Proforma Invoice Builder

A clear price commitment — before you invoice for real

A proforma invoice is the document you send when a customer needs to know exactly what they will pay before anything ships. It looks like an invoice and carries the same line items and totals, but it is explicitly not a tax document — it cannot be used to reclaim VAT or booked as revenue. It exists to support advance payment, internal approval, financing, and customs clearance. This builder produces a correctly labelled, fully totalled proforma in one pass.

How it works

Each line carries a quantity, a unit price, and a VAT rate, and the totals work exactly like a real invoice:

Line net    = quantity × unit price
Line VAT    = line net × (vat rate ÷ 100)
Subtotal    = Σ line net
VAT total   = Σ line VAT
Grand total = Subtotal + VAT total

The output is stamped PROFORMA — NOT A TAX DOCUMENT at the top so it can never be mistaken for a VAT invoice. It carries the parties, a reference number, an issue date, delivery terms, and a validity date that tells the buyer how long the quoted prices hold. When the buyer pays and goods ship, you then issue a real tax invoice for the same figures.

When to use a proforma versus other documents

The proforma invoice occupies a specific role in the document chain. Understanding where it fits helps you use the right document at the right stage.

The proforma is appropriate when:

• A new customer needs to arrange payment before delivery, and you want a formal price record in case of dispute.
• The customer’s finance or procurement department needs a document to raise a purchase order against.
• Goods are crossing a border and customs authorities need a declared value and description for import assessment.
• The customer needs the figures to secure internal budget approval before committing.

Cross-border shipping and customs

For international shipments, the proforma serves a specific customs function. Import authorities use it to:

• Assess the customs value for duty calculation.
• Classify the goods for tariff purposes (a clear description is essential).
• Confirm that the declared value is arm’s length (not artificially low to avoid duty).

Best practice for cross-border proformas:

• Include a clear description of each goods line — “industrial-grade pressure sensors, model XPT-200” rather than “electronic components”.
• State the country of origin for each line, as tariff rates often depend on it.
• Reference the applicable delivery terms (Incoterms) — EXW, FOB, CIF and so on — so both the buyer and customs know who bears cost and risk at each stage of transit.
• Value the goods at the actual transaction price, not a reduced figure. Under-valuing for customs purposes is a legal risk in most jurisdictions.

The document chain after the proforma

1. Buyer receives proforma → raises a purchase order → pays the proforma amount in advance.
2. You ship the goods.
3. You issue a tax invoice with the same line items and amounts as the proforma, but now sequentially numbered and bearing the tax invoice date.
4. The buyer’s accounts team matches the tax invoice to their purchase order and the advance payment, and can now claim the VAT.

The proforma itself is never entered into accounts as revenue. The tax invoice is the document that creates the accounting and VAT records. If the order changes between proforma and delivery, issue a revised proforma (or a credit/debit note once the tax invoice has been raised) rather than altering the original document.