Free Custom Order Proforma Invoice Template & Generator
Before a shop cuts material for a one-off part, the proforma is where the buyer confirms what they are actually buying: the drawing number, revision and date being quoted, the material and finish, the quantity, the one-time tooling, the first-article sample and the freight. It splits the deposit that releases material from the balance due at shipment, and states what a cancellation costs once the sheet is on the table.
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| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom fabricated units | 40 | $185.00 | $7,400.00 |
| One-time tooling | 1 | $950.00 | $950.00 |
| Freight estimate | 1 | $420.00 | $420.00 |
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Use-case checklist
What to include in a custom order proforma invoice
Two things go wrong on custom work, and both are settled on this document. The first is revision drift. The buyer sends rev C, you quote rev C, and two weeks later an engineer issues rev D without telling purchasing. If the proforma does not name the drawing, the revision and its date, nothing on file shows which print fifteen hundred parts were cut to, and the cost of the wrong ones has no obvious owner. The second is burying tooling and freight inside the unit price. Do that and the buyer reads $11.35 as the price of a bracket, so the reorder that should run at $9.40 a piece comes back as a complaint about a price increase that never happened.
- seller, buyer, and project reference
- specification or drawing revision
- quantity, material, finish, and price
- tooling, freight, deposit, and lead time
- approval, cancellation, validity, and preliminary status
Example starting lines
| Description | Qty | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Custom fabricated units | 40 | $185 |
| One-time tooling | 1 | $950 |
| Freight estimate | 1 | $420 |
Complete it cleanly
Describe the approved specification or drawing revision, quantities, material or finish, tooling, samples, lead time, freight, deposit, cancellation limits, validity, and proforma status.
How to make a custom order proforma invoice in 6 steps
Open the proforma invoice generator
Start from this page so the proforma invoice opens with fields and sample lines already set up for makers, fabricators, and custom-product sellers. No account is needed to create or preview.
Enter both parties
Add your business name, address and contact details, then the customer name and address exactly as they should appear on the record.
Add the custom order lines
Replace each sample line with the real work or goods. Make sure the document shows seller, buyer, and project reference, specification or drawing revision, quantity, material, finish, and price.
Check the figures
Totals calculate as you type. Confirm quantities, rates, any tax line and the final total against your own records before you send anything.
Set the reference and dates
Give the proforma invoice a unique number and the correct date so it can be traced later and matched to related documents.
Review and download the PDF
Describe the approved specification or drawing revision, quantities, material or finish, tooling, samples, lead time, freight, deposit, cancellation limits, validity, and proforma status. Preview is free; a PDF download costs $4.99, or is included with Unlimited.
Worked example
1,500 aluminum brackets with tooling and first article priced apart
Bellhouse Fabrication Co. of Grand Rapids, MI issues proforma PF-CO-1092 on September 10, 2026 to Tidewater Outfitters LLC in Charleston, SC for rod-holder brackets built to Tidewater's drawing TW-4417 rev C. No material is cut until the deposit clears and the first article is approved in writing.
- Specification governing this order
- Drawing TW-4417 rev C, dated August 28, 2026, 0.125 in 5052 aluminum, black textured powder coat
- Production quantity, 1,500 brackets at $9.40 each
- $14,100.00
- One-time tooling, press-brake form tooling and laser nest fixture, non-refundable once cut
- $2,250.00
- First-article sample set, three pieces, billed now and credited on written approval
- $435.00
- Freight, LTL Grand Rapids MI to Charleston SC, prepaid and added
- $680.00
- Proforma total before the first-article credit
- $17,465.00
- Deposit before material is cut, 40% of the production line plus tooling in full
- $7,890.00
- Balance at shipment, total less the deposit and less the $435.00 first-article credit
- $9,140.00
- Lead time
- Sample ships 6 business days from cleared deposit, production 12 business days from written first-article approval
- Validity and cancellation
- Priced through October 10, 2026; after material is cut, cancellation bills tooling in full plus cut material
The revision line is what saves the job. A proforma reading only rod-holder brackets, 1,500 pieces gives you nothing to point at when a newer print surfaces and the parts in the crate no longer match it. All parties and figures here are invented.
When this document is the right choice
Use this proforma invoice to show an expected transaction before a final invoice exists. A proforma invoice is a preliminary commercial document, not a final tax invoice or proof that payment is due. Replace it with the final invoice when the transaction is confirmed.
Frequently asked questions
The buyer sent a new revision after I issued the proforma. Do I amend it or start over?
Reissue under a new proforma number and let the old one lapse, rather than editing the document the buyer already has in a folder. Two live versions of the same number is how a shop ends up cutting to a print nobody approved. Show what actually changed: if rev D adds a second bend, the unit price and the tooling line may both move, and the lead time restarts from the new first-article approval rather than from the original deposit.
Who owns the tooling once the buyer has paid for it?
That depends on what the two of you agreed, and it is worth writing down rather than assuming, because shops and buyers often assume opposite answers. Paying a tooling charge is not automatically the same as buying the tooling, and the practical questions are whether the buyer can demand it be shipped to another shop and how long you are expected to store it. Put the answer on the proforma in a sentence, and ask an attorney to review your standard wording.
Should the first-article sample be free?
Bill it and credit it, which is what the example does. Charging the $435.00 means the sample run is funded even if the order dies at approval, and crediting it against the balance means an order that proceeds pays for the parts once. The mechanics have to be visible: the total shows $17,465.00 including the sample, and the balance line shows $9,140.00 after both the deposit and the credit, so the buyer can see where the $435.00 went.
How do I price a reorder so the buyer does not expect the tooling included again?
Keep tooling on its own line from the first proforma so the reorder can simply omit it. A repeat of 1,500 brackets to the same rev C print is $14,100.00 in parts plus freight, with no tooling line, because the tooling exists. If you had quoted a blended $11.35 per piece on the first order, the reorder at $9.40 plus freight looks arbitrary, and you spend the call explaining a number that was always two costs stacked together.
Do I quote 1,500 pieces exactly, or allow for an overrun and underrun?
Say which on the proforma, because a nested laser job rarely lands on an exact count once setup pieces and scrap come out, and a buyer who ordered 1,500 and receives 1,478 reads it as a short shipment unless the document said it could happen. The common shape is a stated tolerance, plus or minus a small percentage, with the order billed at the quantity actually shipped at the same $9.40 a piece. If Tidewater genuinely needs 1,500 usable parts in the crate, say that instead and build the run to clear the count after inspection, and price it that way, because guaranteeing a firm count and quoting a tolerance are two different jobs.
More proforma invoice templates
Start with the closest business workflow and adjust the details.