Commercial Invoice Template

What Is a Commercial Invoice Used For?

A Commercial Invoice is used during exporting which will act as legal confirmation that a sale has occurred between two parties. The main use of this invoice is to ensure that everything goes smoothly when it reaches customs and to evaluate whether the purchased goods are subject to taxation or not.

The document will also help ensure that payment goes through and it also allows the person importing the goods to double-check if the received goods, as well as the quality and quantity of these goods, correspond to the information written in the document.

Commercial Vs Pro Forma Invoice

Although both a Commercial and Pro Forma Invoice are concerned with exporting and importing goods and are virtually identical to the naked eye, there are some big differences between them that are important to understand:

• A Pro Forma Invoice includes an approximation in regards to endured costs that will be included in order to successfully ship certain goods . It should be as accurate as possible to give customers an idea of what costs will be involved in order for them to make a decision regarding whether or not they want to purchase these goods;
• A Pro Forma Invoice is used if the buying and selling parties have not worked simultaneously before;
• A Commercial Invoice includes concrete information . All of the information included on a Commercial Invoice including the price and specific number of goods ordered are exact. It produces the total sum that needs to be paid and outlines each specific item and service that is included in the invoice.

In these cases, if the selling party has no real way to give a definite answer regarding the exact costs involved, they should seek to be as detailed as possible and also outline any factors that may affect the price.

How to Make a Commercial Invoice?

Making a Commercial Invoice is fairly simple as long as you are aware of the Commercial Invoice Format. To ensure that you follow the appropriate format and include all of the correct information, we would recommend using a blank Commercial Invoice from our list of Commercial Invoice templates. These templates already contain the necessary structure and would only require you to make the necessary edits specific to your business and the goods that you are shipping. Information on how to do this can be found below:

• Include the details about the person sending out these items . This should include their full name and mailing address. If the selling party is a business, they should include the name of the business along with any relevant contact details;
• Include details about the client or business that the goods are being sent to . It should include the name and address to where the item should be sent to. In some cases (particularly with businesses), this may differ from the billing address therefore it is important to double-check this information;
• Include a unique number assigned to this specific invoice which will make it easier to keep track of payment;
• Include the conditions of the sale particularly the country of origin, the destination, the paid sum, and the currency in which the payment has/will be paid in;
• Detail the items including what they are, what materials they are made from as well as the quantity of each item included in the parcel;
• Details about where each item was made;
• How much the parcel and each individual item within the parcel weighs;
• The seller should sign and date the invoice.

It is important to remember to write the invoice in the language of the intended country for delivery. This will help speed up the process once the parcel arrives at customs.

Still looking for a particular template? Take a look at the related templates below:

• Independent Contractor Invoice Template;
• Vendor Invoice Template;
• eBay Invoice Template.