• A pro forma invoice provides an estimate for the final amount of an

order.
• A commercial invoice shows the final amount that should be paid.
• Pro forma invoices are used in importing and exporting to declare the
value of goods for customs.
• Commercial invoices are used in accounting, to pay bills.
One of the common questions arises in a business terms is the
‘difference between pro forma invoice and invoice’.
‘What is pro forma invoice’, ‘What is commercial invoice’ and
‘what is the difference between commercial invoice and
pro forma invoice’.
Let us discuss – ‘when the pro-forma invoice is issued’ and
‘when invoice is issued’.
Once after agreeing the terms of contract of sale, the buyer
has to issue a purchase order or Letter of Credit. Just before
this process, the seller has to send a ‘pro-forma invoice’ to
buyer, mentioning complete details of agreement of sale.
Normally, purchase order or Letter of credit is opened on
the basis of this pro-forma invoice sent by the seller.
• A purchase order is considered a commercial document, meaning an
official confirmation of a sale, while a proforma invoice is a quote from a
sale, not a confirmation.
• That's why the terms in a proforma invoice are still subjected to change
while a purchase order is a legally binding agreement.