Proforma Invoice Generator
Request payment before you supply with a proper proforma invoice — stamped ‘this is not a VAT invoice’, with a valid-until date and an optional deposit — then switch it to a real VAT invoice the moment it's paid. Free A4 PDF; editable Word on email.
1 Document type
A request for payment before you supply — not a VAT invoice.
2 Your business
3 Customer
4 Details
5 Items
6 Payment
PROFORMA INVOICE
From
To
| Description | Qty | Unit | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| No items yet | |||
| Subtotal | £0.00 | ||
Export this proforma
The A4 PDF is free to download now. Enter your email once to unlock the editable Word version and add your own logo.
- Editable Word template — reword it and reuse it
- Your own logo on the document (PDF & Word)
Was this tool useful?
We keep our trade tools free to use — no sign-up to run them and no pop-ups. If it helped, an honest review helps us improve these tools and helps other trade businesses find them.
Leave an honest Google reviewReviews are optional. Please only review based on your genuine experience.Most proforma templates dodge the two real questions
Every proforma template hands you a document that looks like an invoice — but skips the two things people actually search for: is it a VAT invoice I can reclaim VAT on, and is it a real demand for payment that goes in my accounts?
This tool answers both, on the document and in plain English, so you and your customer both know exactly what it is.
Stamped ‘not a VAT invoice’ — and it converts on payment
The proforma is clearly marked ‘This is not a VAT invoice’, uses a non-sequential reference (not an invoice number), and shows any VAT as indicative only — exactly as HMRC expects.
When the customer pays, flip the toggle to ‘Convert to VAT invoice’ and the same figures become a proper VAT invoice with a real invoice number. No retyping, no second tool.
Proforma vs a normal VAT invoice
Proforma invoice
A request for payment before you supply. Not a VAT invoice, no place in your accounts yet, VAT shown for reference only.
VAT invoice
Issued once the supply is made (or the proforma is paid). This is the document that goes in your books and your VAT return.
You can’t reclaim VAT from a proforma
HMRC is explicit: a proforma is not a VAT invoice, has ‘no place in the books of account’, and should be endorsed ‘This is not a VAT invoice’. Neither you nor your customer accounts for the VAT on it — that happens when the real VAT invoice is issued on payment.
(Verified against HMRC guidance VATREC9010, August 2026. Rules change — confirm your own position.)
Everything a proforma needs
A document aid, not tax advice
This builds a compliant proforma and the VAT invoice it becomes — it doesn't send it, take the payment or file anything with HMRC. Whether VAT applies, and at what rate, depends on your registration and the work.
The VAT points here were checked against HMRC guidance (2026), but confirm your own position — this is a document aid, not tax advice.
Turn it into a connected job workflow
FieldHive keeps the enquiry, quote, job, invoice and payment connected — so it's built from the accepted quote instead of retyped, and the numbers carry through.
Other free tools for your trade
More FieldHive document tools — and the calculators behind the figures.
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Build a professional quote or estimate — line items, VAT and a valid-until date.
price the job up front →Free Credit Note Generator
Correct or reduce an invoice — links to the original invoice, records the reason, reverses VAT correctly.
correct an invoice later →VAT Invoice Generator
A UK VAT invoice with every HMRC element — tax point and a per-rate VAT breakdown; full or simplified.
issue the VAT invoice →Proforma invoice questions
Quick answers to the questions people ask most.
From proforma to paid, in one place
Take the deposit, then bill the balance without retyping. FieldHive keeps the quote, proforma, invoice and payment connected — so the proforma becomes the VAT invoice the moment it's paid.
