Skip to main content

​
Overview

Invoice PDFs provide a finalized, shareable format for customer invoices. Unlike the dynamic view that shows detailed usage calculations, the PDF represents the official invoice document for sharing, sending, and record keeping.

​
Dynamic view vs. PDF view

Vayu provides two ways to view invoices:

​
Dynamic view

The dynamic view displays:
  • How the invoice was calculated
  • Usage consumption for each product over the invoice period
  • Usage accumulation throughout the billing period
  • Detailed charge breakdowns
  • Usage growth patterns and spikes
Use the dynamic view to understand billing calculations and analyze customer consumption patterns.

​
PDF view

The PDF view provides:
  • Finalized invoice format for official records
  • Clean, professional layout for customer sharing
  • Printable and archivable document
  • Optional clickable links (such as “Pay Now” buttons)
  • Simplified line item display options
Use the PDF view for customer communication, payment collection, and accounting records.

​
Generating invoice PDFs

Invoice PDFs are automatically generated when an invoice is finalized. You can:
  1. Navigate to Invoices
  2. Select an invoice
  3. Select Show Invoice
  4. Click View PDF or Download PDF
  5. Share the PDF directly with customers or download for your records

​
Customizing PDF appearance

Configure PDF formatting in Invoice Preferences:
  1. Line Item Visibility — Decide whether or not to Show zero-value line items (displaying all line items, even those with zero totals), or Hide zero-value line items (removing items with no charges).
Hiding zero-value items reduces visual clutter and makes invoices easier to scan.
  1. Line Item Detail Level — Choose the level of detail for each line item, either with a Full breakdown (quantity, unit price, and total for each item), or Total only (only the total amount for each line item).
  2. Branding and Formatting — Customize the PDF to match your brand’s logo, info, color scheme, styling, custom footer text, instructions, and payment terms.

​
Accessing PDFs via API

Retrieve invoice PDFs programmatically using the API: 
GET /invoices/{invoiceId}/payment-status
The response includes an invoicePdfUrl field with a direct link to the PDF: 
{
  "invoiceId": "inv_123",
  "billingStatus": "Paid",
  "amountDue": 0,
  "amountPaid": 5000,
  "total": 5000,
  "dueDate": "2024-01-31T00:00:00Z",
  "paidAt": "2024-01-28T15:30:00Z",
  "invoicePdfUrl": "https://example.com/invoices/inv_123.pdf"
}

​
Interactive PDF features

Digital PDFs can include clickable elements:
  • Pay Now links - Direct customers to payment portals
  • Contact information - Clickable email addresses and phone numbers
  • Support links - Quick access to help resources
  • Customer portal - Link to view invoice details online
These interactive elements improve the customer payment experience while maintaining a professional invoice format.

​
PDF storage and retrieval

Invoice PDFs are:
  • Automatically stored - Generated and saved when invoices are finalized
  • Permanently accessible - Available for historical invoices
  • Version controlled - Original PDFs preserved even if invoice data changes
  • Securely hosted - Protected with authentication and access controls

​
Sharing invoice PDFs

Send PDFs to customers through:
  • Email - Attach PDF to invoice notification emails
  • Customer portal - Make PDFs available for customer download
  • Direct download - Generate download links for specific invoices
  • ERP sync - Include PDF URLs when syncing to accounting systems

​
Best practices

  • Review before sending - Always preview the PDF to ensure accuracy before sharing with customers
  • Customize appropriately - Balance detail with clarity based on your customer needs
  • Maintain consistency - Use the same PDF format across all invoices for professional appearance
  • Archive systematically - Store PDFs according to your record retention policies
  • Test interactive elements - Verify that clickable links work correctly in the PDF