A payment link on the invoice points at the WooCommerce Customer Payment Page for that specific order, so the customer pays straight from the PDF without hunting for the shop again. In Flexible Invoices PRO it is one option plus a choice of order statuses; in the free version you paste the link into the invoice notes by hand. One constraint decides whether any of this works: WooCommerce only exposes that payment page for unpaid orders, which means the document carrying the link should normally be a proforma rather than an invoice. The detail below, with the settings for both versions.
- Create a PDF invoice in WooCommerce
- Which order statuses the payment link works on
- Set automatic PDF invoices with a payment link
- Add a payment link to the invoice manually for FREE
- What to know about the link itself
- Frequently asked questions
Create a PDF invoice in WooCommerce
WooCommerce sends an order details email with the basics of the purchase:
That email is a confirmation, not an invoice. It has no invoice number, no issue date and none of the seller details a customer’s accountant needs, so it cannot be filed as a purchase document. A real PDF invoice is a separate document:
Creating invoices for WooCommerce orders by hand works in the free version of the plugin, and so does adding a payment link to them.
Which order statuses the payment link works on
Start here, because this single constraint decides whether the feature does anything at all.
The link on the invoice is the WooCommerce Customer Payment Page, and WooCommerce only makes that page available for orders that still need paying: Pending payment, Failed and Cancelled. Flexible Invoices reuses that same link, so a document issued at Processing or Completed has nothing to point to. The order is already paid, and WooCommerce has no payment page left to offer.
In practice this means the payment link belongs on documents issued early in the order’s life, not on the invoice that confirms a completed sale.
Invoice or proforma on unpaid statuses?
Issuing a regular invoice at Pending payment solves the link problem and creates a worse one. Every invoice consumes a number in a sequence that cannot simply be reused, and a large share of pending orders are abandoned, so you end up with numbered documents for sales that never happened and corrections to issue for each of them.
A proforma is the document designed for exactly this moment. It has its own numbering, it does not enter the invoice sequence, and its purpose is to request payment. The usual setup is therefore:
| Document | Issued at | Payment link |
|---|---|---|
| Proforma | Pending payment | Yes, this is the point of it |
| Invoice | Processing or Completed | No, the order is already paid |
If your store sells to customers who pay on receipt of a document rather than at checkout, the proforma goes out first with the link, and the invoice follows once the money arrives.
Automatic PDF invoices with a payment link
Enable the link option in Flexible Invoices:
Then choose the WooCommerce order statuses for automatic invoices and proforma invoices, keeping the table above in mind:
From then on the document goes out automatically with the link on it:
This matters more for guests than for registered customers. WP Desk telemetry from 19,803 WooCommerce stores, collected in August 2026, shows 86.2% of orders placed as guests. A guest has no account, so there is no My Account page to log into and settle an unpaid order. The link in the PDF is the only route back to paying it.
Add a payment link to the invoice manually for FREE
The free version has no automatic issuing, but the link itself can be added by hand, either as a note repeated on every document or on one invoice at a time.
For a general note on all invoices or proformas:
For a single document, copy the payment link from the order and paste it into the invoice’s Payment section:
It appears in the invoice notes:
A general note is only safe for text that is true of every document. The payment link is unique to one order, so it goes in the per-document field, never the global one.
What to know about the link itself
Two properties of the Customer Payment Page are worth knowing before you put it on a document that leaves your shop.
It stops accepting payment once the order is paid. A customer who keeps the PDF and clicks the link weeks later will not pay twice; WooCommerce sees the order is settled and says so. This is also why the link is useless on an invoice issued after payment.
It authorises by itself. The URL contains the order key, which is what lets a guest pay without logging in. That convenience is the whole point, and it also means anyone holding the PDF can open that payment page. It is a document to send to the customer, not to attach to a public ticket or a shared folder.
Summary
The payment link is the WooCommerce Customer Payment Page, and it only exists while the order is unpaid, so it belongs on documents issued at Pending payment, Failed or Cancelled. Use a proforma there rather than an invoice, so abandoned orders do not leave gaps and corrections in your invoice numbering, and let the invoice follow once the payment lands. PRO adds the link and sends the document automatically; the free version does the same work by hand, one order at a time, in the per-document notes rather than the global ones.
Download the free version of Flexible Invoices to create PDF invoices in WooCommerce, or test the free and PRO versions with the add-ons in a free demo. The plugin documentation covers every setting, and support is there if something does not behave as described.
Frequently asked questions
Is the WooCommerce order confirmation email an invoice?
No. It confirms what was ordered but carries no invoice number, issue date or seller tax details, so it cannot be filed as a purchase document.
Which order statuses support a payment link?
Pending payment, Failed and Cancelled. WooCommerce only exposes the Customer Payment Page for orders that still need paying, so a document issued at Processing or Completed has no link to carry.
Should the payment link go on an invoice or a proforma?
A proforma. It has separate numbering, so abandoned orders do not leave gaps in your invoice sequence, and requesting payment is what the document is for.
Can I add a payment link in the free version?
Yes, by hand. You copy the link from the order and paste it into that invoice’s Payment section. Automatic issuing and sending are PRO features.
Can I put the link in the general note for all documents?
No. Each order has its own link, so a global note would send every customer to the same order. Use the per-document field.
Does the link stop working after payment?
The page no longer accepts payment once the order is settled, so a customer clicking an old PDF will not pay a second time.
Can someone else pay using my customer’s link?
Yes, which is both the point and the caveat. The URL carries the order key so a guest can pay without an account, and anyone holding that PDF can open the same page.
Why is a payment link useful if customers pay at checkout?
Because most orders are placed by guests, who have no account to log back into. If a payment fails or the customer leaves before finishing, the link in the document is their only way back.
