt setting.

Field	Value	Why
Enable this PDF	ticked
Label	Receipt	Button label in the admin and in My Account.
PDF Template	Payment Receipt	The template from section 2.
PDF Name	`receipt-RCPT-8448`	e.g. receipt-RCPT-1801.pdf
Enable when order status	Processing, Completed	Processing is the status WooCommerce sets when a payment is captured; Completed keeps the receipt for orders that go straight to complete (virtual products).
Attachment to	Processing order, Completed order, Order details	The receipt rides on the “we have received your order” email, i.e. right after payment.
Allow My Account invoice download	Only for specific order statuses → Processing, Completed	Self-service re-download.

The PDF settings list with the Receipt row — The receipt next to the other documents.

4. What the Customer Receives

A card payment moves the order to Processing as soon as the gateway confirms it; the receipt is generated at that moment and attached to the processing email. The customer also finds a Receipt button in My Account → Orders and on the order page.

My Account Orders list with a Receipt button next to the processing and completed orders — My Account → Orders: the Receipt button.

The My Account order page with the Receipt download link — The order page lists the receipt.

The generated A5 receipt for order 1801: PAYMENT RECEIPT RCPT-1801, received from Anna Lee, credit card payment with transaction ID, the items and totals, amount paid 299.00 USD in figures and words and the green PAID mark — The generated receipt for order #1801: card payment, transaction ID, amount in words, PAID.

In the admin, the order screen lists the receipt in the PDF box with Download, Preview and Regenerate.

The PDF box on the order screen with the Receipt entry — Order screen → PDF box → Receipt.

5. Tips

Bank transfer orders: they sit in On hold until you confirm the money; the receipt is generated when you move the order to Processing, so the manual status change is the “payment received” step.
Payment date: for card payments the order date is the payment date. If you need the exact capture time, print it from the gateway’s own meta field, e.g. or the field your gateway writes.
Receipt vs. invoice: keep both: the invoice lists the tax details, the receipt proves payment. Attach the receipt to the processing email and the invoice to the completed email if you prefer one document per email.
Partial payments / deposits: the receipt prints the order total; for deposits print the paid amount from the deposit plugin’s meta field instead.
Thermal printer: for a counter receipt set Paper Size to a custom 80 mm width in Settings PDF and reduce the fonts.
Regenerate: after editing the template, click Regenerate on an order; emails attach the stored file.

6. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why does the canvas show “Order meta _transaction_id”?

The sample order in the builder has no transaction ID, so the merge tag prints its own name. Preview or download the receipt for a real paid order to see the reference.

Can the receipt show the last four digits of the card?

Most gateways put them in the payment method title (“Credit card (Visa •••• 4242)”), which PayPal prints. Otherwise print the gateway meta field with the order meta tag.

Is the amount in words available in other languages?

The tag prints English words. For another language type the words in the template or leave the line out.

Can I send the receipt only, without the invoice, on the processing email?

Yes: in the Invoice setting untick Processing order under Attachment to, and keep it ticked for the Receipt setting.

What about refunds?

A refund does not change the receipt. Issue a credit note (see the credit note guide) and keep the receipt as the record of the original payment.