Sales Igniter PDF Invoices, Pick Lists & Packing Slips makes PDF invoices, packing slips, pick lists, return slips and credit notes for WooCommerce, in your brand. It works on any WooCommerce store. With Rentals & Bookings it also prints the rental dates and return by date, a pick list by date and a return slip.
This page covers the first setup, what “issued” means, where the files are kept and bulk printing. The pages after it cover the section editor, pick lists, return slips, credit notes, languages, fonts and wording and e-invoices.
It needs WordPress 6.6, WooCommerce 8.0 and PHP 8.1 or newer (tested on 8.1 to 8.4): see the system requirements. It is included in Pro and Ultimate and can be bought on its own.
Set it up #
- Open Documents (under WooCommerce, or in the Rentals menu when Rentals & Bookings is active).
- On the Start tab, check your store’s details, add your logo, then pick an accent colour and a font. The page offers a colour taken from your logo.
- Pick a look. The preview shows a sample order, so you can see the result before an order exists.
- On Numbers, set the next invoice number and the format.
{number},{year}and{yy}work in the format. - On Settings, choose which emails carry a PDF and when an invoice is issued.
What “issued” means #
An invoice gets its number when it’s issued, and from that moment what it says and how it looks are frozen. If the order changes afterwards, the order screen says so. It doesn’t change the invoice by itself. A packing slip is never frozen: it always shows the order as it stands.
Where the files live #
Stored PDFs sit in a private folder inside your uploads folder. Web servers can’t list or serve it: every download goes through a check of who’s asking.
How long PDF files are kept #
The PDF file of an issued document is deleted 30 days after it was issued. Change the number under Settings > Delete stored PDF files after (days), or enter 0 to keep the files for good.
This deletes the file only. The document keeps its number, what it says and how it looked, and the links, downloads and emails all work as before: when someone opens a document whose file has gone, a new copy is drawn on the spot. It reads and looks the same, even if you’ve since changed your wording, custom CSS or templates.
Three things are worth knowing:
- The new copy is a new file, not the one first issued. Its bytes differ, because every PDF carries the moment it was made. The record of the first file (its SHA-256 hash) stays with the document, so anyone holding the file you sent can still check it against that record.
- Pictures are read again when a copy is drawn. Your logo is kept with the document. A product photo or a picture in a section comes from your media library, so if you delete it, the new copy goes without it. If you remove your own font, a new copy uses another font. A later update of the PDF library could also move things slightly.
- Some countries require the exact file you issued to be kept for years. Ask your accountant, and enter 0 if yours does. Files already deleted don’t come back when you do.
The clean-up runs once a day, in small batches. Raising the number or entering 0 takes effect on the next batch.
Delete whole documents after (years) is a different setting, and it’s off unless you set it. It removes the PDF and everything needed to draw the document, so it can no longer be opened. Only the number stays on record.
Printing many orders #
Select orders on the orders screen and choose Print: Invoice or Print: Packing slip in the bulk menu. Up to 25 orders print at once. More run in the background and the page shows progress. A job of 1,000 invoices fits in 256 MB of PHP memory. If a job is too big to finish, the page says so after a few minutes: print fewer orders at once.
Rentals #
With Rentals & Bookings active, documents add the rental dates, return by date, pick-up and return details and the payment schedule. A mixed order groups its lines under Rentals and Purchases. With Security Deposits active, the deposit shows as a fee in the totals and again in its own Security deposit section. An e-invoice leaves it out of its total and says so in a note: see the e-invoices page.
