Amazon Seller Central wants my supplier invoice as a PDF but I only have a photo of it; how do I convert it cleanly?
Crop the photo to the edges of the paper and straighten it first, then convert it to an A4 PDF with Fit inside and a small margin, so the whole invoice appears at its original resolution. Then zoom into the preview to confirm the small figures are legible, and check Seller Central's current guidance for any size or format rule.
Why converting the raw photo is not enough
A phone photo of an invoice usually includes the edge of the desk, the shadow of your hand and a tilted angle. Convert it as it is and you get a PDF page with a small, crooked invoice in the middle of a wooden background. That may be technically acceptable, but whoever reviews it needs to read the supplier name, date and quantities at a glance, and a tidy page makes a request for another document less likely.
Steps
- Photograph the invoice from directly above, on a surface that contrasts with the paper, in daylight or strong light without flash.
- If the invoice is tilted, straighten it with Image rotator and flipper by a small angle until the lines of text are level.
- Crop the photo to the edges of the paper with the Image cropper, leaving a very thin border so you do not cut the supplier's stamp or a page number.
- Open Images to PDF and add the cropped photo. For a two page invoice, add both pages in order.
- Choose A4, Fit inside and a 10 mm margin, leave orientation on Follow the image, and create the PDF.
- Zoom the preview into the smallest figure on the invoice, then download the file with a name that includes the invoice number.
What to expect, in numbers
Say the cropped photo is 2300 × 3200 px. On A4 with a 10 mm margin it is drawn 538.59 × 749.34 pt, complete with nothing cut, plus a little space at the top and bottom because the invoice is shaped slightly differently from A4. For a slightly larger invoice on the page, a 5 mm margin makes it 566.93 × 788.78 pt. The tool does not reduce the photo's resolution, so every pixel stays in the file.
Why Fit inside specifically
Fill and crop would trim the edges of the invoice to fill the page, and the edges of an invoice are exactly where the important things live: the tax number at the top, the total and stamp at the bottom. If a warning appears after building that parts were cropped, you are on the wrong mode.
What this method does not do
- It does not turn the photo into searchable or copyable text. The file is an image on a PDF page.
- It does not change the invoice's content or make it any more original than it is. If the platform wants an electronic copy from the supplier, ask the supplier for it.
- It does not guarantee acceptance. Review requirements are set by the platform and they change, so read the current request page before uploading.
Common questions
Should I use Letter because Amazon is a US company?
On screen both sizes display well and the difference is small. Follow the request page if it names a size; otherwise the paper size the original invoice was printed on is a sensible choice.
The file is large; is that a problem?
If the upload page states a limit, compress the photo before converting, because the converter does not compress it.
Is the invoice photo uploaded to your site?
No, cropping, rotating and converting all happen inside your browser.