WooCommerce sells, collects and refunds, but it does not number invoices. In France, invoices must form a continuous sequence, and your accountant expects a document number in every entry.
Why the order number is not enough
The order number is shared with other content, and cancelled or deleted orders leave gaps. It is therefore not a continuous sequence.
General information, not legal advice. Check your invoicing obligations with a professional.
Four possible sources for the document number
- The order number: the default, simple but not sequential.
- An invoicing extension: for example WooCommerce PDF Invoices & Packing Slips, whose formatted number (prefix and suffix included) is used as is.
- An order metadata key of your choice, for any other invoicing extension.
- A generated numbering: in the form FA-2026-00001, with one counter per year. The number is assigned the first time it is generated and stored on the order: exporting again never changes it.
If the number is missing
If the chosen source provides no number (invoice not issued yet), the plugin uses the order number and logs it. The order is never left out of the export for that reason.
The same number across the whole cycle
The document number is the reference of the invoice, of the payment (which enables matching in the accounting software) and of the credit note (AV, followed by the refund ID and the invoice number). The preview consumes no number: it shows a provisional one.
Our advice
The generated numbering is only worth something if it matches the invoices you actually give your customers. If a continuous sequence of invoices is an obligation for you, use an invoicing extension that issues the documents and take its number. To be validated with your accountant.
