Problems creating an invoice PDF

An invoice PDF is blank, malformed, won't download, or shows the wrong branding.

What you're seeing

You use Export PDF (or open the preview) on an invoice and one of these happens:

  • The preview is blank or shows missing sections.
  • The downloaded PDF has a broken layout.
  • The download fails outright.
  • The PDF shows the wrong logo, colors, or layout — older branding leaks through.

Why it happens

A generated PDF combines your active Invoice template with the data on the invoice and your company details from Brand invoicing. The common reasons it goes wrong:

  • Oversized logo. Logos are capped at 2 MB. A logo near that limit can still be heavy enough to slow generation down.
  • Damaged logo image. A corrupt source image can produce a blank result.
  • Template expects a field this invoice doesn't have. A heavily customized template can rely on a field that's empty on this particular invoice.
  • You're looking at an older export. A previously generated PDF reflects the template as it was when it was created — generate a fresh export to pick up your current template.
  • Browser download blocker. Some browsers or extensions block the download.

How to fix it

  1. Open Brand invoicing and confirm the logo is well under the 2 MB cap. Replace it with a smaller PNG if you're unsure.
  2. Open the invoice template and check that the live preview renders on a sample invoice. If the preview fails there too, the template itself is the problem — reset it to defaults or change the label and color fields back.
  3. From the invoice, generate a fresh export. Past exports stay frozen as they were and won't change; new exports use your current template.
  4. Try a different browser or disable extensions to rule out a download blocker.
  5. If the problem continues across browsers and templates, generation may be temporarily unavailable — wait a few minutes and try again.

Tips and edge cases

  • Past PDFs don't update retroactively. This is by design: each export captures the invoice as it was at that moment, so the historical record stays stable.
  • "Show bank info" and "Show tax info" are deliberate toggles. A template with those turned off hides those sections on purpose — that's not a render bug.
  • QR codes are template-controlled. If the template places a QR code but the invoice has no QR data, the QR slot stays blank.

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