How to change invoice date formats

The Order dates sub-section in the Visual Editor lets you control which dates appear on your invoice and how they are formatted. You can show the order date, issue date, due date, and payment terms — then pick a date format that matches your region or accounting requirements. All order dates on the invoice use the same format, and the live preview updates immediately, so you can see the result before saving.

Open the Order dates settings

1. Open the Invoice Falcon app from your Shopify Admin.
2. Click Templates in the left navigation menu.
3. Click on the template you want to customize (or click Edit on the template row).
4. Scroll to the Visual editor section and click the Open visual editor button.
5. In the left panel, click the Order information section to expand it.
6. Scroll down past the Order identification sub-section to find the Order dates sub-section.

Available order dates

Each date field has a checkbox to toggle it on or off. Check the fields you want to display on the invoice, then click Save changes.

• Order date — the date the Shopify order was created. This is the most commonly shown date on invoices. On by default.
• Issue date — the date the invoice was issued by Invoice Falcon. This may differ from the order date. Required in some regions for tax compliance (e.g., EU VAT invoices). Off by default.
• Due date — the payment due date for the invoice. Useful for net-term invoices where payment is expected within a certain number of days (e.g., Net 30, Net 60). Off by default.
• Payment terms — displays the payment terms label (e.g., "Net 30", "Due on receipt") if payment terms were set on the Shopify order. This helps clarify when payment is expected alongside the due date. Off by default.

Choose a date format

Below the date checkboxes is the Select date format dropdown. The format you choose applies to all dates on the invoice (order date, issue date, and due date).

The available formats are:

Steps to change the date format

1. In the Order dates sub-section, click the Select date format dropdown.
2. Select your preferred format from the list.
3. Check the live preview on the right — all dates on the invoice update immediately to show the new format.
4. Click Save changes at the top of the Visual Editor.

Known limitations

• Date format is global — the selected date format applies to all dates on the invoice (order date, issue date, due date) at once. You cannot use different formats for different date fields from the Visual Editor. To format individual dates differently, use the Code Editor with Liquid date filters.
• Issue date and due date depend on order data — these fields only appear if the corresponding data exists on the order. Enabling the checkbox alone is not enough; the order must have an issue date or payment terms configured in Shopify.
• Payment terms depend on Shopify data — payment terms must be set on the order in Shopify Admin. If no payment terms exist, nothing is shown even when the checkbox is enabled.
• Settings are per-template — date settings are saved independently for each template. Changing the date format on one template does not affect other templates.
• Previously generated PDFs are not affected — date format changes only apply to invoices generated after saving. Existing PDFs keep their original formatting.

Troubleshooting

FAQs

Q: What is the default date format?
A: The default format is MMM DD, YYYY (e.g., Jan 30, 2023).

Q: Can I show multiple dates on the same invoice?
A: Yes. You can enable any combination of Order date, Issue date, Due date, and Payment terms. All enabled dates appear together in the order details area of the invoice.

Q: Does the date format affect the payment terms display?
A: No. Payment terms are shown as a text label (e.g., "Net 30", "Due on receipt"), not as a date. Only Order date, Issue date, and Due date are affected by the date format setting.

Q: How do I set payment terms on a Shopify order?
A: In Shopify Admin, go to Orders → select an order → click Payment terms to choose terms like Net 30, Net 60, or Due on receipt.

Q: Can I use a completely custom date format not listed in the dropdown?
A: Not from the Visual Editor. The dropdown provides 7 standard formats. For a fully custom format, edit the template code in the Code Editor using Liquid date filters (e.g., {{ order_created_at | date: "%d.%m.%Y" }}).

Updated on: 20/05/2026