Free Proforma Invoice Generator

A proforma invoice is a preliminary commercial document that describes a transaction before it happens. It tells the buyer what they will be charged, on what terms, and for how long that offer stands. It does not record a sale that has taken place and is not a tax invoice, although sellers often send one so the buyer can pay in advance. UK guidance from HMRC, for example, describes a pro forma as the document against which payment is invited and suggests marking it “This is not a VAT invoice”.

That distinction matters practically. A buyer can take a proforma to their finance team to raise a purchase order or release funds, and a seller can send one without it appearing in their sales ledger as revenue. Label it clearly so nobody mistakes it for the final bill.

Reach for a proforma when the buyer needs a formal figure before you can issue a real invoice. Common situations:

• The buyer needs a document to raise a purchase order
• Payment is required in advance of work or shipment
• Customs or a freight forwarder needs a declared value
• A grant, budget holder or finance team must pre-approve the spend
• Scope is agreed but the work has not yet been delivered
• A new customer is being set up before trading terms exist

Identify both parties, give the document its own reference number, and make the validity period explicit — a price that has no expiry is a price you have to honour indefinitely.

• The words "Proforma Invoice" prominently
• Seller and prospective buyer details
• Proforma number and issue date
• Validity or expiry date for the quoted prices
• Itemized goods or services with quantities
• Currency, unit prices and line totals
• Shipping, handling and any tax treatment
• Payment terms and accepted methods
• Any assumptions the price depends on

A short example for goods sold in advance of shipment. Note the validity date doing real work: it is the seller's protection against a price accepted three months later.

These three documents are often used interchangeably and should not be. Each one does a different job at a different point in the deal.

Quotation

An offer to do defined work at a stated price. It invites acceptance and usually precedes any commitment.

Proforma invoice

A formal statement of what the buyer will be charged once the sale proceeds. It is used to obtain approval, funds or customs paperwork.

Commercial invoice

The final demand for payment, issued once goods ship or work completes. This is the document that enters the accounts.

Once the transaction is confirmed, use the conversion control in the workspace to create the final invoice without retyping the customer or line items. The new document receives its own number and type and keeps a reference to the proforma it came from.

Review before sending. Quantities shipped, freight actually incurred and any price changes since the proforma was issued all need checking against reality rather than carried over on trust.

Set Tax format to India GST and the proforma takes the layout of a GST invoice: GSTIN fields for both parties, an HSN or SAC code on each line, and the rates 0%, 5%, 18% and 40% offered as you type. Choose your state and the place of supply and the tax is split into CGST and SGST (UTGST for a Union territory) within a state, or charged as IGST between states. The preview, PDF, Word and Excel files show the HSN-wise tax summary and the total in words in rupees.

The proforma carries no copy marking. When the sale goes ahead and you convert it, the invoice keeps the GSTINs, HSN codes, state and place of supply, is headed TAX INVOICE, starts marked ORIGINAL FOR RECIPIENT, and is checked against the rule 46 particulars as you edit it.

A proforma is frequently the document a customs broker asks for when goods cross a border, because it states a value before a commercial invoice exists. Invoice Workshop formats the document and does the arithmetic; what a specific shipment must declare depends on the goods and the destination, so check with your broker rather than assuming this layout satisfies them.