Proforma invoice

A proforma invoice looks like an invoice but is issued before the supply or before payment to tell the customer what to expect: the items, the price, the VAT and the payment details. It is often used to request an advance payment, to support a customs declaration for a sample or to give a customer a document for internal approval.

Because it is not a tax document, it must not carry the number series of real invoices and neither party books it as revenue or claims input VAT from it. Once the payment arrives or the goods are delivered, a proper invoice or an advance payment invoice follows, and in many countries the receipt of an advance itself triggers a VAT obligation within a short deadline. Kontevia keeps proformas in a separate series and converts them into a final invoice with one action.