PRO FORMA INVOICES
Pro forma invoices
In EasyTrans it is possible to create and send pro forma invoices. A pro forma invoice is an unofficial, preliminary invoice that offers a buyer information about the services that you are going to provide.
In most cases, a pro forma invoice is sent after an offer has been accepted, but before you actually start delivering. With a pro forma invoice, you can, for example, ask your customer for an advance payment. A pro forma invoice is also often used in international trade. A pro forma invoice then serves as information with which a buyer can complete certain customs formalities, such as customs clearance documents. To be able to apply for these documents, a buyer must be able to show exactly what he wants to import. A pro forma invoice offers a solution.
The main difference between a pro forma invoice and a regular invoice is that a pro forma invoice is not a legally valid document. This means that, in principle, a buyer is not bound to pay on the basis of this document. However, in the case of an advance payment, you will of course make agreements with each other about this. Because a pro forma invoice is not an official document, you do not include it in your administration. After all, payment is only required after a ‘real’ invoice has been sent. The pro forma invoice that you create in EasyTrans clearly states that it is a pro forma invoice, so that no confusion can arise among your customers.
Create and send pro forma invoice
In EasyTrans you can very easily create and/or send a pro forma invoice from an order. The specified data in your order, such as prices and goods, are transferred to the pro forma invoice.
You can create the pro forma invoice as a PDF document and share it with your customer. In addition, it is of course also possible to send the pro forma invoice directly from EasyTrans to your customer.
Create a pro forma invoice
In EasyTrans you can very easily create a pro forma invoice from an order as a PDF file. The specified data in your order, such as prices and goods, are transferred to the pro forma invoice.
- In the main menu, go to ‘Planning’ > ‘New order’.
- Enter a new order as usual.
Check the price calculations and other data that are important for your pro forma invoice. - Create the pro forma invoice:
- Click (at the bottom of your order screen) on ‘Create Document’.
- Select at ‘Choose the document type’ > ‘Proforma invoice’.
- Click on ‘Create document’.
- The pro forma invoice is created as a PDF document.
- Click on ‘Back to the order’.
The pro forma invoice has now been created as a PDF document.
Send pro forma invoice with order confirmation
You can send your customers an order confirmation by email from your planning environment. You can optionally attach a pro forma invoice to an order confirmation.
- In the main menu, go to ‘Planning’ > ‘New order’.
- Enter a new order as usual.
Check the price calculations and other data that are important for your pro forma invoice. - Send the pro forma invoice as an attachment to your order confirmation:
- Under ‘Order details’ click on the mail icon next to ‘Customer’.
- (If necessary) Select the contacts who should receive the order confirmation with the pro forma invoice.
- Check your settings regarding the sharing of your sales rates.
- Click ‘Send with proforma’.
- (If necessary) Click ‘Save & Close’ to save the order and return to your order overview.
The pro forma invoice is sent as a PDF document attached to your order confirmation.
Tip: You can also send order confirmations of several orders at once via your order overview. Select the orders and use the bath operation ‘Order confirmation to customer’.
Send pro forma invoice with quotation
You can send your customers a quote by email from your order screen. Optionally, you can attach a pro forma invoice to a quote.
- In the main menu, go to ‘Planning’ > ‘New order’.
- Enter a new order as usual.
Check the price calculations and other data that are important for your pro forma invoice. - Send the pro forma invoice as an attachment to your quotation:
- Under ‘Order details’, click on the mail icon next to ‘Customer’.
- (If necessary) Select the contacts who should receive the quotation with the pro forma invoice.
- Check your settings regarding the sharing of your sales rates.
- Click ‘Send with proforma’.
- (If necessary) Click ‘Save & Close’ to save the order and return to your order overview.
The pro forma invoice is sent as a PDF document attached to your quote.
Pro forma invoice management
A pro forma invoice can be used for various purposes. For example, it can serve as information or as a document with which you request advance payment from your customer. Of course, in both cases you want to keep an eye on the process of your pro forma invoice.
As soon as you have created or sent a pro forma invoice for an order, you can see this in both the order itself and in your order overview.
Marker in order overview
As soon as you have created or sent a pro forma invoice for an order, the order is marked as ‘Pro forma has been created’ in your order overview. In your order overview you can easily see for which orders pro forma invoices have been created and/or sent.
Marker in order
Because pro forma invoices are often used for advance payments, EasyTrans has functionality that allows you to track advance payments and deduct them from the regular invoice. When you create or send a pro forma invoice, an additional field ‘Pre-paid’ appears in the price calculation of your order. You can use this field to record (partial) payments. The ‘Pre-paid’ field is also a marker showing that a pro forma invoice has been created or sent.
Remove Markers
Is it no longer necessary to keep track of whether a pro forma has been created or sent? Then you can remove the markers by clicking on the ‘Proforma created’ icon in your order overview.
Example entry of pro forma invoice marking in the EasyTrans order overview (click to enlarge)
Advance payments
Do you use pro forma invoices to receive advance payments? For example, do you require a deposit before you actually deliver? There are now functionalities available in the Transport Management System EasyTrans for handling advance payments.
Pro forma invoice for advance payments
A pro forma invoice is often used to receive advance payments. Because a pro forma is not a legally valid document, a prior agreement is made with the buyer. To avoid any confusion, the pro forma invoices that you create in EasyTrans are clearly marked as pro forma invoices.
The tax authorities do not have any requirements regarding the numbering of pro forma invoices, however it is not permitted to use the same invoice number for pro forma invoices and sales invoices. Therefore, the numbers on pro forma invoices of EasyTrans Software refers to the order number to which the pro forma invoice belongs. In this way, you always maintain a clear insight into your administration, and you know which payment belongs to which party.
In most cases, a pro forma invoice is sent after acceptance of a quotation, but before you actually deliver. In EasyTrans, it is possible to send a pro forma invoice with both your quotations and your order confirmations. Of course, it is also possible to create the pro forma invoice as a PDF document. No matter how you share your pro forma invoices, EasyTrans has functionalities available that allow you to manage advance payments.
The data from your order is used for the pro forma invoice. For example, the calculated rates in your order are used on the pro forma invoice. After creating and/or sending a pro forma invoice, you can monitor whether you have received payment in the price calculation of your order.
Track payments
When you have sent or created a pro forma invoice, in the price calculation in your order appears the field ‘Pre-paid’. In this field you can record (partial) payments.
It is possible that a customer pays less than requested, or that there are extra costs at a later stage in the order process. For example, costs due to waiting times that you want to charge to the customer. The amount you enter under ‘Pre-paid’ is deducted from the total order amount. In your order, you will therefore immediately see what amount is still left to pay.
Example entry pro forma ‘Pre-paid’ EasyTrans (click to enlarge)
Payment marking order overview
There are markers in your order overview for each stage in advance payments. These markers are ‘Pro forma created’, ‘Order has been paid’ and ‘Order has been partially paid’. In your order overview you can therefore easily see for which quotation/order you have created a pro forma invoice and for which quotation/order a (partial) prepayment has been done.
Tip: Do you use the customer portal? Then your customer can also see in the order which amount has already been paid.
Pro forma markers for advance payments order overview; Created, Paid, Partially Paid (click to enlarge)
Invoicing
After receiving a (partial) payment for the transport order, you can process the order as usual. When invoicing the order, the amount that was already paid is deducted from the invoice total. Has the order already been fully paid? Then this is shown on the invoice. Is the order only partially paid? Then the remaining outstanding amount will be invoiced.
