Automating invoice generation in Bubble involves creating invoices triggered by payment events or scheduled monthly for subscriptions, generating professional PDF invoices, and auto-emailing them to customers. This tutorial covers building the invoice data model, triggering invoice creation on Stripe payment events, scheduling monthly subscription invoices via backend workflows, generating PDF invoices using a plugin, and automatically emailing invoices to customers.
Overview: Automated Invoice Generation in Bubble
This tutorial shows you how to automate the entire invoice lifecycle in your Bubble app — from creation on payment to PDF generation and email delivery.
Prerequisites
- A Bubble app on a paid plan (backend workflows required)
- A payment system set up (Stripe recommended)
- Basic understanding of Backend Workflows and Data Types
- Familiarity with email sending in Bubble
Step-by-step guide
Design the invoice data model
Design the invoice data model
Create an 'Invoice' Data Type with fields: invoice_number (text — auto-generated sequential), customer (User), items (list of InvoiceItems), subtotal (number), tax_amount (number), total (number), status (text — draft/sent/paid), due_date (date), paid_date (date), and payment_reference (text — Stripe charge ID). Create 'InvoiceItem' with: description (text), quantity (number), unit_price (number), and line_total (number). Auto-generate invoice numbers using a counter stored in an app settings Data Type.
Expected result: Invoice and InvoiceItem Data Types support professional invoice records.
Trigger invoice creation on payment events
Trigger invoice creation on payment events
Create a backend workflow called 'create_invoice_on_payment'. If using Stripe webhooks, trigger this when a checkout.session.completed or payment_intent.succeeded event arrives. The workflow creates an Invoice with the customer from the payment data, creates InvoiceItems from the purchased products, calculates subtotal and tax, sets status to 'paid' and paid_date to current date, and stores the Stripe charge ID as payment_reference. This ensures every payment automatically generates an invoice.
Expected result: Invoices are created automatically whenever a payment is processed.
Schedule monthly subscription invoices
Schedule monthly subscription invoices
For subscription-based billing, create a scheduled backend workflow called 'generate_monthly_invoices' that runs on the 1st of each month. It searches for all active subscribers, creates an Invoice for each one with their subscription items and pricing, sets the due_date to 15 days from now, and sets status to 'draft'. After creation, the workflow can either auto-send the invoice email or queue it for review. Re-schedule the workflow for next month's 1st.
Pro tip: Add a check to avoid duplicate invoices — search for existing invoices for this customer in the current billing period before creating a new one.
Expected result: Subscription invoices are automatically generated on the first of each month.
Generate PDF invoices
Generate PDF invoices
Install a PDF generation plugin like '1T - PDF' or 'PDF Conjurer' from the Bubble marketplace. Create an invoice template page that displays all invoice data in a print-friendly layout: company logo, invoice number, dates, customer details, itemized table, subtotal, tax, total, and payment terms. Use the PDF plugin to convert this page to a PDF file. Store the generated PDF URL on the Invoice record. The PDF can be generated on invoice creation or on demand when the customer or admin requests it.
Expected result: Professional PDF invoices are generated from your invoice data.
Auto-email invoices to customers
Auto-email invoices to customers
After invoice creation and PDF generation, add an email sending step to your workflow. Send an email to the customer with: subject 'Invoice #[number] from [company]', body containing a summary (invoice number, total, due date), and the PDF attached or linked. For Stripe-triggered invoices, send immediately. For monthly subscription invoices, schedule the email for business hours. Track email delivery by adding a 'sent_at' date field to the Invoice and updating it when the email is sent.
Expected result: Customers automatically receive invoice emails with PDF attachments after each payment or on the billing schedule.
Complete working example
1AUTOMATED INVOICE SYSTEM SUMMARY2=====================================34DATA MODEL:5 Invoice: invoice_number, customer, items,6 subtotal, tax_amount, total, status,7 due_date, paid_date, payment_reference,8 pdf_url, sent_at9 InvoiceItem: description, quantity,10 unit_price, line_total1112TRIGGER: PAYMENT EVENT13 Stripe webhook → create_invoice_on_payment14 1. Create Invoice (status: paid)15 2. Create InvoiceItems from order16 3. Calculate totals17 4. Generate PDF18 5. Email to customer1920TRIGGER: MONTHLY SCHEDULE21 Backend workflow: 1st of each month22 1. Search active subscribers23 2. Check for duplicate invoices24 3. Create Invoice (status: draft)25 4. Create InvoiceItems from subscription26 5. Generate PDF27 6. Email to customer28 7. Re-schedule for next month2930PDF GENERATION:31 Plugin: 1T - PDF or PDF Conjurer32 Template page: invoice layout33 Output: PDF URL stored on Invoice3435EMAIL:36 Subject: Invoice #[number] from [company]37 Body: summary + link to PDF38 Track: sent_at date on Invoice3940NUMBERING:41 AppSettings record → last_invoice_number42 Increment on each new invoice43 Format: INV-2026-0001Common mistakes when automating Invoice Generation in Bubble
Why it's a problem: Not generating unique sequential invoice numbers
How to avoid: Use a counter stored in a singleton Data Type record, incrementing it atomically for each new invoice
Why it's a problem: Creating duplicate invoices for the same payment
How to avoid: Check for existing invoices with the same payment_reference before creating a new one
Why it's a problem: Calculating tax incorrectly or not at all
How to avoid: Integrate a tax calculation service or apply the correct tax rate based on customer location
Best practices
- Generate unique sequential invoice numbers for tax compliance
- Deduplicate invoice creation when processing webhooks
- Store PDF copies of all invoices for record keeping
- Track email delivery status on each invoice
- Include all legally required information on invoices
- Schedule subscription invoices with duplicate prevention
- Archive invoices rather than deleting them
Still stuck?
Copy one of these prompts to get a personalized, step-by-step explanation.
I want to automatically generate invoices in my Bubble.io app whenever a Stripe payment is processed, convert them to PDF, and email them to customers. How should I set this up?
Help me build an automated invoicing system that creates invoices on Stripe payments, generates PDFs, and emails them to customers. Also set up monthly subscription invoices.
Frequently asked questions
What information must be on an invoice?
Typically: invoice number, date, seller details, buyer details, itemized list with quantities and prices, subtotal, tax, total, and payment terms. Requirements vary by jurisdiction.
Can I customize the invoice PDF design?
Yes. Create a template page in Bubble with your desired layout and branding. The PDF plugin converts this page to PDF, so full design control is available.
How do I handle refunds on invoices?
Create a credit note (negative invoice) referencing the original invoice. Do not delete the original invoice — create a new record for the refund.
Can I support multiple currencies?
Yes. Add a currency field to Invoice and format amounts accordingly. Ensure tax calculations account for the correct currency.
Do I need a paid Bubble plan for this?
Yes. Backend workflows and scheduled workflows require a paid plan. The invoice Data Types and PDF generation work on any plan.
Can RapidDev help set up automated invoicing?
Yes. RapidDev can build complete invoicing systems in Bubble including automated generation, PDF output, tax calculation, multi-currency support, and integration with accounting software.
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