Quotation against proforma invoice
Both documents put a price on goods before anything ships, and plenty of businesses use the words interchangeably. They are not the same thing commercially, and the difference matters most when a buyer treats one as binding.
Send a quotation to open a conversation about price. Send a proforma when the buyer needs a formal document to act on — to open a letter of credit, to apply for an import licence, or to release funds — and accept that it is close to an offer.
| Quotation | Proforma Invoice | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Price an enquiry. | Give the buyer something to act on. |
| Commitment | An indication, unless it says otherwise. | Usually treated as an offer. |
| Bank use | Rarely accepted. | What a letter of credit is opened against. |
| Import licence | Generally not accepted. | Commonly required. |
| Format | Free. Prose is fine. | Invoice layout, with reference and totals. |
| Next document | A proforma, or a purchase order. | A commercial invoice once shipped. |
Put a validity date on both
A quotation without an expiry is arguably open indefinitely while your input costs move underneath it. Thirty days is the common default, and it is the single cheapest protection on either document. State what happens if raw material prices or freight rates change inside that window, particularly on a long lead time.
Where the sequence usually runs
Request for quotation, quotation, purchase order, sales confirmation — that is the classic chain, and the proforma slots in where the buyer needs a formal document before raising the order. On smaller transactions the proforma frequently replaces the quotation entirely, which is fine as long as you know you have skipped the non-binding step.
A priced offer to supply, stating validity, lead time and the Incoterms the price is quoted on.
A binding quotation in invoice form, issued before shipment so the buyer can open a letter of credit or arrange an import licence.
+Can a quotation become a contract?
It can, if it is specific enough and the buyer accepts it unconditionally. Marking it clearly as an indication rather than a firm offer, and stating a validity period, is how you keep control.
+Which do I send with a sample shipment?
A proforma. Samples still need a value for customs even when supplied free of charge, and a quotation will not clear them.
Judge it by the document, not the feature list.
The generator on this page is the product, prefilled and editable. Fill it in and download the finished PDF — then decide.
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