Blog · · 5 min read
What Is a Proforma Invoice?
Proforma invoices are standard in international trade and widely misunderstood everywhere else.
A bill that is not yet a bill
A proforma invoice states what will be supplied and at what price, before the supply happens. It is not a demand for payment in the legal sense, it does not go into your sales ledger, and it cannot be used by the buyer to reclaim tax.
The three situations it is used in
- Cross-border shipments, where customs needs a declared value before goods arrive
- New customers required to pay in advance
- Corporate procurement, where a document is needed before a purchase order can be raised
How it differs from a commercial invoice
The commercial invoice is the final, binding document that accompanies the shipment and is used to assess duty. The proforma is provisional and expected to change. Issue the commercial invoice as soon as the goods ship — leaving only a proforma on file is a common cause of customs delay.
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Create a proforma invoice →