Generate invoice PDFs from JSON

The hosted invoice template

Pass template: "invoice" and a data object with your details, the client's details and line items. Line totals, subtotal, optional discount, tax and the grand total are computed on the server from quantity and unit price.

POST https://docpress.dev/v1/pdf
Authorization: Bearer dp_your_key
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "template": "invoice",
  "data": {
    "number": "INV-1042",
    "date": "2026-10-18",
    "due_date": "2026-11-17",
    "currency": "USD",
    "from": {"name": "Northwind Studio", "address_lines": ["12 Example Road", "Springfield"], "email": "billing@example.com"},
    "to": {"name": "Acme Client Ltd", "address_lines": ["1 Sample Street", "Shelbyville"]},
    "items": [
      {"description": "Design, October", "quantity": 10, "unit_price": 120},
      {"description": "Hosting", "quantity": 1, "unit_price": 40}
    ],
    "tax_rate": 8.25, "tax_label": "Sales tax",
    "notes": "Payable within 30 days.",
    "payment_instructions": "Bank transfer, reference INV-1042"
  },
  "page_size": "Letter",
  "filename": "INV-1042.pdf"
}

Optional fields include discount, logo (a data: URI) and accent colour. The full field list is at /templates/invoice.

Or bring your own layout

A Markdown table is enough for a plain invoice, and the report or minimal theme does the typography:

{"markdown": "# Invoice INV-1042\n\n**Due:** 17 November 2026\n\n| Item | Qty | Unit | Amount |\n|---|--:|--:|--:|\n| Design, October | 10 | $120.00 | $1,200.00 |\n| Hosting | 1 | $40.00 | $40.00 |\n\n**Total: $1,240.00**", "theme": "minimal", "footer": "Payable within 30 days"}

For a branded design, send html with your own css. See HTML to PDF API.

What invoices need from a PDF engine

• Rows that do not split across a page boundary: tr { break-inside: avoid } in your CSS, built into the hosted template.
• Table headers that repeat on every page of a long invoice.
• Page n / total in the footer, so a multi-page invoice is obviously complete.
• Arithmetic done once, on the server: the hosted template computes line totals, discount, tax and total from the numbers you send, so a rounding difference between your code and the PDF cannot creep in.

Running it in production

• Store the returned PDF yourself (object storage or your database). The API does not keep a copy of the source or the output.
• Watch X-Quota-Used and X-Quota-Limit on each response; handle 429 by queueing rather than retrying in a tight loop.
• Up to 2 renders run concurrently per account; batch jobs should use a small worker pool.
• Keep secrets out of the document: the API only needs what should be printed.

Pricing for invoice volume

Plans are capped. When a plan's monthly document count is reached the API returns 429 until you upgrade or the month rolls over; there is no overage billing.

• Free: 50 documents/month, footer mark on output, no card required.
• Starter: $9/month, 500 documents, no mark.
• Pro: $29/month, 3,000 documents.
• Scale: $79/month, 15,000 documents.

Every response includes X-Quota-Used and X-Quota-Limit headers so you can watch usage without polling. Details on the pricing page.

Related

• HTML to PDF API
• Certificates of completion from data
• PDF generation in Python
• PDF generation in Node.js