Free Freight Shipment Proforma Invoice Template & Generator
A freight proforma quotes transport, not goods, so every line on it is a charge the shipper can be asked to settle before the cargo moves. It names the booking, the route and the trade term, the pieces, gross weight and cubic volume, and the chargeable unit the rate is actually applied to. Pickup, CFS handling, ocean freight, the fuel surcharge and documentation each sit on their own line, with destination charges shown apart because this booking puts them on the consignee's account.
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| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freight linehaul estimate | 1 | $2,850.00 | $2,850.00 |
| Fuel surcharge estimate | 1 | $485.00 | $485.00 |
| Customs handling estimate | 1 | $220.00 | $220.00 |
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Use-case checklist
What to include in a freight shipment proforma invoice
Freight bills go wrong in two places, and both are visible on this document or nowhere. The first is the chargeable unit. Four crates weighing 1,860 kg sound like the basis for the rate, but an LCL move is charged on weight or measure, and 6.4 cubic meters is what the ocean line bills against, so a shipper budgeting off tonnage under-reserves on every per-unit line at once. The second is everything that lives past the water. This booking is contracted with the destination CFS and handling on the consignee's account, and duty, import VAT and customs clearance at Hamburg are quoted by nobody on this page. Do not read that split as automatic: how destination terminal costs fall under CFR turns on what the seller's contract of carriage already covers, so check your own carriage and sale contracts rather than assuming the three letters settle it. When those charges surface on arrival the cargo sits, storage starts accruing once the free days run out, and the argument over who agreed to what gets settled by whichever document listed its exclusions.
- provider, shipper, consignee, origin, and destination
- cargo, pieces, weight, dimensions, and service
- linehaul, fuel, accessorial, customs, and destination charges
- currency, route, pickup, and transit assumptions
- validity, exclusions, payment, and proforma status
Example starting lines
| Description | Qty | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Freight linehaul estimate | 1 | $2,850 |
| Fuel surcharge estimate | 1 | $485 |
| Customs handling estimate | 1 | $220 |
Complete it cleanly
State shipper, consignee, origin, destination, cargo, weight, dimensions, service, Incoterm where relevant, pickup date, linehaul, fuel, accessorial assumptions, customs, currency, validity, and preliminary status.
How to make a freight shipment 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 freight forwarders, carriers, exporters, and shippers. 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 freight shipment lines
Replace each sample line with the real work or goods. Make sure the document shows provider, shipper, consignee, origin, and destination, cargo, pieces, weight, dimensions, and service, linehaul, fuel, accessorial, customs, and destination charges.
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
State shipper, consignee, origin, destination, cargo, weight, dimensions, service, Incoterm where relevant, pickup date, linehaul, fuel, accessorial assumptions, customs, currency, validity, and preliminary status. Preview is free; a PDF download costs $4.99, or is included with Unlimited.
Worked example
Four crates of tooling, Cleveland to Hamburg, quoted LCL on weight or measure
Kestrel Lane Logistics quotes Dunmore Tool and Die of Cleveland, OH on Sep 14, 2026 for four crates of press tooling moving to Vosskamp Werkzeug GmbH in Hamburg, sold CFR Hamburg under Incoterms 2020, consolidated through the Chicago CFS with cargo ready Oct 5, 2026.
- Booking KL-77214, shipper Dunmore Tool and Die, consignee Vosskamp Werkzeug GmbH, CFR Hamburg (Incoterms 2020) via CFS Chicago
- Cargo ready Oct 5, 2026
- Cargo, 4 crates, 1,860 kg gross, 6.4 cbm; LCL charged on weight or measure, so volume governs
- 6.4 W/M chargeable
- Export pickup, 48-foot dry van, Cleveland plant dock to Chicago CFS
- $685.00
- Export documentation and electronic export filing
- $65.00
- Origin CFS receiving and handling, 6.4 W/M at $18.50
- $118.40
- Ocean freight LCL, Chicago CFS to Hamburg CFS, 6.4 W/M at $86.00
- $550.40
- Fuel and bunker surcharge, 6.4 W/M at $14.00
- $89.60
- Origin terminal and bill of lading fee, flat
- $85.00
- Total prepaid and payable to Kestrel Lane before the cargo is tendered to the carrier
- $1,593.40
- Memo, not payable here: destination CFS and terminal handling 6.4 W/M at $22.00 ($140.80) plus destination handling ($95.00), on the consignee's account as this booking is contracted; German duty, import VAT and customs clearance are not quoted
- $235.80 estimated
Marine cargo insurance is not included and is not arranged unless requested in writing. The recurring error is quoting off gross weight: 1,860 kg is 1.86 metric tons, but 6.4 cbm rules every per-unit line.
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 crates weigh 1,860 kg. Why is the rate applied to 6.4?
Because an LCL move is charged on weight or measure, whichever is greater, and 6.4 cubic meters outranks 1.86 metric tons here. Every per-unit line runs off that 6.4: ocean freight at $86.00 is $550.40, the fuel surcharge at $14.00 is $89.60, CFS receiving at $18.50 is $118.40. A shipper budgeting off tonnage comes up short on all three at once. Get the built crates measured before you request a rate rather than after.
We sold CFR Hamburg. Why are destination charges on our document at all if we are not paying them?
So nobody is surprised at arrival. This booking is contracted with the destination CFS and handling, $235.80 in this example, on the consignee's account, while German duty, import VAT and customs clearance are quoted by nobody on this page. Do not treat that split as a fixed rule of the term: under CFR what the seller's contract of carriage covers at destination is what decides who pays the terminal side, so confirm the allocation against your own carriage and sale contracts. Showing the charges as a memo tells the consignee what is coming without folding it into your $1,593.40, and the consignee should still confirm clearance costs with their own broker, because this quotation covers transport only.
The truck waited three hours at our dock and the driver needed a liftgate. Will the invoice still match this quote?
No, and that is normal. Accessorials price what actually happened: detention past the free time, liftgate service, a second pickup attempt when the crates are not ready, storage once free days at destination run out. List the assumptions the rate was built on, dock-level loading, two hours free at pickup, cargo ready on the stated date, and print the charge for each accessorial beside them. An invoice exceeding the proforma by charges it never named is the one that gets disputed.
Can our consignee clear customs in Hamburg with this proforma?
Plan on no. This is a transport quotation from the forwarder, not a commercial invoice for the goods, and it carries no goods value, no commodity classification and no country of origin. Clearance is normally filed against the seller's commercial invoice matched to the packing list and the bill of lading. Ask the customs broker at destination which documents they need and in what form well before the vessel arrives, because storage accrues while a file sits incomplete.
The CFS remeasured the crates at 7.1 cbm instead of 6.4. How much does that move?
Every per-unit line, and only those. Ocean freight goes from $550.40 to $610.60, CFS receiving from $118.40 to $131.35 and the fuel surcharge from $89.60 to $99.40, which is $82.95 more and a revised total of $1,676.35. Pickup, documentation and the bill of lading fee are flat and do not move at all. The forwarder bills off the CFS measurement rather than off your packing list, so measure the built crates at their widest point including skids and any overhang, declare that figure, and ask for the measurement certificate whenever a line comes back larger than what you declared.
More proforma invoice templates
Start with the closest business workflow and adjust the details.