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Generate invoice PDFs from forms

Written by

Bernardo Palos

in

To generate invoice PDFs from forms, you can create a workflow that takes user input from a form (HTML or software-based) and then generates a styled PDF file using a backend language or tool. Below is a general solution outline and an example using Python with Flask and WeasyPrint, which is a popular way to turn HTML and CSS into PDFs.

✅ Step-by-Step Process

  1. Create the HTML Form (user inputs invoice data).

  2. Submit the form to the backend (e.g., Flask).

  3. Render the invoice data into an HTML template.

  4. Convert that HTML to PDF using a library like WeasyPrint or ReportLab.

  5. Send the PDF to the user (as a download or email).

🔧 Example Using Python (Flask + WeasyPrint)

1. HTML Form (templates/form.html)

html
<form action="/generate" method="post">
  <label>Client Name: <input name="client_name"></label><br>
  <label>Service: <input name="service"></label><br>
  <label>Amount: <input name="amount" type="number"></label><br>
  <button type="submit">Generate Invoice</button>
</form>

2. Flask Backend (app.py)

python
from flask import Flask, render_template, request, make_response
from weasyprint import HTML
import datetime

app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route('/')
def form():
    return render_template('form.html')

@app.route('/generate', methods=['POST'])
def generate_invoice():
    client_name = request.form['client_name']
    service = request.form['service']
    amount = request.form['amount']
    today = datetime.date.today()

    html = render_template(
        'invoice.html',
        client_name=client_name,
        service=service,
        amount=amount,
        date=today
    )

    pdf = HTML(string=html).write_pdf()
    response = make_response(pdf)
    response.headers['Content-Type'] = 'application/pdf'
    response.headers['Content-Disposition'] = 'inline; filename=invoice.pdf'
    return response

3. Invoice Template (templates/invoice.html)

html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <style>
        body { font-family: Arial, sans-serif; margin: 40px; }
        .header { text-align: center; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; }
        .section { margin-top: 30px; }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <div class="header">Invoice</div>
    <div class="section">
        <strong>Date:</strong> {{ date }}<br>
        <strong>Client:</strong> {{ client_name }}
    </div>
    <div class="section">
        <strong>Service:</strong> {{ service }}<br>
        <strong>Amount:</strong> ${{ amount }}
    </div>
</body>
</html>

📦 Requirements

Install the required packages:

bash
pip install Flask WeasyPrint
sudo apt install libpango-1.0-0 libpangocairo-1.0-0 libcairo2  # Required for WeasyPrint

🔄 Optional Enhancements

  • Add form validation.

  • Email the invoice automatically.

  • Store invoices in a database.

  • Add logo, tax details, and payment terms.

Would you like a version using JavaScript/Node.js or PHP instead?

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