There is always a misunderstanding between a proforma invoice and a normal sales invoice. In foreign trade, a pro forma invoice is a document that states commitment from the seller to provide specified goods to the buyer at specific prices. It is often used to declare value for customs. It is not a true invoice, because the seller does not record a pro forma invoice as an accounts receivable and the buyer does not record a pro forma invoice as an accounts payable. A pro forma invoice is not issued by the seller until the seller and buyer have agreed to the terms of the order. Based on that definition, a proforma invoice is more closer with commercial invoice instead of a sales invoice. But, it is very often that a proforma invoice is issued for obtaining advance payments from buyer, either for start of production or for security of the goods produced. As long as both parties agreed on their term of sales, a proforma could be just an administrative document to justify the transaction between both parties.

This invoice template below is created based on commercial invoice template that has eliminated several shipping and export terms to make it more simple if this proforma is used for obtaining payment. You can download a commercial invoice template if you want to make a proforma invoice which is not intended to ask for payment.

  Proforma Invoice (56.0 KiB, 7,520 hits)