Sometimes a customer needs invoice-style paperwork before you can bill them properly — customs wants documents, a corporate finance team needs something on file before funds are released, or an offer has to look more formal than a quote. That's what a pro-forma invoice is: a preview of the bill, not the bill itself. It looks the part but records no income and creates no VAT liability, so your books stay clean until the real invoice goes out. Pro formas are a premium feature.
Create it
Head to Sales → Create → Pro Forma Invoice (or press N, then P) and fill it in like any invoice — customer, items, quantities, prices. Turn on Discount, Purchase Order or Deposit in the Options panel if you need them, and add a note if it helps, for example "This is a pro-forma invoice for reference only — not a tax invoice." Then Send it, or leave it saved for later.
Record a deposit against it
Money can arrive before the real invoice does — a deposit or prepayment — and you can track it here without posting income.
- Open the pro-forma invoice and click + Payment on the right-hand panel.
- Choose Existing to link a payment already in your books, or New to add one.
- Fill in the amount, the date and the account it was paid into — plus notes, tags or a file (like proof of payment) if you want — and save.
Turn it into a real invoice
Once the deal is confirmed, open the pro forma and click ··· → Invoice. The customer, items, discount, deposit, PO number and currency all carry across, so nothing gets retyped. Income is recorded at that point, not before — see Create and send an invoice for what happens next.
Note: A pro-forma invoice is not a tax invoice. It doesn't record income and doesn't create a VAT liability, so it won't appear in your reports until you raise the real invoice.