Creating a pro forma invoice

A pro forma invoice is a provisional invoice that has not yet been assigned an invoice number. This invoice gives an overview of the expected costs, without a payment actually having to be made for it yet. When you book a pro forma invoice, it is given a final invoice number and becomes an actual invoice.

Creating a pro forma invoice

Via settings > general > journals > automatic booking you can set per journal whether a pro forma has to be created first for this journal or whether an invoice number may be assigned straight away.

If the 'automatic booking' function is enabled, the invoice is booked immediately and is assigned a number.
If the 'automatic booking' function is disabled, the invoice is created without an invoice number being assigned. The invoice is shown as 'proforma' and is only given a number once it is actually booked.

There are a few points to note regarding the use of a pro forma:

• A pro forma invoice/credit note cannot be sent to the accountant
• A locked pro forma invoice cannot be booked
• Pro forma invoices/credit notes are included in the total calculations
• If the year of the invoice date of a pro forma invoice is changed, Robaws will not suggest changing the invoice number to that year

Booking a pro forma invoice

A pro forma invoice/credit note can be booked from the overview screen as well as from the detail screen, via a 'book' button.
As soon as you click this button, an invoice number is assigned to the invoice.

Updated on: 08/09/2026