What the PI actually is
The proforma invoice is not an invoice — it is the order’s constitution. Configuration, price, trade term, lead time, payment structure and the document list, one page, issued before money moves. Buyers who treat it as a formality sign whatever arrives; buyers who treat it as the contract read it line by line and correct it while corrections are free. This guide covers the five fields to read and the payment structures commonly used, with the trade-term half in our EXW / FOB / CIF guide.
The five fields to read first
- Configuration, spelled out. Model, capacity plate basis, mast stage and collapsed height, attachments, charger, tires — the same lines the acceptance routine verifies on arrival. A PI without configuration is an order for a surprise.
- Price and its term, with the named place: FOB Shenzhen and FOB Ningbo are different commitments.
- Lead time, as a ready date plus transit, with the cause of any range stated — the structure from the lead-times guide.
- Payment structure — the subject of the next section.
- Document list: certificate scope, load chart, manuals, packing list. Every line has a job at customs or acceptance; the EU guide shows the full stack for that market.
Payment structures, plainly
Cross-border machinery orders commonly use staged structures: a deposit on PI confirmation to schedule production, a further payment against a production milestone such as pre-shipment inspection, and the balance against shipping documents. The exact percentages are negotiated per order and are yours to agree; what matters from this side is that each stage releases against evidence — a ready-date confirmation, inspection results, document copies — rather than against calendar optimism. Buyers new to the process should run any structure past their own bank and adviser; payment instruments and local rules vary, and our role is to state the stages clearly, not to advise on instruments.
| Stage | Releases against | Why the stage exists |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit on PI | Signed PI + configuration confirmation | Books the production slot and materials |
| Milestone payment | Pre-shipment inspection results, photos | Aligns cash with verified progress |
| Balance | Shipping documents copies | Closes the order against the documents that move it |
The corrections that are free now and expensive later
Configuration errors corrected at PI stage cost an email; the same errors corrected at the port cost a delay, and at acceptance cost a claim. This is why the PI stage deserves your slowest reading of the entire order: check the load chart is the right one for your load centers, the mast collapsed height against your doorways, and the charger against your site supply. Every line you verify here is a line that never becomes a conversation.
How our quotations run
Every Granvolt quotation states the configuration, the term with named place, the ready date per line, and the document list; the PI converts it to the order constitution with the payment stages written in full. Response runs within 12 hours on average from the engineering team, and the 100 percent load-test statement behind every unit is part of what the milestone inspection reads. Buyers who arrive with the duty cycle get a PI worth reading slowly — which is the only kind worth signing.
Version control for the PI
PIs get revised — a mast option, a charger variant, a delivery window — and unmanaged revisions are how two parties end up building different trucks with confidence. The working practice is unglamorous: every PI carries a version number and date; every change reissues the full document rather than a markup; and the signed latest version is the only one anyone references. Attach the same discipline to the payment stages — each release cites the PI version it belongs to — and the order’s paperwork becomes a single thread any auditor, banker or colleague can follow. Five minutes of version hygiene at each revision protects a configuration you may be running for a decade; the PI is short, but it is the longest-lived document in the deal.
Common PI mistakes, so you can skip them
A short list from the orders that went sideways before they went well: configuration written as a model number with no options listed; a lead time stated as a month instead of a ready date plus transit; payment stages without the evidence that releases each one; a document list forgotten until customs asked for it; and — the classic — a PI signed by someone who never read the load chart. Every one of these is corrected by the five-field read this guide opened with, done slowly, once. The PI rewards exactly one behaviour: a buyer who treats the quietest page of the deal as its most important, because everything loud that follows — production, shipping, arrival, acceptance — inherits whatever that page said.
Frequently asked questions
What is a proforma invoice for a forklift order?
The order’s constitution: configuration, price and trade term with named place, lead time, payment stages and document list — issued and confirmed before money moves.
How are payments usually structured?
In stages against evidence: a deposit on PI confirmation, a milestone payment against pre-shipment inspection, and balance against shipping documents. Exact percentages are negotiated per order with your bank and adviser.
What should I verify on the PI before signing?
Configuration line by line, price and term with named place, ready date with cause, payment stages, and the document list — the five fields that are cheap to correct now.
Which trade terms do you quote?
FOB, EXW and CIF, always with the named place — Shenzhen or Ningbo. The trade-terms guide explains what each assigns to buyer and seller.
What documents ship with the machine?
Certificate scope, load chart, manuals and packing list — the list on the PI, each line with a compliance or acceptance job.