What this screen is for
A proforma invoice is a request for payment that is not yet a tax invoice. It looks like a bill and can be given to a customer to get funds released or an import cleared, but it raises no receivable in your books, carries no tax liability and moves no stock. The list shows the proforma number, customer, date, amount and status.
When to use it
Use one when a customer needs a formal document before they will pay — an advance, a bank transfer, or an order that has not yet shipped. Once the money is agreed or received, convert the proforma to an invoice. That conversion is the point at which the receivable and the tax entry come into existence, so a proforma left unconverted is revenue your books have never seen.
What you see on this screen
The cards read Total Value, Proforma Invoices and Customers. The Paid, Pending and Overdue cards are not drawn, because a proforma carries no balance however much it resembles a bill.
- Proforma # — the number on the document; click it to open.
- Customer — who it was issued to, with their reference number, a different ship-to address or a linked project below.
- Date — the proforma date, with how long ago it was created beneath.
- Due Date — the due date held on the document.
- Amount — the total, with the equivalent in your own currency beneath for a foreign-currency proforma. This is the figure an export customer's bank will work from.
- Status — see below.
- Actions — view, edit, print, and a menu with download, duplicate, email, share on WhatsApp, copy link and history.
Filters and actions
Search by proforma number, customer name or email. Show Filters adds Status, Customer, Payment Status, Proforma Invoice Date Range, Salesperson, an item search and an amount range, with Sort By and a direction toggle. Chips cover Overdue Only, Show Deleted and the sort order. Rows can be ticked and printed as one PDF, or Bulk print will print everything matching the filters.
The status worth watching on this tab is Converted: anything not carrying it is a request for payment that has never become a tax invoice.
Status values
- Draft — prepared but not issued.
- Sent — given to the customer.
- Viewed — the customer has opened it.
- Accepted — the customer has agreed to pay against it.
- Rejected — declined.
- Expired — lapsed.
- Converted — turned into a tax invoice; this is the point the receivable is created.
- Cancelled — withdrawn.
Related
- Sales Invoices
- Customer Deposits — where money received in advance is held
- Sales Orders