Custom Invoices and Packing Slips for Ecommerce: Beyond Default Platform Documents

Every order your store ships comes with documents, from the invoice in the customer’s inbox and the packing slip in the box to receipts, refund notes, pick lists and labels. Most merchants never design these documents, because the ecommerce platform produces default ones automatically, and they work until a customer notices that the paper they received looks nothing like the store they bought from, or until the team handling the orders needs information the default document does not show.

Platforms give every store the same default invoice and packing slip, and changing them takes code, template files or fixed settings that differ from one platform to the next. A custom document designed around your store matches your brand, shows the information your team works with and adapts to each order. This post compares the two, shows what it takes to change the defaults on Shopify, BigCommerce, Ecwid and WooCommerce, and explains how Printout Designer makes custom documents simple to create.

What Is the Difference Between a Default Platform Document and a Custom One?

A default platform document is a document, such as an invoice or a packing slip, that an ecommerce platform, or a plugin on that platform, generates from a ready-made template. The template is created in a general way, with the essential fields every order needs, so that it works for any store. That makes it universal, but it also means the look, the content and the layout follow the same pattern for every store, with limited room for a store to change them.

A custom document is designed around the store. It matches the brand with its own logo, fonts and colors, shows the essential order information plus any extras the store and its team find useful, and puts every element where the store wants it. What changes is how much of the document the store can shape.

Why Do Custom Invoices and Packing Slips Matter After Checkout?

One order produces documents for two different readers. The invoice is for the customer: it arrives at the moment they check that the order is correct, so when it carries the store’s logo, wording and contact details it reads as part of the same shop, while a default one can look like an automated receipt from a third party. The packing slip is mostly for the warehouse team: it is the paper they pick and pack from, so what it shows and how clearly it shows it affects speed and accuracy, and in many shops the same slip also ends up in the customer’s box.

A default document treats both readers the same way. A custom one can be designed for each of them, with the look and wording the customer sees and the information and layout the team needs. Getting there means changing the template, and how much effort that takes depends on the platform.

How Hard Is It to Customize the Default Invoice or Packing Slip on Shopify, BigCommerce, Ecwid and WooCommerce?

Every platform lets you adjust its default documents, either directly or through an extension, but changes beyond basic settings usually mean editing code or template files. The table below shows what that involves on each platform.

This is where the headache starts for a merchant who does not write code: changing these documents is not intuitive, and it often requires knowing how to code. Where settings exist, as in Ecwid, they cover only the basics and place elements in fixed spots, such as the logo in the top left corner, so the layout stays the same. Going further can mean downloading a template file, editing it and uploading it back to the store, as in BigCommerce, where for some files the store also has to ask technical support for help, or working in template code written in HTML, CSS or Liquid, as in Shopify. The options are to learn all of this, to hire a developer or to leave the document as the platform made it. Each platform also works in its own way, so a store that sells on more than one of them has to learn how each one works.

That is why the default document often stays as it is, and a store misses what a well-set-up document can do. A packing slip with the right data and clear formatting can make picking and packing faster and less error-prone, and an invoice that matches the store can look more professional to the customer. A tool that offers simple, intuitive ways to shape the document, without code or uploading files, removes the headache at its source.

How Does Printout Designer Make Custom Order Documents Easy to Create?

Printout Designer is a document automation app for Shopify, BigCommerce, Ecwid by Lightspeed and WooCommerce that turns invoices, packing slips and other order documents into something you design yourself, and then prints or emails them for you automatically. Its intuitive drag-and-drop editor lets you place every element exactly where you want it, match fonts and colors to your brand and show the information your team works with, while a live preview with real order data shows the result as you build. No code, no template files to upload, just documents that look and work the way your store does.

Here is what the app can do, from designing a template to printing or emailing the finished documents.

Start From a Ready-Made Template or a Blank Canvas

Every document begins with a template. You do not have to begin with a blank page, because the template library offers ready-made layouts to adjust, and a blank canvas is available when you prefer to build from scratch. Templates pull data from the order automatically, so one layout serves every order and each document shows the right items, totals and addresses.

Design Any Document in a Drag-and-Drop Template Editor

Instead of HTML, Liquid or CSS, the drag-and-drop template editor lets you create a document simply by dragging components onto the page, such as text, images, tables, barcodes, QR codes, charts and more. A logo, a return address or a barcode to scan against the picked item goes exactly where you drop it. Around the components, the editor adds:

• Data from your store: components show the order and product data your store provides, from items, totals and addresses to product images and custom fields such as a shelf location, so a document carries more than the basics.
• Live preview: the document is rendered with real order data as you build it, so the layout you design is the one that gets printed or emailed.
• Match your brand: fonts, colors, a background image and the layout can follow your brand, and layouts can match pre-printed paper or integrated labels you already have.
• Sort, filter and group items: table rows are sorted automatically, items that do not apply are filtered out and products are grouped, for example by category.
• Conditional formatting: make a document react to the order. Sections can appear, disappear or change their style based on order data, for example a highlighted quantity when an item is ordered more than twice or a hidden empty field. It is all set up in the same editor, with a built-in expression syntax for more advanced layouts and no programming experience needed.
• Languages: built-in fields such as invoice number and totals can be shown in English, German, French or Turkish, while text you write yourself stays exactly as written.

Create an Unlimited Number of Templates for Every Document Your Orders Need

There is no limit to how many templates you can create, so every document your orders need can have its own, from invoices, receipts and refund notes to packing slips, pick lists, labels or other documents. Each one is built for the person who uses it, from the customer reading an invoice to the warehouse team working from a combined packing slip or pick list that gathers several orders into one document.

Print or Email the Finished Documents Automatically

Printout Designer does not stop at designing documents. Once a template is ready, automation rules can print or email it whenever an order reaches the status you choose, and conditions such as order value, shipping method or location decide which template an order gets. Printing goes through PrintNode to any supported printer, and documents for many orders can also be printed, downloaded or emailed in bulk.

One App and the Same Editor on Every Platform

Whether your store runs on Shopify, BigCommerce, Ecwid or WooCommerce, Printout Designer works the same way. The same drag-and-drop editor and the same way of setting up printing and email follow you across platforms, with data fields that match what each one provides, so a store that sells on more than one, or moves from one to another, learns it only once.

Default or Custom Documents: Which Is Right for Your Store?

A default document does its basic job: the invoice tells the customer what they ordered and what they paid, and the packing slip lists what is in the box. If you ship a handful of orders and nobody looks twice at the paperwork, it may be all you need.

The picture changes as your store grows and your documents start to represent you and to carry more of the daily work. Signs that a default no longer fits are easy to spot: the team needs extra information on the document, its look does not match your brand, or the store sells on more than one platform and needs the same documents on each. Every platform lets you adjust its default, but each in its own way, through code, template files or fixed settings, which is why documents often stay as they are. A custom document built around your store changes that. It matches your brand, shows the information your team works with and adapts to each order, so the same paperwork serves the customer reading the invoice and the team packing the order.

With Printout Designer you can start from a ready-made template, adjust it in the editor and compare the result with the documents you send and print today. Try it free for 14 days or book a demo to see how it looks on your own store.

Related

• Automating Shopify Packing Slip Printing to Reduce Picking Mistakes: The Trail.NL Story
• Printout Automation for Ecommerce: How to Automatically Print Invoices and Packing Slips
• Shopify, BigCommerce, Ecwid and WooCommerce Integrations

FAQ

Can I change the default invoice or packing slip on Shopify, BigCommerce, Ecwid or WooCommerce without coding?

Mostly not. On Shopify and BigCommerce, changes to the layout or content mean editing template code or files. Ecwid offers a logo, business details and a footer message in its settings, and on WooCommerce it depends on the extension that provides the documents.

Does Printout Designer change my platform’s default invoices and packing slips?

No. Printout Designer leaves your platform’s default documents unchanged and comes with its own ready-made templates, which you can use right away so you do not start from scratch. You can adapt them to your store or create entirely new templates from the beginning.

Which ecommerce platforms does Printout Designer work with?

Printout Designer works with Shopify, BigCommerce, Ecwid by Lightspeed and WooCommerce, using the same drag-and-drop editor on all four. The fields available in templates differ slightly, because each platform provides its own order data.

Can I create a separate Printout Designer template for each type of order document?

Yes. The number of templates is not limited, so invoices, receipts, refund notes, packing slips, pick lists and labels can each have their own template.

Can Printout Designer print or email documents automatically?

Yes. An automation rule can print a document or email it as a PDF attachment whenever an order reaches a status you choose, and optional conditions control which orders it applies to. Printing is handled through PrintNode and works with any supported printer, and you can set how many copies print for each order.