The buyer and the seller agree on the details of the transaction. We send a PI (proforma invoice) to the customer, and the customer signs it, scans it and sends it back, and then we sign it.
The customer paid a deposit and began to produce this order. In the later stage of the transaction, make a set of documents, including the formal transaction invoice.
Generally speaking, the signing of foreign trade contracts is based on the signing of PI (proforma invoice) and the receipt of deposit.