Invoice PDF API
Send line items as JSON and get a print-ready invoice PDF back, ready to email, store or show in your customer portal. Your billing logic stays yours; we render the PDF.
An invoice PDF API turns billing data into a finished invoice document. Your application sends the invoice number, customer, line items, taxes and totals as JSON; the API fills them into a branded template, lays out the pages and returns a PDF you can email, store or offer for download. Calculations stay in your billing system.
| Endpoint | POST https://api.dynamicdocumentapi.com/v1/pdf/from-template (or /v1/pdf/from-html for your own HTML) |
|---|---|
| Input | Your invoice data as JSON, in any shape |
| Layout | HTML/CSS template with Jinja syntax; repeating table headers, clean page breaks, page numbers |
| Currencies and dates | Any ISO 4217 currency and any locale, formatted with Unicode CLDR data |
| Codes | QR codes (payment links, bank transfer payloads) and 16 barcode types |
| Delivery | Signed URL (1 hour default, up to 7 days), binary for email attachments, or base64 |
| Bulk | Batches from a JSON list or a CSV file, progress via webhook (paid plans) |
| Price | Free: 50 renders/month. Paid from €15/month (billed annually) for 3,000 renders, auto top-ups from €6 per 1,000, about €0.005 per invoice |
Store your invoice layout as a template once, then send each invoice as JSON. The example passes numbers exactly as your billing system calculated them; the template only formats them. Already have an invoice page in HTML? You can convert your existing HTML invoice directly instead.
curl https://api.dynamicdocumentapi.com/v1/pdf/from-template \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $DYNAMIC_DOCUMENT_API_KEY" \
-H "Idempotency-Key: INV-2026-0042" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"template_id": "tpl_invoice",
"data": {
"number": "INV-2026-0042",
"issued": "2026-09-22",
"due": "2026-10-22",
"locale": "en-US",
"currency": "USD",
"customer": { "name": "Acme Co.", "address": "1 Main St, Austin, TX" },
"items": [
{ "name": "Pro plan (annual)", "qty": 1, "unit": 1200.00, "total": 1200.00 },
{ "name": "Extra seats", "qty": 4, "unit": 40.00, "total": 160.00 }
],
"subtotal": 1360.00, "tax_rate": 0.08, "tax": 108.80, "total": 1468.80,
"pay_url": "https://pay.example.com/i/INV-2026-0042"
},
"filename": "{{ data.number }}.pdf",
"delivery": "binary"
}' \
--output INV-2026-0042.pdf// Node.js 18+: render the invoice and return the PDF bytes
export async function renderInvoice(invoice) {
const res = await fetch("https://api.dynamicdocumentapi.com/v1/pdf/from-template", {
method: "POST",
headers: {
Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.DYNAMIC_DOCUMENT_API_KEY}`,
"Idempotency-Key": invoice.number, // safe to retry
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
body: JSON.stringify({
template_id: "tpl_invoice",
data: invoice,
filename: `${invoice.number}.pdf`,
delivery: "binary",
}),
});
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(await res.text());
return Buffer.from(await res.arrayBuffer());
}import os
import requests
def render_invoice(invoice: dict) -> bytes:
res = requests.post(
"https://api.dynamicdocumentapi.com/v1/pdf/from-template",
headers={
"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['DYNAMIC_DOCUMENT_API_KEY']}",
"Idempotency-Key": invoice["number"], # safe to retry
},
json={
"template_id": "tpl_invoice",
"data": invoice,
"filename": f"{invoice['number']}.pdf",
"delivery": "binary",
},
timeout=60,
)
res.raise_for_status()
return res.content<?php
function renderInvoice(array $invoice): string
{
$ch = curl_init('https://api.dynamicdocumentapi.com/v1/pdf/from-template');
curl_setopt_array($ch, [
CURLOPT_POST => true,
CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
'Authorization: Bearer ' . getenv('DYNAMIC_DOCUMENT_API_KEY'),
'Idempotency-Key: ' . $invoice['number'], // safe to retry
'Content-Type: application/json',
],
CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode([
'template_id' => 'tpl_invoice',
'data' => $invoice,
'filename' => $invoice['number'] . '.pdf',
'delivery' => 'binary',
]),
]);
return curl_exec($ch); // PDF bytes
}The Idempotency-Key header uses the invoice number. If a network error
makes your code retry, the API returns the render it already made for that key instead
of creating a second one. Keys are kept for 24 hours.
Invoices look simple until the first one runs to three pages or goes to a customer in another country. These are the parts that usually take the longest to get right, and how the template handles them. To change the layout itself, you can customize the invoice template in HTML and CSS.
A long order is a normal HTML table. The <thead> repeats on each
page, rows are never cut in half, and the totals block stays together.
tr, .totals { break-inside: avoid; }
thead { display: table-header-group; }Sales tax, VAT, reverse charge, discounts and rounding follow rules that belong in your billing code, where they are tested and audited. Send the calculated values; the template shows them. Nothing on the PDF can drift from your ledger.
One template serves every market. Currency symbols, decimal separators, minor units and date formats follow Unicode CLDR for the locale you pass.
{{ total | format_currency(currency, locale) }}
USD en-US → $1,468.80 EUR de → 1.468,80 €
JPY ja → ￥1,469
{{ issued | format_date("long", locale) }}Your logo, fonts and colors are part of the template's HTML and CSS. The running footer carries your legal details and "Page 1 of 2" on every page.
"footer": { "enabled": true,
"left": "Acme Inc. · EIN 12-3456789",
"right": "Page {{page}} of {{pages}}" }Put a scannable code next to the total: a link to your payment page, or a bank transfer payload such as an EPC QR code for SEPA payments. You build the payload; the template draws a sharp vector QR code.
{{ pay_url | qrcode(size="28mm", ecc="M") }}Some markets and payment slips expect the amount spelled out. number_to_words
does it in English, German, French, Spanish and Dutch.
{{ 1468 | number_to_words("en") }}
→ one thousand, four hundred and sixty-eightMost teams create an invoice when a payment event arrives. The flow is the same for any payment provider:
Your provider calls your webhook, for example Stripe's invoice.paid or a
Shopify order webhook.
Your handler maps the event to invoice JSON and calls the API with the invoice number as idempotency key.
Attach the PDF to your receipt email, store it, or show the signed link in the customer portal.
Payment webhooks are retried by the provider, so the same event can arrive twice. The
idempotency key makes that harmless: the second call returns the first PDF. For
month-end runs, send one batch with all invoices, from a JSON list or a CSV export, and
receive batch.completed when every PDF is ready. Invoices are one use case
of our PDF generation API.
"delivery": "binary" returns
the PDF bytes, ready for your email provider's attachment field.expires_in.retention_days, up to your plan's maximum, and delete them any time.
Keep your legally required archive in your own system.At 15,000 invoices a month the Growth plan costs €47 billed annually, about €0.0031 per invoice — and a busy month never stops: paid plans top up automatically. See the cost per invoice on every plan.
FAQ
No, and that is deliberate. Invoice numbers, tax rates, discounts and totals come from
your billing system, which is the system of record. The API formats and lays out what
you send, so the PDF always matches your books. For convenience, templates can still
add up columns with sum_by.
Yes. Line items are a normal HTML table: the header row repeats on every page, rows are
never split in half, and a footer can show "Page 2 of 3". Totals can be kept together
with the last rows using break-inside: avoid.
Yes. Pass the customer's locale and currency with the data. Currency symbols, decimal
separators and date formats follow Unicode CLDR rules, for example
$1,234.50 in the US, 1.234,50 € in Germany and
￥1,235 in Japan. Text labels come from your template, so one template can
hold several languages.
Yes. Templates use conditions, so one template can show a "Paid" stamp, a discount line, a second address block or a credit-note title depending on the data you send. Separate templates for invoices and credit notes work just as well.
As long as you choose per request with retention_days, up to your plan's
maximum, or not at all if you take the file as binary. You can delete stored files at
any time. Legal retention of invoices remains your responsibility, so keep your own
archive copy, for example in your own storage bucket.
The API creates the PDF; sending stays with your email provider. Request
"delivery": "binary" to attach the file directly, or send a signed link
that expires after a time you choose, up to seven days.
50 renders a month on the free plan, no credit card, auto top-ups on paid plans.
Start free