How to Manually Email an Invoice from WooCommerce: A Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction:

WooCommerce, the leading e-commerce platform for WordPress, automatically sends invoices to customers upon successful order placement. However, there are times when you might need to manually resend or send a fresh invoice. Maybe the original email got lost in spam, the customer requested another copy, or you made adjustments to the order after it was initially placed. This article will guide you through the simple process of manually emailing an invoice from your WooCommerce store, ensuring smooth communication and excellent customer service. We’ll cover the reasons for doing so and provide a clear, concise guide to get the job done.

Manually Emailing Invoices in WooCommerce

Here’s a detailed breakdown of how to manually trigger an invoice email in WooCommerce:

Accessing the Order Details

1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard. This is usually accessible at `yourdomain.com/wp-admin`.

2. Navigate to WooCommerce > Orders. This will display a list of all orders placed on your store.

3. Locate the order for which you want to send the invoice. You can use the search bar or filter options to find it quickly.

4. Click on the order number (or the “View” button) to open the order details page. This page contains all the relevant information about the order, including customer details, order items, and shipping information.

Triggering the Invoice Email

1. Scroll down the Order Details page until you find the “Order actions” meta box on the right-hand side.

2. Click the dropdown menu within the “Order actions” box. This dropdown list contains various actions you can perform on the order.

3. Select “Email invoice / order details to customer” from the dropdown menu.

4. Click the “Update” button next to the dropdown menu. This action will trigger WooCommerce to send the invoice email to the customer associated with that order.

That’s it! WooCommerce will now send the invoice email to the customer using the standard WooCommerce email template, which includes a link to view the order details and a printable invoice.

Using Plugins for Enhanced Invoice Management (Optional)

While the built-in WooCommerce functionality is sufficient for basic invoice resending, certain plugins offer more advanced features:

• Customizable Invoice Templates: Many plugins allow you to design and customize your invoice templates, including adding your logo, branding, and specific information.
• Automatic Invoice Numbering: They can automate the generation of sequential invoice numbers, simplifying your accounting processes.
• PDF Invoice Generation: Learn more about How To Edit Woocommerce Product Page With Visual Composer Some plugins automatically generate PDF invoices, which are more professional and easier for customers to download and print.
• Bulk Actions: Advanced plugins often allow you to resend invoices in bulk, which is useful for dealing with multiple requests at once.

If you require more sophisticated invoice management capabilities, consider exploring plugins such as WooCommerce PDF Invoices & Packing Slips, or similar solutions.

Understanding the WooCommerce Email Templates

It’s useful to understand that the content of the email is controlled by WooCommerce’s email templates. You can customize these templates, although it’s recommended to do so using a child theme to avoid losing changes during updates.

Here’s a basic example showing how you might override the default WooCommerce invoice email template:

1. Create a folder called `woocommerce` within your child theme’s directory.

2. Inside the `woocommerce` folder, create another folder called `emails`.

3. Copy the default invoice template from the WooCommerce plugin directory `/woocommerce/templates/emails/customer-invoice.php` into your child theme’s `woocommerce/emails/` folder.

4. Edit the `customer-invoice.php` file in your child theme to customize the invoice email content.

 <?php /** 
Customer invoice email
 
* This template can be overridden by copying it to yourtheme/woocommerce/emails/customer-invoice.php.
 
* HOWEVER, on occasion WooCommerce will need to update template files and you
 
(the theme developer) will need to copy the new files to your theme to
 
maintain compatibility. We try to do this as little as possible, but it does
 
happen. When this occurs the version of the template file will be bumped and
 
the readme will list any important changes.
 
* @see https://docs.woocommerce.com/document/template-structure/
 
@package WooCommerceTemplatesEmails
 
@version 3.7.0

*/

defined( ‘ABSPATH’ ) || exit;

/

* Executes the main invoice Explore this article on Paypal.Com How To Set Up For Woocommerce template functions for displaying the invoice.

*

* @hooked woocommerce_email_header – 10

* @hooked WC_Emails::email_header() Output the email header

* @hooked WC_Emails::email_order_details() Shows the order details table.

* @hooked WC_Emails::email_address_details() Shows the billing/shipping address.

* @hooked WC_Emails::email_footer() Output the email footer

*/

?>

<html >

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=” />

get_billing_first_name() ) ); ?>

Conclusion:

Manually emailing invoices from WooCommerce is a simple yet important task for maintaining good customer relations and ensuring accurate record-keeping. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can quickly resend or send a fresh invoice to your customers whenever the need arises. While the built-in functionality is adequate, exploring WooCommerce invoice plugins can offer greater flexibility and advanced features to streamline your invoice management process. Remember to always keep your WooCommerce and WordPress installations updated for optimal security and performance.