Proforma invoice format

When businesses send a proforma

• A new customer wants to pay in advance and needs a document showing the exact amount.
• A buyer's purchase department needs a document to raise payment approval.
• An importer needs it to open a letter of credit or arrange foreign exchange.
• A government office or institution asks for a proforma before releasing a cheque.

The proforma tells the buyer, "this is what the final bill will look like." Once the goods are ready to dispatch, you issue the real tax invoice.

Sample proforma invoice format

The sample uses made-up details. Switch between the Classic, Modern and Compact layouts, Print / PDF it on A4, or print a Blank template to fill by hand. Open in editor loads it into the free proforma invoice generator, where you type straight onto the page and GST, totals and the amount in words are worked out for you.

What to put on it

• Heading: Proforma Invoice
• Seller name, address and GSTIN
• Proforma number (separate series) and date
• Buyer name, address, state and GSTIN
• Item description and HSN
• Quantity, unit, rate, discount
• GST rate and amount
• Total amount and amount in words
• Advance required, if any
• Validity of rates
• Expected dispatch date
• Bank and UPI details
• Note: not a tax invoice

What to put on it

Lay it out like your invoice, with three changes: the heading says Proforma Invoice, it has its own number series (PI/26-27/0031), and it carries a line such as "This is not a tax invoice". Include item lines with HSN, rates, GST, total, validity, delivery time and bank or UPI details for the advance. If the price depends on the exchange rate or on raw material prices, say so.

Proforma vs tax invoice

More in proforma invoice vs tax invoice.

Advance received against a proforma

When the buyer pays an advance after seeing the proforma, the payment itself has GST consequences in some cases. For goods, GST on advances is generally not payable at present; for services, tax is payable on the advance and a receipt voucher under Rule 50 is issued. These rules have changed before, so read GST on advances received and confirm with your CA.

Example: a Coimbatore pump maker sends a proforma for ₹2,36,000 (₹2,00,000 + IGST ₹36,000) to a buyer in Kerala and asks for 30% advance, ₹70,800. The advance is recorded as a receipt from the party. When the pumps leave the factory, the full tax invoice is issued and the advance is adjusted against it, leaving ₹1,65,200 due.

Common mistakes

• Using the tax invoice series for proformas, which creates gaps in the tax invoice numbers.
• Forgetting to issue the tax invoice after dispatch, because "the bill was already sent".
• Booking the proforma as a sale, which inflates sales and GST.
• Leaving out validity, so the buyer pays months later at an old rate.

Checklist before you send one

• Heading says Proforma Invoice, not Tax Invoice.
• Number is from the proforma series, not the invoice series.
• GST head matches the buyer's state: CGST and SGST within the state, IGST outside it.
• Advance amount, bank account and UPI ID are correct.
• Validity and expected dispatch date are written in.
• A line says the tax invoice will be issued at dispatch.

In Tally

TallyPrime has no accounting entry for a proforma; many businesses record the order as a Sales Order voucher and print it as a proforma. The advance is a Receipt voucher against the party, and the final Sales voucher adjusts it bill-wise.