Quotation, Proforma, Invoice or Receipt? What to Send and When

"Send me an invoice" often means "tell me the price". "Give me a receipt" sometimes means "give me the bill". Mixing these four documents up is harmless right up to the day there is a disagreement about money — and then it is the whole argument.

Here is each one, in the order it goes out.

1. Quotation — "this is what it will cost"

Sent before any work. A quotation is an offer: this scope, this price, valid for this long. It is not a demand for payment.

It should carry:

• Your business name, contact and registration details
• The client's name
• A quotation number and date
• Itemised scope — description, quantity, unit price, line total
• Subtotal, any tax, total
• Validity period — "valid for 14 days"
• Payment terms — deposit required, balance when
• Anything excluded ("price excludes transport beyond Accra")

The validity period is not decoration. It is what lets you re-price when steel or the cedi moves, without looking like you are changing your mind.

2. Proforma invoice — "this is what it will cost, in a form your accounts department can process"

Sent before work, when the client needs a bill-shaped document to release money. A proforma looks like an invoice, but it is still an estimate: it says "if you accept this, this is what you will be invoiced".

Companies, NGOs and government offices frequently ask for one so their finance team can raise a payment or a purchase order. It is not a record of a completed sale, so it does not belong in your income records — the real invoice that follows does.

Mark it clearly: PROFORMA INVOICE. The word matters.

3. Invoice — "this is now owed"

Sent when the work (or the agreed stage) is done, or when a deposit is due. An invoice is a demand for payment, and it is the document that creates a debt you can chase.

It must carry everything the quotation did, plus:

• A unique invoice number, in sequence and never reused
• The invoice date and a due date
• What is being billed — the work delivered, or the stage
• Deposit already received, and the balance due
• Exactly how to pay: MoMo number and registered name, or bank details
• Tax details if you are VAT-registered

Full format and a worked example: how to write an invoice in Ghana.

4. Receipt — "this has been paid"

Sent after money arrives. A receipt is proof of payment. It protects the client, and it protects you: it is the document that ends "but I paid you already".

It should show the amount received, the date, the payment method, which invoice it settles, and the remaining balance if any. Issue one for every payment — deposits included, cash especially.

The order, on one line

Quotation → (proforma, if asked) → Invoice → Receipt — and for staged work, an invoice and a receipt at each stage.

A worked sequence

Five short documents. Between them, there is nothing left to argue about: what was agreed, what was owed, what was paid, and when.

Common questions

Can I just send one document for everything? You can send fewer, and many workshops do — but then the price, the demand and the proof of payment all live in the same message, and none of them is clearly any of the three.

Is a quotation legally binding? Generally it is an offer, binding once accepted on its stated terms within its validity period — which is precisely why the validity period and the exclusions matter.

Do numbers have to run in sequence? Yes, and never reuse one. Sequence is how you and your client refer to the same document a year later, and it is what a tax officer or a court expects to see.

Must I issue a receipt for cash? Especially for cash. Cash you did not receipt is indistinguishable from cash you never received.

What if the client asks for a proforma and then never pays? Nothing has happened — a proforma is not a sale. Nothing enters your books, and no debt exists to chase.

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Fabri Manager produces all four from one place: a quotation becomes an invoice without retyping, recording a payment issues the receipt, and the numbering takes care of itself.

Related: how to get clients to pay on time · mobile money for business