You received feedback from your customers that they didn’t receive an invoice? In this article, we explain what could be the reason and what solutions are available.
Content
- Customers can’t request an invoice on the payment page
- Invoice generation is enabled for every sale, but no invoice was sent
- Customers forgot to request an invoice
1. Customers can’t request an invoice on the payment page
If customers don’t see the option to request an invoice during checkout, this usually means that no tax number or VAT ID has been entered in your account.
Since the tax number or VAT ID is a required field on invoices, the system cannot automatically generate an invoice without it. Additionally, business customers from the EU won’t be able to buy from you in this case, as they legally require an invoice, which can’t be issued due to missing tax data.
Solution: Add your tax number in the settings under Invoice settings and address, in the Taxes section, field Tax number.
You can also send an invoice manually afterward. See 3. Customers forgot to request an invoice.
2. Invoice generation is enabled for every sale, but no invoice was sent
In this case, just like in point 1, no tax number or VAT ID has been entered in your account. Therefore, the system was unable to generate an invoice.
Solution: Enter a valid tax number under Invoice settings and address, in the Taxes section, field Tax number. From that point on, invoices will be generated and sent automatically for every future sale. For past sales, you can still create and send an invoice afterward. See 3. Customers forgot to request an invoice for detailed steps.
3. Customers forgot to request an invoice
If you haven’t enabled the option Create an invoice for every sale, then in most countries (including the EU), an invoice is optional for private purchases and not mandatory. For this reason — and to keep the checkout process simple and conversion-friendly — invoices are optional by default.
If a customer didn’t request an invoice during checkout, no invoice was sent, and no billing information (like address) was collected. However, you can still create and send the invoice manually.
Solution: Go to Sales via the navigation menu and open the relevant order. At the top, under the Invoice section, you’ll see the status Not requested. Click the pencil icon next to it to enter the missing billing details, generate and send the invoice to the customer.
Note: In addition to sending the invoice manually, you can enable the Create an invoice for every sale option in your settings under Invoice settings and address, in the Taxes section. Once enabled, your customers will always be asked for their address during checkout. Invoices will be generated automatically, and you can access them in your accounting for every sale.
