A proforma invoice is a form of an invoice, usually provided by a vendor before the provisioning of the goods or services to declare the value of products and shipping costs officially. The proforma invoice in itself is very similar to the sales quote or confirmed purchase order, which includes detailed information about goods and shipping charges that the buyer will incur after the transaction is finalized. Proforma is also almost identical to a commercial invoice, except that it is a non-binding document. In business terminology, pro forma (Latin "as a matter of form" - is a term applied to practices or documents that are used as a pure formality) often used as a financial statement which prepared in advance of a planned transaction.

A proforma invoice is a common form used in both domestic and international trade to provide buyers and the appropriate import/export authorities with additional shipment details required for customs.

Below you will find a proforma invoice template that offers different designs and styling. Additionally, we have also put together some useful information about how to use proforma invoices and a few references to the source of information where you can learn more about regulations related to the use of this document.

Download the Pro Forma Invoice Template

Excel 2003 (xls) - 2003 or newer (PC or Mac)

Excel 2007 (xlsx) - 2007 or newer (PC or Mac)

OpenOffice.org Calc (ots) - OpenOffice.org Calc

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Description

Spreadsheet123's Proforma Invoice Template contains three different invoice forms, each on the separate worksheet. Two are in portrait format, one of which can be printed directly on your letterhead and one in a landscape format, with space for a lengthy description of the product. The template requires minimal customization, most of which can be altered in the settings tab.

Similarly to a Price Quote, the Pro forma invoice is a preliminary bill of sale sent to the buyer in advance of a shipment or delivery of goods. This invoice presents a form commonly used in domestic and international trade where the provision of additional sipping information, such as weight, currency, transportation charges, and other details, required for customs.

How to Use the Pro forma Invoice Template

Simply download and fill out the information in the settings tab to ensure that your company information appears across all of the invoice templates. You can personalize Pro Forma with your company logo. All templates included in the spreadsheet are following typical Pro Forma format. Fill out your customer information in the square brackets [...] then begin filling out details of the proposed transactions including shipping information, payment terms, additional costs and fees, sales terms, etc. You can use the information available on this page and tips and guidelines within the template for help with a specific section.

Sometimes you may need to include a description or some additional information about the product that can be lengthy and won't feet into a single line. You can do this by using several different methods. As all of the cells in the description area are designed to wrap the text you enter, you might need to adjust the height of the row to expose the text entered as required. The cells in the description area were merged and won't increase their height automatically. You might want to press Alt + Enter inside the cell to start from the new line. If you do not intend to add many products, then you can use separate rows to enter the necessary details.

Why Use a Proforma Invoice?

Clarifications and Contact Details

Pro Forma Invoice can be identified as a correct way of providing a complete quote to buyers. It contains detailed information on the goods, costs, shipping terms, customs and shipping fees as well as contact details of both seller and buyer, and conditions of the transaction, which is sent in advance for creation of the sale. In contrast, the invoice is used for confirmation of the purchase.

International Trade, Export and Import

Pro Forma invoice provides several advantages to the exporter of goods as well as the receiving party. These advantages include clarity of costs and obligations, which are necessary for a speedy transaction. For example, the information provided on the Pro Forma helps to declare the value of goods for customs for a smooth delivery process. Another advantage is that the receiving party is aware of all costs well in advance, which again makes the process a lot smoother and somewhat helps to close the deal faster. A proforma invoice can often be used to secure credit for the purchase of goods or services. Many international transactions won't take place without the Letter of Credit, which cannot be issued without proforma documents and usually required in advance of shipment.

Customs and Borders

In most countries, a proforma invoice is used to determine the shipment values required for anticipating costs of customs duties and import taxes and helps to secure paperwork required by customs before the shipment leaves the suppliers and can significantly reduce the transit time.

Non-Binding Document

The contents of the proforma invoice may look similar to the final commercial invoice. However, this invoice in itself is a non-binding document. Both parties can withdraw from any deal and do not hold any obligations towards one another. This allows the seller to revise the costs before closing a deal. Once proforma has been finalized, a commercial invoice can be raised and dispatched to the customer for payment.

References and Resources

• Pro Forma at wikipedia.org - information about the meaning of "pro forma".
• International Trade Administration at trade.gov - U.S. Government site that contains guidelines and regulations for conducting international trade, with relevant articles and references.
• Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade at dfat.gov.au - Australian Government website with articles, guides, and links about regulations and general information on Export and Import to Australia.
• Foreign Affairs & International Trade at international.gc.ca - Canadian Government website with information about import and export to Canada, general trade regulation and policy.
• Gov.uk at gov.uk - UK Government website contains a comprehensive source of information concerning regulations and requirements related to Import and Export to and from the EU and countries outside the EU.
• International Trade Resource Desk at msu.edu - A great resource on international business resources, including research, online courses maintained by the Michigan State University.

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