How to Print Receipts of Orders in WooCommerce: A Comprehensive Guide

Introduction:

Running an online store with WooCommerce involves managing various aspects, from product listings and inventory to shipping and order fulfillment. A crucial part of the order fulfillment process is providing your customers with order receipts. While WooCommerce sends order confirmation emails automatically, sometimes customers prefer a physical copy for their records or internal processes. This article will explore the different methods you can use to print receipts of orders in WooCommerce, empowering you to provide a better customer experience and maintain accurate records. We’ll cover built-in methods, plugins, and even custom code solutions.

Main Part:

Understanding the Need for Printed Receipts

Before diving into the methods, it’s important to understand why printed receipts are valuable:

• Customer Preference: Some customers simply prefer a physical receipt, especially for business purchases or for record-keeping purposes when they are offline.
• Record Keeping: Printed receipts can be useful for both the customer and the store owner for accounting and auditing.
• Proof of Purchase: In some cases, a printed receipt can serve as official proof of purchase, needed for returns, exchanges, or warranty claims.
• Offline Access: Customers may need a receipt in a location with limited or no internet access.

Methods for Printing WooCommerce Order Receipts

There are several ways to print WooCommerce order receipts, ranging from simple built-in options to more advanced plugin-based solutions and custom code.

#### 1. Using the Browser’s Print Function (Simplest Approach)

This is the most straightforward method and requires no plugins.

• Locate the Order: In your WooCommerce admin dashboard, go to WooCommerce > Orders.
• View the Order: Click on the order number you want to print the receipt for.
• Print from Browser: On the order details page, use your browser’s print function (usually accessed by pressing Ctrl+P on Windows or Cmd+P on Mac) or right-clicking on the page and selecting “Print”.
• Customize the Print: Before printing, you can customize the print settings in your browser to remove unnecessary elements like the admin menu.

Pros:

• Simple and Quick: No installation required.
• Free: Uses your browser’s built-in functionality.

Cons:

• Basic Formatting: The printed output may not be optimally formatted for a receipt. It will print the entire admin page unless you customize print settings within your browser.
• Manual Process: Requires manual printing for each order.

#### 2. Using a WooCommerce Order Printing Plugin

Several plugins offer enhanced order printing capabilities, often providing better formatting and automation. Here are a couple of popular options:

• WooCommerce PDF Invoices & Packing Slips: This plugin is a popular choice that generates professional-looking PDF invoices and packing slips, which can be easily printed.
• Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce: Another great plugin specifically designed for printing invoices and delivery notes, offering customization options.

Example using “WooCommerce PDF Invoices & Packing Slips”:

1. Install and Activate: Install the plugin from the WordPress plugin repository.

2. Configure the Plugin: Go to WooCommerce > PDF Invoices to configure the settings, including the invoice template, company logo, and other details.

3. Generate and Print: When viewing an order in the WooCommerce admin panel, you’ll see a button to generate the PDF invoice. Click the button to download the PDF, and then print the PDF.

Pros:

• Professional Formatting: Generates well-formatted receipts, invoices and packing slips.
• Customization Options: Allows you to customize the look and feel of your receipts with your logo and company information.
• Automation: Often includes options to automatically generate invoices.
• PDF format: Save receipts as PDFs for digital record keeping.

Cons:

• Plugin Installation: Requires installing and configuring a third-party plugin.
• Potential Cost: Some plugins may have premium versions with advanced features that require a purchase.

#### 3. Creating a Custom Print Template with Code

For more advanced customization, you can create a custom print template using PHP and CSS. This approach requires coding knowledge.

Steps:

1. Create a Template File: Create a new PHP file, for example, `woocommerce/templates/order/print-receipt.php`, in your theme’s directory. If the `woocommerce/templates/order` directory doesn’t exist, create it first. Important: Use a child theme to avoid losing changes when your main theme is updated.

2. Add Code to the Template File: Add PHP code to retrieve the order details and HTML to format the receipt.

<?php
/**
Order Print Receipt Template
* This template can be overridden by copying it to yourtheme/woocommerce/order/print-receipt.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 WooCommerceTemplates
@version 3.7.0
*/

defined( ‘ABSPATH’ ) || exit;

/

* @var WC_Order $order

*/

$order = wc_get_order( absint( $_GET[‘order_id’] ) );

if ( ! $order ) {

echo ‘

Invalid Order ID

‘;

return;

}

?>

body { font-family: sans-serif; }

.order-details { margin-bottom: 20px; }

.order-items { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; }

.order-items th, .order-items td { border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 8px; text-align: left; }

Order Receipt

Order Number: get_order_number(); ?>

Order Date: get_date_created() ); ?>

Customer Name: get_billing_first_name() . ‘ ‘ . $order->get_billing_last_name(); ?>

Billing Address: get_formatted_billing_address(); ?>

Shipping Address: get_formatted_shipping_address(); ?>

Order Items

<?php

foreach ( $order->get_items() as $item_id => $item ) {

$product = $item->get_product();

$quantity = $item->get_quantity();

$price = $item->get_price();

$total = $item->get_total();

echo ‘

‘;

echo ‘

‘;

echo ‘

‘;

echo ‘

‘;

echo ‘

‘;

echo ‘

‘;

}

?>

Product	Quantity	Price	Total
‘ . $product->get_name() . ‘	‘ . $quantity . ‘	‘ . wc_price( $price ) . ‘	‘ . wc_price( $total ) . ‘
Subtotal			get_subtotal() ); ?>
Shipping			get_shipping_total() ); ?>
Total			get_total() ); ?>

3. Add a Print Link to the Order Details Page: You can add a link to print the receipt to the order details page in the WooCommerce admin using the `woocommerce_admin_order_actions` hook. Add the following code to your child theme’s `functions.php` file:

add_action( 'woocommerce_admin_order_actions', 'add_print_receipt_button', 20, 1 );

function add_print_receipt_button( $order ) {

$order_id = $order->get_id();

$print_url = home_url( ‘/wp-content/themes/’ . get_stylesheet() . ‘/woocommerce/templates/order/print-receipt.php?order_id=’ . $order_id);

echo ‘‘ . __( ‘Print Receipt’, ‘woocommerce’ ) . ‘‘;

}

4. Access the Print Template: You can now access the print template by visiting a URL like: `https://yourwebsite.com/wp-content/themes/your-child-theme/woocommerce/templates/order/print-receipt.php?order_id=XXX`, replacing `yourwebsite.com` with your site’s address, `your-child-theme` with your child theme’s name, and `XXX` with the order ID. Because of the action we added in the previous step, you will have a button in the edit order page to view the receipt.

Pros:

• Maximum Customization: Complete control over the look and feel of the receipt.
• Tailored Functionality: You can add specific data and features to the receipt that are relevant to your business.

Cons:

• Coding Required: Requires PHP, HTML, and CSS knowledge.
• Maintenance: You are responsible for maintaining the code and ensuring compatibility with future WooCommerce updates.
• Security: Careful coding is required to avoid security vulnerabilities.