Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
Préfacture
English translation:
pre-invoice, proforma invoice
Nov 21, 2000 00:07
23 yrs ago
11 viewers *
French term
Préfacture
French to English
Bus/Financial
In accounting programme. There are factures and prefactures (for instance, prefacture deja enregistree). What is a prefacture and how should I translate it? Thanks
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
42 mins
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Native in English
Psychologist, Court-certified legal
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English
Related KudoZ points
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4638
Selected
pre-invoice , draft invoice
I carried out searches in French for "préfacture" and "pré-facture", the second giving slightly more accurate results, although not many at all. (The first one was often a typo for "préfecture").
Never the less, the term does exist and although not apparently common, would appear to be restricted to the context of computerised accounting software. Seaches on ALTA VISTA and on GOOGLE bore this out.
Stabbing a guess at the existence of "pre-invoice", I got 69 hits, the first few I tried - two of which are listed below - related precisely to accounting software.
What is it? It would appear to be an invoice which has been prepared, which has been completed but which has not been edited/printed. A sort of draft invoice which has been prepared internally and which might require authorisation from a hierarchical superior before being printed out and sent. More sepcifically, one which circulates on an internal computerised network prior to edition.
Hope this helps,
Nikki
Never the less, the term does exist and although not apparently common, would appear to be restricted to the context of computerised accounting software. Seaches on ALTA VISTA and on GOOGLE bore this out.
Stabbing a guess at the existence of "pre-invoice", I got 69 hits, the first few I tried - two of which are listed below - related precisely to accounting software.
What is it? It would appear to be an invoice which has been prepared, which has been completed but which has not been edited/printed. A sort of draft invoice which has been prepared internally and which might require authorisation from a hierarchical superior before being printed out and sent. More sepcifically, one which circulates on an internal computerised network prior to edition.
Hope this helps,
Nikki
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks Nikki, for your extensive effort on my behalf. I think I will indeed stick with pre-invoice and perhaps notify the client that proforma invoice would also be good. Let them choose! Kind regards, Iris"
2 hrs
Telesforo Fernandez (X)
Telesforo Fernandez (X)
quality + good rates
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216
proforma invoices
I would translate as proforma invoices. These are the tentative bills, not final bills and are subject to change. The final invoices are called bills. They are like temporary or ad- hoc bills.
4 hrs
Laura Gentili
Italy
Italy
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49
pro-forma invoice
The common term is "pro-forma invoice" or "proforma invoice", anyone with some office experience would confirm, you hear this term all the time. A Goggle search has produced almost 6,000 results.
10 hrs
proforma (or pro forma) invoice
A proforma invoice (I found it referred to as simply proforma or pro forma) is an invoice filled out for the guidance of the customer, not ad an actual bill.
Kika
Kika
14 hrs
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Native in English
Psychologist, Court-certified legal
Native in: English
Works in: French to English
Related KudoZ points
:
4638
proforma / pro forma invoice ?
This had been my first instinctive response but then I had a reflex question : why had the French original not used "facture pro forma" ?
According to the GDT, "proforma invoice " can be as follows :
1 - PROFORMA (in the domain of accounting) "Relatif à des états financiers fondés sur un certain nombre d'hypothèses ou tenant compte des effets d'opérations financières qui n'ont pas encore eu lieu."
2 - MODELE DE / TYPE (adj.) (in the domain of gestion financière) "Se dit d'un état de synthèse, vierge ou renfermant des données chiffrées fictives, dont la présentation est normalisée."
3 - PROFORMA INVOICE, INTERIM INVOICE (in the domain of commerce/trade , purchasing/selling) for which the French given is :
facture pro forma n. f.Syn.facture fictive n. f. facture simulée n. f. Variante(s) orthographique(s).facture pro-forma n. f.facture proforma n. f.
This is described as being : "Une facture anticipée, établie dans les règles par le vendeur et en tout point semblable à ce que sera la facture définitive, permettant notamment à l'acheteur d'obtenir une licence d'importation ou l'octroi d'un crédit."
Nowhere is any reference made to "préfacture". I am not sure whether "prefacture" and "facture pro forma" are the one and the same thing.
I had always understood a pro forma invoice to be a standard invoice but learn in light of the GDT that it can have a very specific meaning in trade where a vendor in fact details all of the info which will appear on the final invoice. To all intents and purposes identical to the final invoice for goods (services?) which the purchaser must pay. The distinction would appear to be in its purpose, viz., a document required in order for the purchaser to obtain the funds required to finance the purchase or an import licence for the said goods.
In my past experience, I had only ever come across the use of "proforma" to mean a standard presentation, a typical invoice, with or without figures, although genrally without.
Various webseraches for the emaning of "pro forma" in French and in English confirmed all of these meanings as possible in both language.
We live and learn!
One mystery remains. Why the term "préfacutre" in your original?
Nikki
According to the GDT, "proforma invoice " can be as follows :
1 - PROFORMA (in the domain of accounting) "Relatif à des états financiers fondés sur un certain nombre d'hypothèses ou tenant compte des effets d'opérations financières qui n'ont pas encore eu lieu."
2 - MODELE DE / TYPE (adj.) (in the domain of gestion financière) "Se dit d'un état de synthèse, vierge ou renfermant des données chiffrées fictives, dont la présentation est normalisée."
3 - PROFORMA INVOICE, INTERIM INVOICE (in the domain of commerce/trade , purchasing/selling) for which the French given is :
facture pro forma n. f.Syn.facture fictive n. f. facture simulée n. f. Variante(s) orthographique(s).facture pro-forma n. f.facture proforma n. f.
This is described as being : "Une facture anticipée, établie dans les règles par le vendeur et en tout point semblable à ce que sera la facture définitive, permettant notamment à l'acheteur d'obtenir une licence d'importation ou l'octroi d'un crédit."
Nowhere is any reference made to "préfacture". I am not sure whether "prefacture" and "facture pro forma" are the one and the same thing.
I had always understood a pro forma invoice to be a standard invoice but learn in light of the GDT that it can have a very specific meaning in trade where a vendor in fact details all of the info which will appear on the final invoice. To all intents and purposes identical to the final invoice for goods (services?) which the purchaser must pay. The distinction would appear to be in its purpose, viz., a document required in order for the purchaser to obtain the funds required to finance the purchase or an import licence for the said goods.
In my past experience, I had only ever come across the use of "proforma" to mean a standard presentation, a typical invoice, with or without figures, although genrally without.
Various webseraches for the emaning of "pro forma" in French and in English confirmed all of these meanings as possible in both language.
We live and learn!
One mystery remains. Why the term "préfacutre" in your original?
Nikki
Reference:
www.tradesport.org/ts/refs/gloss/p.html (an online business dico which doesn't look too bad)
14 hrs
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Native in English
Psychologist, Court-certified legal
Native in: English
Works in: French to English
Related KudoZ points
:
4638
forgot to add this bit on
Re my 2 previous long-winded replies (sorry). I conclude that the difference coems from the context and that the both of the terms "préfacture" and "pre-invoice" get hits on websearches in almost exclusively one domain, that of accounting software packages.
"Proforma" gets hits in all general domains and nothing consistently specific to accouting programmes. I would therfore tenatively stick my neck out and suggest that given your context, perhaps "pre-invoice" is the one you ARE looking for?!
Nikki
"Proforma" gets hits in all general domains and nothing consistently specific to accouting programmes. I would therfore tenatively stick my neck out and suggest that given your context, perhaps "pre-invoice" is the one you ARE looking for?!
Nikki
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