# Invoice display or template issue on PrestaShop

> A PDF invoice with a broken layout, a greyed-out invoice button, a field to add to the existing template: PrestaShop invoice generation relies on a specific template, with legal rules that limit what can be freely changed once an invoice has been issued.

- Source canonique : [https://allaux.fr/en/prestashop/problemes/factures-affichage-modele](https://allaux.fr/en/prestashop/problemes/factures-affichage-modele)
- Langue : EN
- Dernière mise à jour : 2026-09-30

## Direct answer

> If the invoice button is greyed out, go to Orders > Statuses, edit the current status and tick the option allowing the customer to download and view the PDF invoice: without it no PDF is produced. For broken layout, the file to rework is pdf/invoice.tpl in the theme, and the logo is changed under Design > Theme and Logo.

## How a PrestaShop invoice is generated

The PDF invoice is built from a template inside the theme’s pdf/ folder, mainly the invoice.tpl file. What’s displayed — legal notices, logo, header, company details — is largely configured from Preferences > Invoices, with no code involved: that’s the first place I look when something’s missing or wrongly placed.

A recurring point: the invoice download button stays greyed out or absent until the order reaches a status marked as paid in its configuration. An order stuck at an intermediate status, even if it looks finished to the customer, therefore generates no invoice at all.

## What the law restricts

Invoice numbering is legally regulated in France: the Code général des impôts (article 242 nonies A of annex II) requires a unique number based on an unbroken chronological sequence. Once a number has been assigned to an invoice, it can’t be freely changed or reassigned, even to fix an error or fill a gap in the sequence. This constraint isn’t specific to PrestaShop, it limits what any developer can legitimately offer on this point.

A purely visual issue, on the other hand — a misplaced logo, an overflowing table, inconsistent fonts — is fixed with no legal constraint at all: it’s a layout change to the PDF template.

## Layout tweak, or extra field?

> A visual adjustment is made in the existing PDF template. Adding a field that doesn’t yet exist on the invoice — a custom note, the customer’s intra-community VAT number, an internal reference — means editing both the controller that prepares the data and the Smarty template that displays it.

## Related pages

- **Incorrect VAT or ex/inc VAT price** — The tax rule assigned to a product also determines what appears on the invoice: diagnosing PrestaShop’s tax setup. ([/prestashop/problemes/tva-prix-ht-ttc-incorrect](/prestashop/problemes/tva-prix-ht-ttc-incorrect))
- **Custom order statuses** — The status that triggers invoice generation is configured in the same place as automatic emails. ([/prestashop/problemes/statuts-commande-personnalises](/prestashop/problemes/statuts-commande-personnalises))
- **Custom module development** — Adding a field the standard template doesn’t provide for means editing both the controller and the PDF template. ([/prestashop/module-sur-mesure](/prestashop/module-sur-mesure))

## FAQ

### Can invoices be renumbered from scratch?

No, not once they’ve been issued: the Code général des impôts requires an unbroken chronological sequence, and a number already assigned can’t be freely reassigned. Opening a new series stays possible where trading conditions justify it; rewriting history does not. I flag this systematically before any request of this kind.

### Why does the invoice button stay greyed out on some orders?

Because the order hasn’t reached a status marked as paid in its configuration. I check the order’s exact status first before looking for a template issue.

### Can the customer’s intra-community VAT number be added to the invoice?

Yes, but that field doesn’t exist by default on the standard template: it needs pulling from the customer record and adding to the PDF template, which is targeted development, not a setting.

### The invoice logo is wrong, how do I change it?

That’s usually set from Preferences > Invoices, where a logo dedicated to invoices can be defined independently of the site’s main logo.