EPC plant equipment advance proforma invoice template
EPC plant equipment advance proforma invoice template: engineering, equipment, spares and supervision priced separately, plus the advance share.
Templates by industry
- Detail engineering and approval drawings
- Skid-mounted water treatment units, 3 sets
- Two-year operating spares package
- Erection supervision and commissioning, per engineer-day
Preparation guide
Example workflow
Confirm goods and delivery terms
Example: confirm the quantity and unit price of "Detail engineering and approval drawings", then the delivery terms, transport and insurance.
Set the validity and send
Check every line down to "Erection supervision and commissioning, per engineer-day", add the valid-until date and the prepayment account, and send the proforma to the buyer.
Invoice after payment or shipment
When the buyer pays or the goods ship, make the invoice from the proforma. The proforma stays unchanged as the offer the buyer accepted.
Buyers of process plant rarely pay on delivery. They pay an advance when the contract is signed, often against a bank guarantee from the supplier, and the rest at milestones. The proforma invoice is the paper the buyer’s finance office pays that advance against. This template splits engineering, the equipment itself, the spares and the supervision, so every milestone payment can name the lines it settles.
Fields to prepare
- Deliverables and line items
- Detail engineering and approval drawings, Skid-mounted water treatment units, 3 sets, Two-year operating spares package, Erection supervision and commissioning, per engineer-day: the goods or services and the quantities you intend to supply, at the prices you will invoice.
- Detail engineering and approval drawings
- List the drawings and calculations that need the buyer’s approval; a payment tied to approval stalls if the list is vague.
- Skid-mounted water treatment units, 3 sets
- Give the capacity, the number of sets and what each skid contains; later changes to the scope are easier to price against a clear first line.
- Two-year operating spares package
- Define the spares by hours of operation or by a numbered list, and say whether they ship with the plant or separately.
- Erection supervision and commissioning, per engineer-day
- Fix the daily rate, the number of days included and who pays travel and lodging; extra days then bill at the same rate.
- Delivery terms
- State the delivery terms (such as an Incoterm and the named place), how the goods travel and who insures them.
- Validity and prepayment
- Give the date the prices hold until and, if you ask for payment in advance, the account the buyer pays into.
- Scope to agree
- Quote the contract reference, state the advance as a share of the total, and tie the remaining payments to milestones such as drawing approval, dispatch and commissioning.
Before sending
- Does “Detail engineering and approval drawings” match the buyer’s order in quantity, unit price and currency?
- Does “Skid-mounted water treatment units, 3 sets” need an HS code or country of origin in its description for the buyer’s import licence?
- Can “Two-year operating spares package” ship in the quantity shown once the prepayment arrives?
Show 4 more
- Does “Erection supervision and commissioning, per engineer-day” match the buyer’s order in quantity, unit price and currency?
- Check that quantities, unit prices and currency match what the buyer ordered or asked you to quote.
- Add the HS code and country of origin to the item descriptions if the buyer needs them for an import licence.
- Check the valid-until date, the delivery terms and the prepayment account, and that the document says it is not a tax invoice.
Worked example: the advance for a water treatment package
The figures are an example, in dollars, with no tax because the plant is exported. A supplier prices the engineering, three treatment skids, a two-year spares package and twenty engineer-days of supervision. The contract fixes the advance at 20% of the total.
| Item | Quantity × unit price | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Detail engineering and approval drawings | 1 × $38,000.00 | $38,000.00 |
| Skid-mounted water treatment units, 3 sets | 3 × $64,000.00 | $192,000.00 |
| Two-year operating spares package | 1 × $14,500.00 | $14,500.00 |
| Erection supervision and commissioning, per engineer-day | 20 × $780.00 | $15,600.00 |
| Total | $260,100.00 | |
The four lines come to $260,100.00, and the proforma total is $260,100.00. The invoice for the advance later asks for 20% of that total; the balance follows the milestones in the contract, each one pointing back to these lines.
Common mistakes on a plant equipment advance proforma
- Leaving out the contract reference, so the buyer’s finance office cannot match the advance to the contract.
- Showing the advance as the only figure and hiding the total price it is a share of.
- Promising a guarantee date before the bank has agreed the wording of the guarantee.
- Listing the equipment as one lump line, which makes every later change to the scope hard to price.
- Treating estimated supervision days as fixed and then billing extra days without a stated rate.
What the document must show
These details make a proforma invoice easier to approve and to file.
- The seller's and the buyer's names and addresses
- Proforma number and issue date
- Each item with quantity and unit price; add the HS code and country of origin to the description if the import licence needs them
- Delivery terms (such as an Incoterm), transport and insurance
- Payment terms and the account for prepayment
- The date the proforma is valid until
- A statement that it is not a tax invoice
The sales tax depends on where the work is supplied, so set the rate that applies to your customer before sending.
Official rate reference: US government: state and local taxes
Frequently asked questions
Where does the contract number go?
Enter it in the contract reference field, so it prints with the proforma, and repeat it in the terms next to the advance. The buyer’s finance office usually matches payments to a contract, not to a proforma alone.
Is the proforma the advance itself or the whole price?
It shows the whole price. The advance is a share of it, written in the terms, for example a fixed percentage on signing; the invoice for the advance then asks for that share only.
How do I price supervision days that are not known yet?
Put an estimated number of days at a fixed daily rate and say that days worked beyond it are billed at the same rate. Both sides then know the first figure is an estimate.
Does the advance payment guarantee appear on the proforma?
Mention it in the terms with its amount and the date it takes effect. Your bank issues the guarantee separately, so check its wording with the bank before you promise a date.
What if the scope changes after the advance is paid?
Issue a revised proforma with a new number that shows the changed lines and names the one it replaces. The advance already paid is then set against the revised total.
How is tax calculated on this template?
The sales tax depends on where the work is supplied, so set the rate that applies to your customer before sending. The editor keeps the net amount, the tax and the total apart, and recalculates all three when you change a quantity, a unit price or the country setting.
Can I use it in another language or currency?
Yes. The document language can be set to any of 33 languages, and changing the country setting updates the currency, the date format and the tax rate.
Read next
Reading for the EPC plant equipment advance proforma invoice template: Proforma vs invoice and down payment invoice and Deposit invoice: bill upfront, then invoice the balance. The currency converter converts the amounts when you quote in another currency.