Proforma Invoice: Meaning, Free Template and When to Use One in Nigeria

Nigerian businesses ask for proforma invoices every day — a client’s finance team needs one to raise a payment, a school wants one before approving supplies, an importer needs one from the overseas factory before the bank will open Form M. Searches for the term run at about 2,900 a month in Nigeria. Yet most templates online are built for American freelancers and say nothing about VAT, naira or customs.

Last checked 15 October 2026. VAT rate and VAT invoice rules from the Nigeria Tax Act 2025. Form M requirements from bank and inspection-agency guidance; confirm the current list with your bank before an import.

What a proforma invoice is — and is not

A proforma invoice says, in invoice form, what you will charge if the deal goes ahead. It has the same layout as an invoice — your details, the buyer’s details, line items, totals — but it is a preview. You do not record it as income, the buyer does not record it as a debt, and nobody pays it as such. When the sale happens, you issue the real invoice with the same lines.

When Nigerian businesses use one

• Advance payment. You need part-payment before buying materials. The proforma gives the client a formal document to pay against, and the final invoice records the sale.
• Corporate and government buyers. Procurement teams need a document with your registered name, BN or RC number and Tax ID to raise a purchase order.
• Imports. The overseas supplier’s proforma is a required document for Form M, the first step in importing goods into Nigeria.
• Loan and grant applications. Lenders financing equipment want a supplier’s proforma showing exactly what the money buys.
• Exports. Your foreign buyer may need your proforma to arrange payment or an import permit in their own country.

What to put on it

1. The words PROFORMA INVOICE at the top, and a proforma number on its own series (PF-0001), so it is never mistaken for a sales invoice.
2. Your registered business name, address, BN or RC number and Tax ID.
3. The buyer’s name and address, and their purchase-order number if they gave one.
4. Issue date and a validity date — “valid until” — because prices and exchange rates move.
5. Each line: description, quantity, unit price, line total. For goods, add model, specification and packaging.
6. Subtotal, VAT at 7.5% where the supply is taxable, and the total.
7. Payment terms (for example, 50% advance, balance on delivery) and your bank details.
8. Delivery terms: delivery date or lead time, and for international sales the Incoterm (EXW, FOB, CIF).

Copy-ready template

PROFORMA INVOICE                         No: PF-0001
Issue date: 15/10/2026              Valid until: 14/11/2026

FROM: Adaeze Prints Ltd · RC 1234567 · Tax ID 1234567890123
      12 Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos · accounts@adaezeprints.ng
TO:   Bright Future Schools · 4 School Road, Abuja · PO ref: BFS-PO-118

Description                       Qty   Unit price     Total
Branded exercise books, A4 80pg   500   ₦850       ₦425,000
School crest printing, 2 colours  500   ₦150        ₦75,000
                                           Subtotal  ₦500,000
                                           VAT 7.5%   ₦37,500
                                           TOTAL     ₦537,500

Payment terms: 50% advance (₦268,750), balance on delivery.
Delivery: 10 working days after advance received.
Bank: Example Bank · Adaeze Prints Ltd · 0123456789

This is a proforma invoice, not a demand for payment.
A VAT invoice will be issued on delivery.

VAT on a proforma

Show the VAT, because the buyer needs to budget for it, but understand what the document is. Under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 VAT is 7.5% on taxable supplies, and the VAT invoice the buyer uses to recover input VAT is the one issued for the actual supply. A proforma does not do that job. If you are VAT-registered, the final invoice must carry the details the Act requires, and under the NRS e-invoicing rollout it may also need to go through the Merchant-Buyer Solution once your size band is enforced — large taxpayers first, medium and smaller businesses in later phases. See the e-invoicing guide and how to calculate VAT.

Proforma invoices for imports and Form M

If you import, the proforma comes from your overseas supplier and goes to your bank with Form M on the Nigeria Single Window. Banks and inspection agents ask for a proforma that describes the goods in detail — generic name, brand, model or reference, specification, quantity and packaging — with the manufacturer’s and importer’s names and addresses, the shipment terms and the value. Nigerian guidance commonly treats the proforma as valid for about 90 days for this purpose, and the insurance certificate is usually required at 110% of the invoice value. Requirements are set by the bank and the Central Bank of Nigeria and change, so get your bank’s current checklist before you ask the supplier for the document.

Common mistakes

• Sharing a number series with invoices. Auditors and the tax authority expect invoice numbers to run without gaps. A proforma that is never converted leaves a hole.
• No validity date. A proforma accepted three months later at last quarter’s price is a loss you agreed to in writing.
• Different lines on the final invoice. If the buyer paid against the proforma, any change needs their agreement first.
• Booking it as revenue. Only the invoice is a sale. Recording proformas as income inflates your turnover — which also matters for the small-company threshold.

From proforma to paid in one flow

In ereQa the proforma job is done by a quote: you build it with the same line items, VAT and terms, send the client a link, and they accept it online. One click converts the accepted quote into an invoice with the same lines and its own invoice number, so nothing is retyped and the two series never mix. Quotes are on the Pro plan and above; see how quotes work or start free.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Fees, forms and bank rules change; confirm with the agency, your bank or a licensed adviser before you rely on a figure.