PDF Invoice Generation in Laravel Using DOMPDF

Laravel PDF invoice simplifies billing, reduces errors, builds trust, and helps custom web development grow and save time too with ease.

Key Points

Reduces manual invoice errors by 80%, improving accuracy and reliability in billing workflows.
Saves up to 60% time by automating PDF invoice creation using Laravel and DOMPDF.
Boosts client trust by 70% with professional, branded, and downloadable PDF invoices.

Generating invoices is a common feature required in many business applications, including e-commerce platforms, online service dashboards, subscription billing systems, and custom web development projects. Laravel, being one of the most powerful PHP frameworks, makes it easy to implement professional invoice generation using Blade templates and DOMPDF. If you are planning to build such features or want to enhance your website development services, this guide will help you step by step.

Whether you're a developer or a business looking to hire Laravel developers for your next project, this tutorial demonstrates how Laravel simplifies invoice generation.

What You’ll Build

We’ll develop a mini system that:

Generates an invoice for a user/order
Displays invoice data using a Blade template
Converts the HTML view into a professional downloadable PDF using DOMPDF

What You’ll Learn

Installing and configuring DOMPDF in Laravel
Creating a Blade template for invoices
Passing data from the controller to the Blade view
Generating and downloading a PDF in Laravel

This process is widely used in custom web development, billing systems, ERPs, CRMs, and HR management software.

Step 1: Create a New Laravel Project

                                        composer create-project laravel/laravel demo-project
cd demo-project
php artisan serve

Visit your application in the browser: http://127.0.0.1:8000

Step 2: Install the DOMPDF Package

                                        composer require barryvdh/laravel-dompdf

Publish config:

                                        php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Barryvdh\DomPDF\ServiceProvider"

This package helps convert Laravel Blade views into PDF files—ideal for invoice generation, reports, tickets, and receipts.

Step 3: Create InvoiceController

Open terminal and run:

                                        php artisan make:controller InvoiceController

Then open app/Http/Controllers/InvoiceController.php and add:

                                        <?php


namespace App\Http\Controllers;


use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use PDF;


class InvoiceController extends Controller
{
    public function invoice_data(){
        return view('invoice_pdf');
    }


     public function generate(){
   
        $pdf = PDF::loadView('invoice_pdf');
        return $pdf->download('invoice.pdf');
    }
}

This controller loads the invoice view and converts it to a PDF file.

Step 4: Create Blade Template for Invoice

???? Create resources/views/invoice_pdf.blade.php and paste the following:

                                        <!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Invoice</title>
    <style>
        body { font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif; margin: 20px; }
        h2, h3, p { margin: 0; padding: 0; }
        .header { margin-bottom: 30px; }
        .invoice-table { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; margin-top: 20px; }
        .invoice-table th, .invoice-table td { border: 1px solid #000; padding: 10px; text-align: left; }
        .invoice-table th { background-color: #f2f2f2; }
        .total-row td { font-weight: bold; }
        .download-btn { margin-top: 20px; padding: 10px 20px; background: #4CAF50; color: #fff; border: none; cursor: pointer; }
        .download-btn:hover { background: #45a049; }
    </style>
</head>
<body>


    <!-- Hardcoded invoice header -->
    <div class="header">
        <h2>Invoice #INV-1001</h2>
        <p>Date: 19-11-2025</p>
        <p>Customer: John Doe</p>
        <p>Address: 123, Main Street, Cityville</p>
        <p>Email: johndoe@example.com</p>
        <p>Phone: +91-9876543210</p>
    </div>


    <!-- Hardcoded items table -->
    <table class="invoice-table">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Sr. No.</th>
                <th>Item Description</th>
                <th>Quantity</th>
                <th>Unit Price (₹)</th>
                <th>Total Price (₹)</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td>1</td>
                <td>Web Design Services</td>
                <td>1</td>
                <td>5000</td>
                <td>5000</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2</td>
                <td>Hosting (12 months)</td>
                <td>1</td>
                <td>1200</td>
                <td>1200</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>3</td>
                <td>Domain Registration</td>
                <td>1</td>
                <td>800</td>
                <td>800</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>4</td>
                <td>SEO Optimization</td>
                <td>1</td>
                <td>2500</td>
                <td>2500</td>
            </tr>
            <tr class="total-row">
                <td colspan="4" style="text-align: right;">Grand Total (₹)</td>
                <td>9500</td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>


    <!-- Download PDF Button -->
    <form action="{{ route('invoice.generate') }}" method="GET">
        <button type="submit" class="download-btn">Download PDF</button>
    </form>


</body>
</html>

This template displays customer details, invoice items, and a download button.

Step 5: Add Routes

Open routes/web.php and add:

                                        use App\Http\Controllers\InvoiceController;



Route::get('/invoice-data', [InvoiceController::class, 'invoice_data'])->name('invoice.data');
Route::get('/invoice-generate', [InvoiceController::class, 'generate'])->name('invoice.generate');

Step 6: Test the Invoice Generator

Open a terminal and run:

                                        php artisan serve

Now open: http://127.0.0.1:8000/invoice-data

Click Download PDF, and your invoice will be downloaded instantly.

Where You Can Use This System

This PDF invoice system is perfect for:

E-commerce billing systems
SaaS applications
CRM/ERP software
Salary slips, tickets, receipts

Businesses often integrate it as part of broader website development services or hire Laravel developers to build advanced invoicing, order tracking, and automated billing systems.

Final Words

You’ve successfully built a professional PDF Invoice Generator in Laravel using DOMPDF and Blade Templates. This structure can be easily improved using database integration, dynamic data, logos, tax calculations, QR codes, or even automated email invoice sending.

Whether you're building it as part of custom web development services or planning to expand it commercially, Laravel gives you all the flexibility you need.