Generating Invoices and Documents via API – A Practical Guide

Automating document generation saves time and keeps branding consistent. Here’s a practical way to produce invoices and similar documents with the DoCreate API.

Use case: invoice generation

When an order is completed in your system, call the DoCreate API with the order data. Your template can include company logo, line items, totals, and a QR code for payment.

Example: Node.js

const response = await fetch('https://api.docreate.example/v1/generate', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.DOCREATE_API_KEY}`,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    templateId: 'tmpl_invoice',
    data: {
      invoice_number: order.id,
      customer_name: order.customerName,
      items: order.lineItems,
      total: order.total,
      due_date: order.dueDate,
    },
  }),
});
const { pdfUrl } = await response.json();
// Attach pdfUrl to email or store for download

Example: Python

import os
import requests

resp = requests.post(
    "https://api.docreate.example/v1/generate",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['DOCREATE_API_KEY']}"},
    json={
        "templateId": "tmpl_invoice",
        "data": {
            "invoice_number": order_id,
            "customer_name": customer_name,
            "items": line_items,
            "total": total,
            "due_date": due_date,
        },
    },
)
pdf_url = resp.json()["pdfUrl"]

Tips

• Use webhooks to get notified when a PDF is ready if you use async generation.
• Store template IDs and variable names in config so non-developers can adjust templates without code changes.
• For high volume, use batch endpoints and rate limits described in the API reference.

With a single template and a small integration, you can automate invoices, quotes, and other recurring documents across your stack.