Free Proforma Invoice Template (Excel, Word & PDF)
A proforma invoice is a preliminary bill issued before goods ship or work begins: it looks like an invoice and itemizes goods and values like an invoice, but it demands no payment — it states what would be owed if the order goes ahead. Buyers use it to get internal approval or arrange advance payment; customs authorities use it to assess a shipment before the final paperwork exists. This free proforma invoice template carries every field that job requires — seller and buyer details, description of goods, quantities and unit values, total declared value, currency, a validity date, and the one line most homemade versions forget: "not a demand for payment." Download it below as Excel, Word or PDF. For the full theory — what a proforma is and how it differs from a standard invoice — see the proforma invoice guide.
Download: proforma invoice template for Excel, Word & PDF
Proforma Invoice Template (Excel / Word / PDF)
**Excel (XLSX) — the version to start with.** Line totals and the total declared value are live formulas: enter a quantity and a unit value and each line extends itself, so the arithmetic a customs officer checks first is never wrong. The currency cell is a plain field you set once at the top. If a tax amount ever applies to your situation, the tax cell is blank for hand-entry — type the figure yourself or leave it empty; nothing is calculated for you. **Word (DOCX).** The same layout as an editable proforma invoice template that behaves like any document — retype the lines, swap in your logo, save a copy per buyer. Best when the proforma travels as an attachment that a buyer's purchasing team will mark up before approving. **PDF.** Fixed-layout for print-and-fill, or for emailing a version nobody can quietly edit after you send it.
All three files print on US Letter and carry the same fields in the same order, so a proforma drafted in Excel can be re-issued from Word without renumbering anything. None of the files ask for an email address, and there is no sign-up.
What goes on a proforma invoice
Nine fields do all the work. Miss one and the document either stalls at customs or gets mistaken for a live bill.
Notice what is not on the list: no payment terms, no bank details, no tax computation. A proforma states values; it does not collect anything.
- Proforma number and date. Number it from its own sequence — PF-2041, not INV-2041 — so it never collides with your real invoice numbering, and date it the day you issue it.
- Seller and buyer. Full legal names and addresses on both sides. Customs and the buyer's finance team both read these literally; trading names alone cause queries.
- Description of goods. Specific enough that someone who has never seen the products can tell what they are — "stainless steel water bottles, 750 ml", not "merchandise".
- Quantity and unit value. One line per product, quantity times unit value, extended per line.
- Total declared value. The sum of the line totals — the single number border officials and approvers act on.
- Currency. State it explicitly. "1,220.00" means nothing until the document says USD.
- Validity date. How long the stated values stand. Without it, a buyer can accept month-old numbers you can no longer honor.
- Reason line. A sentence such as "For customs purposes only — not a demand for payment." This is what keeps the document from being read as a bill.
- Signature. A signature and printed name close the document; many customs regimes expect one even where nothing formally requires it.
A filled-in proforma invoice, line by line
The fastest way to see the fields working together is a filled example — here is a small export order, complete and self-consistent:
Proforma #PF-2041 · Issued: July 24 · Valid until: August 23 · Currency: USD Seller: Harbor Goods LLC, Portland, OR · Buyer: Kestrel Retail Ltd, Manchester, UK
| Description of goods | Quantity | Unit value | Line total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stainless steel water bottle, 750 ml | 40 | $18.50 | $740.00 |
| Bamboo travel lid, 2-pack | 15 | $32.00 | $480.00 |
| Total declared value | $1,220.00 |
For customs purposes only — not a demand for payment.
Every field above is routine except the last two, and they are the two people omit. The reason line is what tells a customs officer — and the buyer's accounts team — that this is a declaration of value, not a bill; without it, the document reads as a live invoice, and buyers have paid proformas by mistake for exactly that reason. The validity date does the same protective work in the other direction: it caps how long Kestrel can hold these numbers before coming back, so a currency swing or a supplier price rise in September is your problem to requote, not yours to absorb. Leave both lines off and you have not made a proforma — you have made an unnumbered invoice with no due date, which is the worst document of the three.
When the proforma becomes the real invoice
The proforma's job ends the moment the order is confirmed — at that point you issue a final invoice as a new document, and the two are linked by cross-reference, not by editing one into the other. The final invoice takes a number from your real invoice sequence and carries a line such as "Re: proforma PF-2041", so the buyer's finance team can match what they approved against what they are now asked to pay. Two things change on the way across: the invoice number replaces the proforma number, and payment terms appear — a due date, accepted payment methods, bank details — none of which the proforma carried, because the proforma was never asking. Quantities and values should match the proforma unless something genuinely changed in between; where they differ, say so on the invoice rather than hoping nobody compares the two documents. If the proforma's validity date has passed, issue a fresh proforma first — reviving expired numbers on a final invoice is how disputes start.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a proforma invoice and an invoice?
An invoice requests payment for goods delivered or work done; a proforma states what would be owed before anything ships, and requests nothing. The full comparison lives in our proforma invoice guide.
Is a proforma invoice legally binding?
Generally not — a proforma is usually treated as a declaration of intent rather than a contract or a demand for payment, though practice varies by country and by what the parties have agreed around it. Treat the validity date as your protection: honor the stated values until it passes, and requote after.
Can I get paid against a proforma invoice?
Yes, in practice — advance-payment arrangements often work exactly this way: the buyer pays against the proforma, and you issue the final invoice once the order ships, cross-referenced to the proforma number. The proforma itself still carries no payment terms; the arrangement to pay early lives in your agreement with the buyer, not on the document.
Do FedEx and DHL require their own proforma invoice forms?
Both carriers publish their own proforma forms, and their shipping portals can generate one during booking — but a complete, legible proforma on your own layout is accepted for most shipments. This template is a general-purpose version; if your carrier or destination country insists on its specific form, copy these same fields across into it.
How long is a proforma invoice valid?
As long as its validity date says — there is no standard period, and 14 to 30 days is the common range. Pick the shortest window you can honor: your prices and freight costs move, and note that customs treats the proforma as provisional anyway, with the final declared values coming from the commercial invoice that ships with the goods.