> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://exsited.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Pro-forma invoices

> List, read, delete and pay pro-forma invoices, the advance bills sent before a final invoice.

A pro-forma invoice is an advance bill that can be paid before the final invoice. This area has 4 endpoints: list pro-forma invoices, retrieve one, delete one, and record a payment against one. Every SDK supports all of them.

## At a glance

| Endpoint | Method | Path | What it does |
| - | - | - | - |
| [List pro-forma invoices](https://exsited.mintlify.site/api-reference/pro-forma-invoices/list-pro-forma-invoices.md) | GET | `/proforma_invoices` | Returns one page of pro-forma invoices whose invoice status is active. |
| [Retrieve a pro-forma invoice](https://exsited.mintlify.site/api-reference/pro-forma-invoices/retrieve-a-pro-forma-invoice.md) | GET | `/proforma_invoices/{proforma_id}` | Returns one pro-forma invoice by its code. |
| [Delete a pro-forma invoice](https://exsited.mintlify.site/api-reference/pro-forma-invoices/delete-a-pro-forma-invoice.md) | DELETE | `/proforma_invoices/{proforma_id}` | Deletes a pro-forma invoice that has not been paid. |
| [Pay a pro-forma invoice](https://exsited.mintlify.site/api-reference/pro-forma-invoices/pay-a-pro-forma-invoice.md) | POST | `/proforma_invoices/{proforma_id}/payments` | Records a payment against a pro-forma invoice and returns the new payment's code. |

## Before you call

Register your API credentials once when your app starts, as shown in
[Authentication](https://exsited.mintlify.site/authentication.md). Every SDK sample on these pages then gets its client in one line.
With cURL, send the access token in an `Authorization` header: `Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN`.

## Things to know

* **Identify a pro-forma invoice by its code.** The same code comes back as both `id` and `invoice_id`.
* **The listing shows only active ones.** Only pro-forma invoices whose invoice status is active are listed, under `data`, paged by cursor.
* **A paid pro-forma invoice cannot be deleted.** The delete is refused with `400` and the code `already_paid`.
* **Paying returns a short confirmation, not the payment.** The body under `payment` carries `object`, `payment_id` with the new payment's code, and `message`.


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