Free proforma invoice generator

Last reviewed: October 2026 · Also in: हिन्दी · Deutsch · Français

What a proforma invoice is, and what it is not

"Pro forma" is Latin for "as a matter of form". A proforma invoice looks like an invoice, with the same parties, lines, prices and tax, but it describes a sale that has not happened yet. It tells the buyer exactly what the final invoice will say, so they can arrange money, approvals or paperwork before you ship or start work.

It does three useful jobs. It fixes the commercial terms (price, currency, delivery, validity), it supports the buyer's paperwork (a purchase approval, an import payment, a bank loan, a letter of credit), and it asks for an advance where you want money before you commit stock or time.

What it does not do: it does not record a sale in your books, it does not create a debt the buyer must pay, and it does not give the buyer a tax credit. Tax authorities in India, the UK and the EU all treat the later invoice, not the proforma, as the tax document.

How to fill in this proforma invoice generator

1. Add your business and the buyerEnter the legal names, addresses and tax numbers exactly as they will appear on the final invoice: GSTIN in India, VAT number in the UK and EU.
2. List the goods or servicesOne line per item with quantity, unit and price. In India, add the HSN or SAC code on each line; for exports, put the HS code in the description if the editor shows no code field.
3. Set the currency and taxChoose the currency the buyer will pay in and the tax rate you expect to charge on the final invoice. Use 0% for exports and say why in the notes.
4. Write the termsIn the terms, state the validity date, the advance due and how the balance is paid, the delivery lead time and the Incoterms. In the notes, add country of origin and weights for shipped goods.
5. Sign in to issue and sendCreating and editing here is free. Signing in gives the proforma a number from its own series and lets you send it and later convert it into the invoice; downloading the PDF is free with a small LuckPanda footer, while issuing, sending and clean PDFs without our branding need the Sales module.

When to send a proforma invoice

If the buyer only wants a price to compare suppliers, send a quotation instead. A proforma is for an order that is agreed, or about to be: it is the step between "yes" and delivery.

Example: an export proforma invoice with an advance

Cascade Lab Instruments in Portland, Oregon, has agreed to sell two centrifuges and spare rotors to Deccan Diagnostics in Hyderabad. Deccan's bank needs a proforma invoice to remit the 30% advance and to open a letter of credit for the balance. Exports from the US carry no sales tax, so the lines are untaxed; Indian customs duty and IGST are paid by the importer on arrival.

1. Title: "Proforma invoice", so nobody books it as a sale or pays it twice.
2. Reference from its own series (PI-…), separate from your invoice numbers.
3. Validity: how long the prices and terms stand; 30 days is common.
4. Incoterms: who pays freight and insurance, and where risk passes.
5. Payment terms: advance due now and how the balance is paid.
6. Buyer with full address; for imports into India, the importer's IEC.
7. HS code per line: customs and the buyer's bank use it to classify the goods.
8. Origin, weights and a "not a commercial invoice" line for shipping and customs.

What goes on a proforma invoice, field by field

Customs and shipping: what a proforma is accepted for

Customs value goods from the sale invoice. A proforma stands in only where there is no sale invoice yet, or no sale at all.

• Goods that are not sold. Free samples, warranty replacements, goods sent for repair, exhibition or return travel with a proforma invoice that states a realistic value and says "no commercial value" or "free of charge, value for customs purposes only". A value of zero is not accepted.
• United States imports. If the commercial invoice is not available when goods are entered, US Customs may accept a pro forma invoice in the form set out in 19 CFR 141.85. Under 19 CFR 141.91 the importer gives a bond and must produce the commercial invoice within 120 days of filing the entry summary (50 days if it is needed for statistics).
• Courier shipments. Express carriers ask for a commercial invoice for sales and accept a proforma for non-sale shipments. Use the carrier's required wording and the same value on the airway bill.
• Indian imports and exports. The bill of entry or shipping bill is filed on the commercial invoice. Indian banks remitting an advance for imports usually ask for a copy of the proforma invoice, purchase order or contract as evidence of the trade.

Advance payments against a proforma: the tax rules

The proforma itself never creates tax. The money paid against it can.

India: services are taxed on the advance, goods are not

For goods, GST on advances was removed from 15 November 2017 (Notification 66/2017-Central Tax) for everyone except composition taxpayers: tax is due when you issue the tax invoice at supply. For services, the time of supply is the earlier of the invoice and the receipt of payment, so an advance is taxed in the month you receive it. Issue a receipt voucher (section 31(3)(d) and rule 50 of the CGST Rules), pay GST on the advance and report it in GSTR-1 table 11A. If the rate or the type of supply is not yet known, rule 50 says to use 18% and treat it as inter-state.

Northwind Design Studio in Bengaluru sends a Chennai client a proforma for a ₹2,40,000 website project with a 50% advance. Karnataka to Tamil Nadu is inter-state, so IGST applies.

United Kingdom: a deposit creates a tax point

HMRC treats an advance payment or deposit as creating a VAT tax point when you receive it or when you issue a VAT invoice for it, whichever is first. So a customer who pays a 25% deposit against a proforma has triggered VAT on that 25%. HMRC's manual says a pro-forma is not an accounting document and should preferably be endorsed "This is not a VAT invoice"; your customer cannot reclaim input VAT on it, only on the VAT invoice you issue for the deposit or the supply.

European Union: VAT on payments on account

Under article 65 of the VAT Directive, where payment is made on account before goods or services are supplied, VAT becomes chargeable on receipt of the payment, on the amount received. Article 220 requires an invoice for such a payment from a business customer. In Germany this is an Anzahlungsrechnung (§ 14 (5) UStG); in France, a facture d'acompte. A proforma alone is not enough once money has arrived.

United States

There is no federal VAT. Sales tax is set by each state; most tax the retail sale when it is made, so a deposit on a taxable sale is usually taxed with the sale. Check the state's rules for deposits on items you have not yet delivered. Exports and most sales for resale are not taxed.

Proforma invoices and letters of credit

An importer's bank opens a letter of credit from the terms in the proforma invoice: amount, currency, goods description, Incoterms, shipment date and the documents to be presented. That is where the proforma's job ends.

• The presentation needs the real invoice. Under ICC practice (ISBP 745, paragraph C1), a credit that calls for an "invoice" is not met by one marked "provisional" or "pro-forma". Present a commercial invoice issued by the beneficiary.
• Match the credit. Under UCP 600 article 18, the invoice must be made out in the name of the applicant, in the currency of the credit, and its goods description must correspond with the one in the credit. Copy the proforma's description into the final invoice word for word.
• Check the LC before you ship. If the credit differs from your proforma (a wrong amount, an impossible shipment date), ask for an amendment first. A discrepancy found at presentation can delay or stop payment.

Turning a proforma into the final invoice

1. Confirm what is actually suppliedQuantities, prices and dates often move between the proforma and dispatch. The final invoice shows what was delivered, not what was offered.
2. Issue a new invoice from your invoice seriesThe proforma keeps its PI number. The tax invoice, VAT invoice or commercial invoice gets the next number in its own series and the date of supply.
3. Reference the proformaQuote "Against proforma PI-2026-0142" so the buyer can match the advance and their approval.
4. Deduct the advanceShow the advance received and the balance due. Where tax was paid on the advance (Indian services, UK and EU deposits), adjust it so tax is not paid twice.
5. Close the proformaMark it converted, so nobody issues a second invoice from it. If the order is cancelled, mark it cancelled and refund or keep the advance as the contract says.

In TallyPrime, a sales voucher marked as optional prints as a proforma invoice and does not affect the books until it is made regular; see the Tally bill format page for how a Tally-style invoice is laid out. In LuckPanda, a proforma converts into an invoice line by line, and each line remembers how much of it has been invoiced.

Proforma invoice vs quotation vs commercial invoice vs tax invoice

A deposit invoice (UK, Xero and similar software) is different again: it is a real invoice for part of the price, with VAT, issued when you want the deposit to be a proper sale document. Use a proforma when you want nothing booked until the customer commits; use a deposit invoice when the deposit itself must be invoiced.

Mistakes to avoid

• Numbering proformas in the invoice series. Unconverted proformas leave gaps that tax auditors ask about. Use a PI series.
• Calling it an invoice and expecting tax credit. Your buyer cannot claim GST input tax credit or reclaim VAT on a proforma.
• Ignoring tax on the advance. In India, an advance for services needs a receipt voucher and GST that month; in the UK and EU, a deposit creates a VAT tax point.
• Leaving out validity and currency. A proforma without them invites a dispute when prices or exchange rates move.
• Changing the description on the final invoice. If a letter of credit or import approval was based on the proforma, the commercial invoice must match it.
• Declaring samples at zero value. Customs need a realistic value even when nothing is paid.
• Forgetting to close it. A proforma left open after invoicing can be invoiced twice.

Key terms

Proforma invoice

A seller's advance statement of the terms of a sale, issued before supply; not a tax invoice.

Commercial invoice

The invoice issued at shipment that bills the buyer; used by customs and banks.

Receipt voucher

The GST document an Indian supplier issues on receiving an advance (section 31(3)(d), rule 50).

Tax point

The date VAT becomes due; a deposit received before supply creates one in the UK and EU.

Letter of credit (L/C)

A bank's undertaking to pay the seller when compliant documents are presented.

Incoterms

ICC trade terms (FCA, FOB, CIF…) that say who pays transport and insurance and where risk passes.

Questions people ask