Handling WooCommerce invoice generation in Vue.js

Handling WooCommerce Invoice Generation in Vue.js

In the world of eCommerce, efficient invoice generation is crucial. It ensures smooth transactions, helps with accounting and bookkeeping, and provides valuable customer documentation. WooCommerce, a popular eCommerce platform, offers a robust framework, but for enhanced user experience and streamlined workflows, integrating invoice generation with your Vue.js frontend can be game-changing.

This blog post will guide you through the process of handling WooCommerce invoice generation within your Vue.js application, providing you with a comprehensive understanding of the approach and the necessary code snippets to implement it effectively.

The Approach

Our strategy will involve leveraging the power of the WooCommerce REST API and crafting a seamless integration with your Vue.js frontend. The main steps will be:

1. Fetching Order Data: Retrieve the relevant order information from WooCommerce using the REST API.
2. Invoice Generation: Implement logic in your Vue.js component to process the order data and generate a visually appealing invoice.
3. Output Options: Offer multiple output options for the generated invoice, including PDF download, printable HTML, and email sending.

Implementation

Let’s break down the process into concrete steps with descriptive code examples:

1. Setting up the Project

• Vue.js Project: Create a fresh Vue.js project using Vue CLI or your preferred method.
• Dependencies: Install the necessary libraries for handling API requests, PDF generation, and HTML to PDF conversion:
  • Axios: For making API calls to WooCommerce.
  • jsPDF: For generating PDF documents.
  • html2pdf.js: For converting HTML to PDF.

npm install axios jspdf html2pdf.js

2. Creating the Vue.js Component

Let’s create a Invoice.vue component that will handle invoice generation:

<template>
  <div>
    <div v-if="isLoading">Loading Invoice...</div>
    <div v-else-if="error">Error fetching order: {{ error }}</div>
    <div v-else>
      <h1>Invoice {{ order.id }}</h1>
      <div>
        <table class="invoice-table">
          <thead>
            <tr>
              <th>Product</th>
              <th>Quantity</th>
              <th>Price</th>
              <th>Total</th>
            </tr>
          </thead>
          <tbody>
            <tr v-for="(item, index) in order.line_items" :key="index">
              <td>{{ item.name }}</td>
              <td>{{ item.quantity }}</td>
              <td>{{ formatPrice(item.price) }}</td>
              <td>{{ formatPrice(item.total) }}</td>
            </tr>
          </tbody>
          <tfoot>
            <tr>
              <td colspan="3">Total:</td>
              <td>{{ formatPrice(order.total) }}</td>
            </tr>
          </tfoot>
        </table>
        <div>
          <button @click="downloadPDF()">Download PDF</button>
          <button @click="printInvoice()">Print Invoice</button>
          <button @click="sendEmail()">Send Invoice by Email</button>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</template>

<script>
import axios from 'axios';
import jsPDF from 'jspdf';
import html2pdf from 'html2pdf.js';

export default {
  name: 'Invoice',
  data() {
    return {
      isLoading: true,
      error: null,
      order: {},
      orderId: null, // Fetch order ID from props or URL params
    };
  },
  mounted() {
    this.fetchOrder();
  },
  methods: {
    fetchOrder() {
      this.isLoading = true;
      axios.get(`${process.env.VUE_APP_WC_API_URL}/orders/${this.orderId}`)
        .then(response => {
          this.order = response.data;
          this.isLoading = false;
        })
        .catch(error => {
          this.error = error.message;
          this.isLoading = false;
        });
    },
    formatPrice(price) {
      return `${price.toFixed(2)}`;
    },
    downloadPDF() {
      const invoiceHTML = document.querySelector('#invoice-container').innerHTML; // Assuming your invoice is in a div with id "invoice-container"
      const pdf = new jsPDF();
      pdf.html(invoiceHTML, {
        callback: (doc) => {
          doc.save(`Invoice-${this.order.id}.pdf`);
        }
      });
    },
    printInvoice() {
      window.print();
    },
    sendEmail() {
      // Implement email functionality using your preferred email service
      // Example using a third-party API:
      axios.post(`${process.env.VUE_APP_EMAIL_API_URL}`, {
        to: this.order.billing_email,
        subject: 'Your Invoice',
        html: this.generateEmailContent(),
      })
        .then(response => {
          console.log('Email sent successfully.');
        })
        .catch(error => {
          console.error('Error sending email:', error);
        });
    },
    generateEmailContent() {
      // Construct email content using the order data
      // Replace placeholders with actual order details
      return `
        <div>
          <h1>Invoice {{ this.order.id }}</h1>
          ${this.invoiceTableHTML} // Reuse the invoice table HTML
          <p>Thank you for your purchase.</p>
        </div>
      `;
    },
  },
  computed: {
    invoiceTableHTML() {
      return this.$el.querySelector('.invoice-table').outerHTML;
    }
  }
};
</script>

<style scoped>
.invoice-table {
  width: 100%;
  border-collapse: collapse;
}

.invoice-table th,
.invoice-table td {
  padding: 10px;
  border: 1px solid #ddd;
  text-align: left;
}
</style>

Explanation:

• Template: The template defines the structure of the invoice, including the table for displaying order details, and buttons for download, printing, and email sending.
• Data: The component maintains state for loading status, errors, the fetched order data, and the order ID.
• Mounted Lifecycle Hook: When the component mounts, the fetchOrder method is called to retrieve order details from the WooCommerce REST API.
• Methods:
  • fetchOrder: Makes a GET request to the WooCommerce API using Axios to fetch the order data based on the orderId.
  • formatPrice: Formats the price values for display.
  • downloadPDF: Converts the invoice HTML to PDF using html2pdf.js and downloads the generated PDF.
  • printInvoice: Uses the built-in window.print() function to open a print dialog for the invoice.
  • sendEmail: Sends the invoice as an email. Replace the placeholder code with your desired email service integration.
  • generateEmailContent: Constructs the email content using the order data.
• Computed Property: The invoiceTableHTML computed property dynamically extracts the HTML of the invoice table for use in the downloadPDF and sendEmail methods.

3. Configuring WooCommerce REST API Credentials

You’ll need to configure your Vue.js project to securely access the WooCommerce REST API. This usually involves setting environment variables:

# Add the following to your .env file (e.g., .env.development)
VUE_APP_WC_API_URL=https://your-woocommerce-site.com/wp-json/wc/v3/
VUE_APP_WC_CONSUMER_KEY=your_consumer_key
VUE_APP_WC_CONSUMER_SECRET=your_consumer_secret

Replace your-woocommerce-site.com, your_consumer_key, and your_consumer_secret with your actual WooCommerce site details.

4. Integrating the Invoice Component

Import and register the Invoice.vue component in your main app.vue or a parent component where you want to display the invoice. Pass the order ID as a prop to the component:

<template>
  <div id="app">
    <Invoice :orderId="123" />
  </div>
</template>

<script>
import Invoice from './components/Invoice.vue';

export default {
  components: {
    Invoice
  }
};
</script>

Advanced Features

• Custom Invoice Template: Design a custom HTML template for your invoice. You can create a separate component for the template and use it within the Invoice.vue component.
• Payment Information: Include payment details like payment method, transaction ID, and payment gateway information in the invoice.
• Customer Information: Display customer details like name, address, and contact information.
• Tax Calculation: Calculate and display tax breakdown based on the order details and applicable tax rates.
• Conditional Logic: Implement conditional logic to dynamically adjust the invoice based on order type (e.g., subscription, refund), order status, or other factors.
• Invoice Numbering: Automatically generate and assign invoice numbers to your invoices.
• Custom Branding: Add your company logo, contact information, and other branding elements to the invoice.

Considerations

• Security: Implement proper authentication and authorization mechanisms to ensure secure access to the WooCommerce REST API.
• Data Privacy: Comply with relevant privacy regulations like GDPR when handling and displaying customer data.
• Testing: Thoroughly test your invoice generation process to ensure accuracy and prevent errors.
• User Experience: Focus on creating a user-friendly experience for viewing and managing invoices.

Conclusion

Integrating WooCommerce invoice generation with your Vue.js frontend empowers you to create a dynamic and user-friendly eCommerce experience. By leveraging the REST API and applying the techniques outlined in this blog, you can seamlessly handle invoice generation, offering flexibility and functionality for your customers and your business. Remember to prioritize security, data privacy, testing, and user experience for a successful implementation.