Free proforma invoice generator
Issue a proforma invoice before the sale is final.
A proforma sets out what you will charge before the sale is complete — for customs, for prepayment, or for a purchase order.
A proforma invoice looks like an invoice but is not one: it is a declaration of intent to sell on stated terms, issued before the goods or services are supplied. Critically, it does not create a debt and is not a tax point — you cannot account for VAT on a proforma, and your customer cannot reclaim any. The real invoice follows once the supply happens.
- No signup
- Instant PDF
- No watermark
- A4 or US Letter
- Nothing uploaded
Step 1 of 10
Document
Add your business name, a client name and at least one item.
When to use a proforma invoice
- A customer needs a document to raise a purchase order or release funds
- Goods are crossing a border and customs needs the declared value in advance
- You require payment before shipping and need to state the amount formally
- A buyer wants to confirm price and specification before committing
It is not a VAT invoice
Do not treat a proforma as a tax point. In the UK, VAT is accounted for on the tax invoice issued after the supply, not on the proforma — and marking a proforma as a VAT invoice is a genuine compliance problem. Raise the real invoice once payment or supply occurs.
Number it outside your invoice sequence
PRO-0001 keeps it out of the numbered run of real invoices. A gap in the invoice sequence caused by a proforma that never converted is a question you do not want to answer at audit.
State its validity period
Prices, shipping costs and exchange rates move. Saying the proforma is valid for a set number of days prevents a buyer accepting terms that have since stopped being viable.