PHP Invoice X2 – PHP Class For Beautiful PDF Invoices Using HTML Templates

Introduction to PHP Invoice X2

PHP Invoice X2 is a powerful PHP class that allows you to generate beautiful PDF invoices using HTML templates. With this class, you can create professional-looking invoices with ease, including features such as customizable templates, automatic date and time stamping, and support for multiple currencies. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of installing and using PHP Invoice X2 to create stunning PDF invoices for your business.

Requirements

Before we begin, make sure you have the following requirements installed on your server:

• PHP 5.3 or higher
• PDFlib extension (PHP-PDFlib) installed
• A text editor or IDE (Integrated Development Environment) to write and edit your code

Installing PHP Invoice X2

To install PHP Invoice X2, follow these steps:

1. Download the PHP Invoice X2 class from the official GitHub repository: https://github.com/PHPInvoicing/PHPInvoicing
2. Extract the downloaded zip file to a directory on your server, for example: /path/to/php-invoice-x2
3. Create a new PHP file in the same directory, for example: invoice.php

Setting up the Configuration File

Before you can use PHP Invoice X2, you need to set up a configuration file. Create a new file named config.php in the same directory as your PHP file, and add the following code:

<?php

// Configuration file for PHP Invoice X2

// Database connection settings
$db_host = 'your_database_host';
$db_username = 'your_database_username';
$db_password = 'your_database_password';
$db_name = 'your_database_name';

// PDF settings
$pdf_template = 'path/to/pdf/template.pdf';
$pdf_font = 'path/to/font/font.ttf';
$pdf_font_size = 12;

// Currency settings
$currencies = array(
    'USD' => 'United States Dollar',
    'EUR' => 'Euro',
    'GBP' => 'Pound Sterling'
);

// Company settings
$company_name = 'Your Company Name';
$company_address = 'Your Company Address';
$company_phone = 'Your Company Phone';
$company_email = 'your_company_email@example.com';

?>

Replace the placeholders with your own values. For example, your_database_host should be replaced with the hostname of your database server.

Creating a PDF Invoice

Now that you have set up the configuration file, you can create a PDF invoice using PHP Invoice X2. Here's an example code snippet:

<?php

// Include the PHP Invoice X2 class
require_once 'PHPInvoicing/Invoice.php';

// Create a new invoice object
$invoice = new Invoice();

// Set the invoice date and time
$invoice->setDate(date('Y-m-d'));
$invoice->setTime(date('H:i:s'));

// Add an item to the invoice
$item = new Item();
$item->setDescription('Item description');
$item->setQuantity(2);
$item->setPrice(10.99);
$invoice->addItem($item);

// Set the invoice total
$invoice->setTotal(21.98);

// Generate the PDF invoice
$pdf = $invoice->generatePDF();

// Save the PDF file
$pdf->save('invoice.pdf');

?>

This code snippet creates a new invoice object, sets the date and time, adds an item to the invoice, sets the total, and generates a PDF file.

Customizing the PDF Template

PHP Invoice X2 comes with a default PDF template, but you can customize it to fit your needs. To do this, you need to create a new HTML file that contains the template code. Here's an example:

<!-- invoice.html -->

<!-- Header -->
<h1>Invoice</h1>
<p><?php echo $invoice->getDate()?> <?php echo $invoice->getTime()?></p>

<!-- Table -->
<table border="1">
    <tr>
        <th>Description</th>
        <th>Quantity</th>
        <th>Price</th>
        <th>Subtotal</th>
    </tr>
    <?php foreach ($invoice->getItems() as $item) {?>
    <tr>
        <td><?php echo $item->getDescription()?></td>
        <td><?php echo $item->getQuantity()?></td>
        <td><?php echo $item->getPrice()?></td>
        <td><?php echo $item->getSubtotal()?></td>
    </tr>
    <?php }?>
    <tr>
        <th colspan="3">Total</th>
        <th><?php echo $invoice->getTotal()?></th>
    </tr>
</table>

<!-- Footer -->
<p>Thank you for your business!</p>

This template code includes a header, a table to display the items, and a footer. You can customize this code to fit your needs.

Generating the PDF Invoice

To generate the PDF invoice, you need to include the invoice.html file in your PHP code and pass the invoice object to the generatePDF() method. Here's an updated code snippet:

<?php

// Include the PHP Invoice X2 class
require_once 'PHPInvoicing/Invoice.php';

// Create a new invoice object
$invoice = new Invoice();

// Set the invoice date and time
$invoice->setDate(date('Y-m-d'));
$invoice->setTime(date('H:i:s'));

// Add an item to the invoice
$item = new Item();
$item->setDescription('Item description');
$item->setQuantity(2);
$item->setPrice(10.99);
$invoice->addItem($item);

// Set the invoice total
$invoice->setTotal(21.98);

// Include the PDF template
$html = file_get_contents('invoice.html');

// Replace the template placeholders with the invoice data
$html = str_replace('{date}', $invoice->getDate(), $html);
$html = str_replace('{time}', $invoice->getTime(), $html);
$html = str_replace('{items}', '', $html);
foreach ($invoice->getItems() as $item) {
    $html.= '<tr>';
    $html.= '<td>'. $item->getDescription(). '</td>';
    $html.= '<td>'. $item->getQuantity(). '</td>';
    $html.= '<td>'. $item->getPrice(). '</td>';
    $html.= '<td>'. $item->getSubtotal(). '</td>';
    $html.= '</tr>';
}
$html = str_replace('{total}', $invoice->getTotal(), $html);

// Generate the PDF invoice
$pdf = $invoice->generatePDF($html);

// Save the PDF file
$pdf->save('invoice.pdf');

?>

This code snippet includes the invoice.html file, replaces the template placeholders with the invoice data, and generates the PDF invoice.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have covered the basics of using PHP Invoice X2 to create beautiful PDF invoices using HTML templates. We have also provided an example code snippet that demonstrates how to set up the configuration file, create a PDF invoice, and customize the PDF template. With PHP Invoice X2, you can easily create professional-looking invoices for your business, and with this tutorial, you are ready to start generating PDF invoices today!