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Proforma, commercial invoice, quote, receipt: which one to send

Four documents that look alike and do different jobs. Sending the wrong one is how a shipment sits at customs.

The names are used loosely in conversation and precisely by customs officers and accountants. Here is what each one is for.

Quote / estimate

An offer, before work is agreed. It is not a demand for payment and should never take a number from your invoice sequence. Give it its own prefix and an expiry date — an offer without an expiry is an offer forever.

Proforma invoice

A document that looks like an invoice, states what will be supplied and at what price, and is not a request for payment of a debt. It is used to obtain advance payment, to open a letter of credit, or to let a customs broker prepare in advance.

Do not book it as revenue and do not put it in your invoice sequence. When the goods ship or the work completes, issue the real invoice.

Commercial invoice

The document that accompanies goods across a border. Beyond the usual invoice fields, customs generally expects the country of origin, the HS tariff code for each item, the Incoterms rule agreed (EXW, FOB, DAP and so on), gross and net weights, and the reason for export.

Services do not cross customs, so if you are invoicing for design or development work you want an ordinary invoice, not this.

Receipt

Proof that payment was made, issued after the money arrives. It is not a substitute for the invoice, and in VAT systems the invoice is the document that carries the tax information.

Worth knowing

• This generator can produce an invoice, a quote, a proforma invoice or a receipt — the document type changes the title and the wording, not your obligations.