Psalm/Quote, invoice or receipt
A guide for UK businesses · Updated 5 October 2026
A quote offers a price before the work starts, a proforma invoice asks for payment before you supply anything, an invoice asks to be paid for what you have supplied, and a receipt confirms that the money arrived. A quote and a proforma are never VAT invoices, an invoice with the right details is, and a receipt is one only when there was no invoice and it carries the details HMRC asks for.
The generators are free, need no account, and nothing you type leaves your device.
The four documents
Each document answers a different question for the customer. A quote asks “what will it cost?”, a proforma asks “will you pay before I begin?”, an invoice asks “will you pay for what I have done?” and a receipt says “thank you, that has arrived”. gov.uk puts the last two apart in one line of its invoicing guidance, read on 5 October 2026: an invoice is not the same as a receipt, which is an acknowledgement of payment.
| Document and when | What it does | Is it a VAT invoice? |
|---|---|---|
| Quote, before the work | Offers a price for described work and leaves the customer free to decide | Never |
| Proforma invoice, before you supply | Sets out the work and asks for the full price or a deposit before you start | Never. HMRC says to mark it so |
| Invoice, after you supply | Asks to be paid for what you have supplied | Yes, with the VAT invoice details. You must give one to a VAT registered customer for standard or reduced rate supplies |
| Receipt, after the money arrives | Confirms how much was paid, when and how | Only when there was no invoice and it carries the details HMRC asks for |
Sources: gov.uk, Invoicing and taking payment from customers; HMRC, VAT Notice 700, paragraphs 16.2.1, 16.6 and 17.3. All read on 5 October 2026.
Each has a free generator, with no account: the quote generator, the proforma invoice generator, the invoice generator and the receipt generator.
One job
Here is the oak worktop job for Charlotte Hayes from Whitmore Interiors, a VAT registered firm in London, from first price to final payment. The firm, the customer and every figure are invented.
| Document | What it says | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Quote Q-0014 | Offers the job for £3,000.00 with VAT, and the price stands for 30 days | £3,000.00 |
| 2. Proforma invoice P-0007 | Asks for a 30% deposit before the work is booked, marked as not a VAT invoice | £900.00 |
| 3. VAT invoice D-0031 and receipt R-0019 | The deposit has arrived: a VAT invoice for it, and a receipt that confirms it was paid | £900.00 |
| 4. Invoice I-0042 | The whole job, less the deposit already received, asking for the balance | £2,100.00 |
| 5. Receipt R-0020 | The balance has arrived, so £3,000.00 has now been received in all | £2,100.00 |
Invented firm, invented customer, invented figures. Step 3 is two documents because a payment that arrives is a payment you confirm, and the VAT on a deposit is due when it arrives. Money received: £900.00 + £2,100.00 = £3,000.00.
The deposit and the balance are worked out line by line, with the VAT, in how to invoice a deposit. Skip steps 2, 3 and 5 for a small job and the chain is a quote, an invoice and, if asked, a receipt.
Quote and estimate
No. A quote is a fixed price for work you have described, and once the customer accepts it you have a contract at that price. An estimate is a best guess and can move, and where no price is agreed the customer owes only a reasonable price. The reasons, and the sections of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 behind them, are in is a quote legally binding in the UK.
Quote and proforma
Both are offers. A quote tells the customer the price and leaves the money for later. A proforma sets the work out as an invoice would and asks for payment, or a deposit, before you supply anything. HMRC's VAT Notice 700 (paragraph 17.3), read on 5 October 2026, says a pro-forma invoice is often used to offer goods or services that will not be supplied unless payment is received, that it cannot be used to reclaim VAT even if it shows every VAT invoice detail, and that it should be clearly marked “this is not a VAT invoice”. When you supply or are paid, you must issue a proper VAT invoice.
Receipts
Sometimes. If you are VAT registered and sell without issuing an invoice, the receipt has to do the job of one. For a sale of £250 or less, HMRC's VAT Notice 700 (paragraph 16.6.1, read on 5 October 2026) allows a simplified VAT invoice if your customer agrees: your name, address and VAT registration number, the time of supply, a description of what was supplied and, for each VAT rate, the total payable including VAT and the rate. Above £250 a full VAT invoice is needed. When you have already sent an invoice, the invoice is the VAT invoice and the receipt only confirms the payment. The receipt generator explains both cases.
Questions people ask
A quote offers a price for work before you do it, and the customer decides. An invoice is issued after you have supplied the goods or the work and asks to be paid. If you are VAT registered and your customer is too, the invoice must also carry the VAT invoice details.
An invoice asks for payment. A receipt confirms that payment arrived, with how much, when and how. gov.uk says an invoice is not the same as a receipt, which is an acknowledgement of payment.
No. Both are offers, but a proforma sets the work out as an invoice would and asks for payment or a deposit before you supply anything. HMRC says a proforma cannot be used to reclaim VAT and should be marked as not a VAT invoice.
An invoice that carries the details HMRC lists is a VAT invoice. A quote and a proforma are not. A receipt is one only when there was no invoice and it carries the details HMRC asks for, which are fewer for a sale of £250 or less.
Yes. Copy the lines across and give the invoice a number and date of its own, because it is a new document. Keep the quote. The free proforma generator offers each proforma as the starting point for an invoice, and the receipt generator starts from an invoice.
No. A small job can run on a quote, an invoice and a receipt if the customer asks for one. A proforma is for the jobs where you want money before you begin, such as when you must order goods.
One tool for each step
The quote generator, proforma invoice generator, invoice generator and receipt generator are free, need no account, and nothing you type leaves your device. Each PDF carries one small line saying it was made with Psalm. To keep the whole chain for every job in one place, Psalm starts at £39 a month for three people, and the price page compares ten UK tools.
Four free tools, no account, no card. Each makes a PDF with your logo.