Proforma invoice (quotation)

Make a proforma invoice or quotation for a customer, print it, and later convert it into a real sales invoice.

A proforma invoice is a quote you send before the sale. It does not touch your stock or your accounts. Only when you convert it does a real sales invoice get created and posted.

Before you start

Add the customer in Customers and the items in Products.
Set up a numbering series for voucher type PROFORMA in Invoice Series. Without one, you must type the number yourself.
To quote services or fees instead of items, create the income ledgers first in Chart of Accounts.

Create a proforma invoice

Open Transactions > Proforma Invoices.
At the top right of the form, choose Item (goods from your product list) or Accounting (amounts against income ledgers).
Pick the Customer. Place of Supply fills in from the customer's state.
Check Proforma Date. Enter Valid Until if the quote has an expiry date.
Check the number shown as No:. To type your own number, click Set number manually and enter it in Proforma Invoice No. Click Use auto number to go back.
To print a delivery address, click Add / Edit next to Ship To (Consignee) and fill in the consignee details and Vehicle No..
Add the lines (see the table below). Click Add Item or Add ledger line for more lines.
For freight, packing and similar charges with their own ledger and GST, click Add charge. For simple amounts, use Freight, Other Charges and Round Off.
Add Notes if needed.
Check the totals line (Taxable, GST, Total) and click Save Proforma Invoice.

The proforma appears in Recent Proforma Invoices with status Draft.

Fields

Field	What to enter
Place of Supply	The state where the goods or services go. The line under it shows Intra-State — CGST + SGST or Inter-State — IGST. Change it if the customer's state is different from where you deliver.
Item 1, Item 2...	Pick the product. HSN, unit, rate and GST % fill in from the product. You can change them.
Qty	Must be more than zero.
Disc ₹	Discount for the line, in rupees.
GST %	GST rate for the line.
Income Ledger	In Accounting mode, the income ledger for the line, with Description and Amount.
SAC	On a charge line, the SAC code for that charge.

Print or save as PDF

In Recent Proforma Invoices, click the print icon on the row.
The print preview opens. Click Print / Save as PDF.
In the print window, choose your printer, or choose Save as PDF as the printer to keep a PDF file.

Edit a proforma invoice

Click the pencil icon on the row. The form fills with the saved details.
Make your changes and click Update Proforma Invoice.
Click Cancel Edit to leave without saving.

A converted or cancelled proforma cannot be edited.

Convert to a sales invoice

Click the convert icon (Convert to Sales Invoice) on the row.
Read the message and click Convert.
A real sales invoice is created and posted to your books, with the same customer, lines, charges, consignee and date as the proforma. Its notes say "Against Proforma Invoice" and the proforma number.
The proforma is locked with status Converted.

The new invoice takes the next number from your sales invoice series. Open it from the Sales Register to print it or make changes.

Cancel a proforma invoice

Click the cancel icon on the row.
Click Cancel it. Click Keep to leave it as it is.

Nothing is reversed, because a proforma never posted anything. A converted proforma cannot be cancelled. Cancel the sales invoice instead, from the Sales Register.

Common problems

No numbering series for this year — set one in Settings → Invoice Series, or enter a number manually — no PROFORMA series exists for this financial year. Add one in Invoice Series, or click Set number manually.
Proforma number '...' already exists in this financial year. — the number you typed is already used. Type a different number.
Select a customer — pick a customer before saving.
Select a Place of Supply — choose the state in Place of Supply.
Item 1: quantity must be greater than zero — a line has a product but no quantity. Enter the quantity or delete the line.
Item 1: rate, discount and GST % cannot be negative — remove the minus sign.
Add at least one item with quantity / Add at least one ledger line with amount — the proforma has no usable lines.
Cannot edit — already converted to invoice / Cannot cancel — already converted to invoice — the proforma is already a sales invoice. Work on the invoice instead.
The Income Ledger list is empty — only active income ledgers that are not GST ledgers appear. Create one in Chart of Accounts.
Conversion fails with an error — the same checks as a normal sales invoice apply when converting. Fix the cause shown in the message and convert again. See Create a sales invoice.

More in Sales

Create a sales invoiceMake a sales invoice for goods: pick the customer and items, add discount, GST and charges, then save, edit or duplicate it.Bill a service (Accounting / Service invoice)Bill fees, labour, rent or other services against an income ledger, with the right SAC and GST, without touching stock.View, print and share an invoiceOpen a saved sales invoice to check it, print 1 to 3 copies, save it as a PDF, send it on WhatsApp, edit it or duplicate it.Sales RegisterFind, filter and export your sales invoices, and view, edit, duplicate, print or cancel any of them.Make a counter sale (POS)Bill a walk-in customer in a few seconds with the keyboard, take cash, see the change and print a small receipt.Create a credit note (sales return)Record goods returned by a customer, or a price reduction after the sale, with a credit note that reduces the sale and the customer's balance.Make a delivery challanSend goods without an invoice under Rule 55, move stock between your own godowns, print the challan, and convert it to a sales invoice later.