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PDF Export Zapier integrationAutomate PDF Export with Zapier.

The PDF Export Zapier integration brings 0 triggers, 4 actions and 0 searches. It never starts a Zap: a shop, a payment tool or a form fires first, then PDF Export turns what it received into an invoice, a receipt or a report.

See the 4 operations

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Overview

What the PDF Export Zapier integration does

The PDF Export Zapier integration gives a Zap, the automation you build on Zapier, four ways to produce a PDF. Two are general (a web page or template, and raw incoming data), two are made for Shopify and Stripe documents. PDF Export has no trigger, so another app always starts the Zap.

Three outcomes it is built for. A branded invoice per sale: Export Shopify Data to PDF or Export Stripe Data to PDF read the order or payment data from the previous step and pick the right document on their own, invoice, receipt, quote, refund or cancellation. A business document from a template: Convert HTML to PDF fills a page with data from earlier steps, then applies your page setup, header, footer, watermark and security options. A readable archive of what came in: Raw Request Data to PDF saves a form submission or any other incoming data as a clean PDF.

What Zapier does not do here: it cannot react to anything inside PDF Export, which has no trigger and no search. It does not send the PDF anywhere either. The file is the output of the step, and a later step (email, cloud storage, help desk) has to carry it on, which makes the Zap multi-step.

One detail people miss on Stripe: quotes and refunds do not carry your account name, so the Shop Name field is the only place the document gets it. Weighing other tools first? Read our Zapier review or the n8n vs Zapier comparison.

Vocabulary

Zapier vocabulary in one minute

Eight terms you will see in the editor while you set up PDF Export.

Zap
The automation itself: one trigger, then one or more actions that run every time the trigger event happens.
Trigger
The event in an app that starts the Zap, such as a new order. PDF Export has none of its own.
Action
What the Zap does once started. The four PDF Export operations are actions that each return a PDF file.
Task
The unit Zapier bills: one action that completes successfully. Your plan counts these, nothing else.
Polling vs instant
A polling trigger is checked on a timer that depends on your plan. An instant trigger is reported by its app the moment it happens.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap go on only when the incoming data meets your condition, and stops it otherwise.
Connection
Your PDF Export account linked to Zapier once, then reused by every PDF Export step in all your Zaps.
Multi-step Zap
Any Zap beyond one trigger and one action. A second action or a filter makes it one, and it then requires a paid plan.
Cost

What a PDF Export Zap costs

The trigger never costs a task, and Zapier looking for new data costs nothing either. Only actions that succeed are billed.

  • Trigger0 tasks
  • Each successful action1 task (a few actions take more)
  • Failed actionNot counted
  • Free plan100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps
  • PDF ExportNot a premium app

PDF Export is not a premium app, so it runs on the free plan: 100 tasks a month, unlimited Zaps, a check every 15 minutes on polling triggers. The catch: the free plan stops at two steps, one trigger and one action. Generating the invoice and then emailing it is two actions, so a multi-step Zap on a paid plan, with one task per action that works. A failed action is not counted against your plan, so a broken run costs nothing.

Connect

Connect PDF Export to Zapier in three steps

  1. 01

    Go to Apps

    In your Zapier account, open Apps and click + Add connection. You need a PDF Export account first, because Zapier links an existing account rather than creating one.

  2. 02

    Choose PDF Export

    Search for PDF Export in the dialog, select it and click Add connection. A new tab opens on the PDF Export side so you can sign in to the account you already use.

  3. 03

    Grant access

    Sign in and allow Zapier to use the account. The connection is saved, and every PDF Export step in every Zap you build afterwards picks it up automatically.

First Zap

Your first PDF Export Zap

GoalEach Shopify order produces a branded PDF invoice, which a second step emails to the customer.

  1. 01

    Build: pick the trigger

    Create a Zap and choose the app and event that start it, here a new Shopify order. PDF Export cannot be the first step since it has no trigger.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger

    Run the test. Zapier brings back the three most recent orders of the connected shop, so you map fields on a real order rather than a made-up one.

  3. 03

    Add Export Shopify Data to PDF

    Add PDF Export as the action, choose Export Shopify Data to PDF, map the order data into Shopify Data and type your shop name.

  4. 04

    Send the PDF

    Add an email action and attach the PDF from the previous step. With two actions this is a multi-step Zap, so it needs a paid plan.

  5. 05

    Test, then publish

    Test each step and open the invoice that came back. When it looks right, publish the Zap to switch it on. Each order then costs two tasks.

Actions

The 4 PDF Export actions in Zapier

PDF Export gives you 4 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Raw Request Data to PDF

Action

In Zapier“Save webhook, form, API, JSON, XML, URL-encoded, or plain text data as a readable PDF. Useful for archiving submissions, keeping records of incoming requests, reviewing automation data, or troubleshooting Zaps.”

Saves whatever data reached the Zap, a form submission or plain text for instance, as a readable PDF, and lays out structured data neatly on its own.

When to use it
keeping a readable record of every application or request your team receives.
Watch out
Data is the only required field, so map the full content, not a single value.
2

Convert HTML to PDF

Action

In Zapier“Create PDF invoices, reports, certificates, receipts, contracts, and other business documents from a web page URL or HTML template. Use data from previous Zap steps, then customize layout, page setup, headers, footers, watermarks, security, and advanced rendering options.”

Builds a PDF from a web page address or an HTML template filled with data from earlier steps, then applies your layout, page setup, header, footer, watermark and security choices.

When to use it
certificates, contracts or reports that follow your own design rather than a fixed invoice layout.
Watch out
the PDF only exists inside the Zap until another step stores or sends it.
3

Export Shopify Data to PDF

Action

In Zapier“Create branded Shopify invoices, receipts, quotes, refunds, cancellations, and order summaries as PDF files from Shopify order data. Use the generated PDF in later steps, such as email, cloud storage, or customer support.”

Turns Shopify order, refund or draft order data into a branded document, and works out on its own whether it is an invoice, a receipt, a quote, a credit note or a cancellation.

When to use it
giving every buyer a proper invoice without opening the shop admin.
Watch out
Shop Name is required and is the name printed on the document.
4

Export Stripe Data to PDF

Action

In Zapier“Create branded Stripe invoices, receipts, quotes, refunds, and cancellations as PDF files from Stripe API data or webhook events. The document type is auto-detected from the event type or invoice status. Use the generated PDF in later steps, such as email, cloud storage, or customer support.”

Reads Stripe invoice, quote or refund data and returns the matching PDF, choosing the document type from the event or the invoice status.

When to use it
subscription businesses that want a receipt or a refund note filed for each payment event.
Watch out
Stripe quotes and refunds expose no account name, so fill Shop Name yourself.
When it breaks

When a PDF Export Zap breaks

Zapier ties no help article to PDF Export. The cases below come from its required fields and from Zapier's general rules.

Most trouble starts upstream: the wrong data reaches the action, or the Zap reacts to more than you planned. When a run fails anyway, our Zapier troubleshooting page is the next stop.

  • Invoices with no company name

    Shop Name is required on both Shopify and Stripe actions. Stripe quotes and refunds carry no account name, so the field is the only source for it.

  • Old orders never exported

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after you switch it on. Orders placed before that are not turned into PDFs; the backlog is a separate job.

  • A PDF that never leaves the Zap

    Every action returns a file and stops there. Without a following step that emails or stores it, nobody receives the document, and that extra step needs a paid plan.

  • Bulk imports held back

    When a trigger suddenly returns a huge batch, after an order import for instance, Zapier's flood protection can hold it back instead of generating every PDF.
Need help

Need help automating PDF Export with Zapier?

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FAQ

PDF Export Zapier integration: frequently asked questions

01Is the PDF Export Zapier integration free?
On the Zapier side, yes. PDF Export is not a premium app, so it works on the free plan with 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps. The limit is the length of the Zap: a free Zap is one trigger and one action. Creating a PDF and then emailing it or saving it to cloud storage is two actions, which makes it a multi-step Zap that needs a paid plan. What PDF Export charges for its own account is not shown on Zapier, so check that with PDF Export directly.
02How many tasks does a PDF Export action use?
One per action that succeeds, in most cases. The trigger from your shop or payment tool costs nothing, and neither does Zapier checking for new data. A Zap that generates an invoice and then emails it uses two tasks per order. If PDF Export fails on a run, that action is not counted. Zapier also says a few apps and actions take more than one task when they complete, so count from real runs, not from guesses.
03Does PDF Export work in real time with Zapier?
PDF Export has no trigger, so timing depends on the app that starts the Zap. If that trigger is instant, the app reports the event itself and the Zap runs straight away on any plan. If it is a polling trigger, Zapier checks on a timer: every 15 minutes on Free, 2 on Professional, 1 on Team and Enterprise. The type belongs to the app and cannot be changed in the editor, so check it on the starting app before promising customers a fast invoice.
04What do you need to connect PDF Export to Zapier?
A PDF Export account. In Zapier, open Apps, click + Add connection, search for PDF Export, click Add connection, sign in on the tab that opens and grant access. The connection is then reused by every Zap. For the Shopify and Stripe actions, have your shop or company name ready, since Shop Name is required and printed on the documents. The data itself comes from the earlier step, so the starting app needs access to the orders or payments involved.
05Why do Stripe refunds come out without a company name?
Because Stripe quotes and refunds do not expose an account name, unlike invoices. Export Stripe Data to PDF therefore asks for Shop Name as a required field, and that value is what appears on the document. Type it once in the step, exactly as it should read for customers. The same field exists on Export Shopify Data to PDF, where it also sets the name printed on every invoice, receipt or credit note.
06What if the PDF Export action for your document does not exist?
Use Convert HTML to PDF as the general route. It takes a web page address or an HTML template filled with data from earlier steps, so any document you can lay out as a page can become a PDF, with your own header, footer, watermark and security settings. For data that just needs to be kept rather than designed, Raw Request Data to PDF stores it as a readable file without any template work.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for PDF Export?
Decide on criteria, not on a ranking. On Zapier, PDF Export is not premium, so producing one PDF per run fits the free plan, but sending or storing that PDF adds a step and calls for a paid plan, with one task per action. Check whether the other tools offer the Shopify and Stripe document actions you rely on, then compare how each one bills against your monthly order volume.
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