Pro forma invoice template

Pro forma invoice: definition

A pro forma invoice is an invoice “for the sake of form”. It is laid out like an invoice — same lines, same prices, same VAT — but it describes a sale that has not happened yet. It tells the customer: “if you confirm, this is exactly what you will pay”.

The customer uses it to prepare their payment, get the purchase approved internally or put a file together. You use it to fix the price in writing before delivering.

What a pro forma is not

This is the point that causes the most confusion. In practice, a pro forma has no accounting value: it is not recorded in your sales, it does not count in your turnover, and it is not a request for payment. The customer owes you nothing on the basis of a pro forma.

The VAT shown on it is indicative: it is the final invoice that counts. Write “Pro forma invoice” clearly as the title so that no one files it with the real invoices. If in doubt about a particular case, your accountant decides.

Another consequence: a pro forma does not take goods out of stock. As long as nothing is delivered, your stock does not move, and if the customer does not follow up, there is nothing to cancel in your accounts.

When you are asked for one

The pro forma is mainly used when money has to move before the goods, or when someone other than the buyer has to approve the expense.

• Deposit or advance payment: the customer pays part before delivery, on the basis of the pro forma.
• A company's purchasing department: the buyer needs a priced document to get the purchase signed off.
• Import: the Office des changes lists the pro forma invoice among the documents in the import file kept by the bank, and as the basis for an advance payment. It is therefore often requested by the importer's bank.

What to put on it

Put the same information as on the invoice that will follow, so the customer has no surprises. In Morocco, article 145 of the CGI sets out the details of an invoice: include them from the pro forma onwards.

Example, for illustration: 20 cases at 250 DH excluding VAT, i.e. 5,000 DH excluding VAT, plus 1,000 DH of VAT at 20%, total 6,000 DH including VAT. With a 30% deposit, the customer pays 1,800 DH before delivery.

• Your identifiers: IF, TP, RC and ICE, with name and address.
• The customer, with their ICE if they are a business.
• A number, a date and a validity date.
• The lines: description, quantity, unit price excluding VAT.
• The total excluding VAT, the VAT by rate (20% or 10% since 1 January 2026, or exemption) and the total including VAT.
• The terms: deposit, delivery time, payment method.

Pro forma, quote, invoice: the difference

The quote proposes a price and is negotiated. The pro forma often comes once the price is accepted: it already has the form of the invoice, so that the customer can pay or get approval. The invoice records a completed sale, is entered in the accounts and makes the amount payable.

Give the pro forma a validity period (15 or 30 days, for example): your purchase prices move, and a pro forma with no date commits you for too long.

Number your pro formas in a separate series (PF-001, PF-002…): your invoices then keep a continuous numbering, with no gaps.

After delivery: the real invoice

The pro forma never replaces the invoice. Once the goods are delivered, issue a final invoice with its own number, deducting the deposit already received. If the delivery differs from the pro forma, the invoice follows what actually left.

In Gestio, it is the quote that plays the role of the pro forma: it becomes a purchase order, then a delivery note, then an invoice, without retyping a line, and stock moves only on delivery. You can try it free for 7 days, in French or Arabic.