What a series is
A series gives one kind of document its numbers: a Module (invoices, receipts, returns), a Prefix and Suffix, a Body length, the Start no, End no and Current no, the Start date and End date it is valid for, and the Branch it serves. The number printed on a document is the prefix, the current number padded with fill characters to the body length, and the suffix.
Prefix SB- body length 5 current 41 suffix -81/82 gives SB-00041-81/82Open Document numbering (menu Document Numbers). The page also lists the Last document of each series.
Which series each sales screen needs
| Screen | Module | Without a series |
|---|---|---|
| Sales quotation | Sales quotation (SQ) | No Add button |
| Sales order | Sales order (SO) | No Add button |
| Sales order cancellation | Sales order cancel (SOC) | No Add button |
| Goods delivery note | Sales challan (SC) | No Add button |
| Sales invoice (all forms) | Sales invoice (SB) | No Add button |
| Sales return | Sales return (SR) | No Add button; a return made from an invoice has no series to offer |
| Sales return (Provisional) | Provisional return (PSR), and SR when it is approved | No Add button; approval refuses |
| Sales additional | Sales additional (SAB) | No Add button |
| Recurring invoice | Recurring invoice (RSB); the invoices it makes use SB | No Add button |
| Receipt voucher, and the receipt made with a cash sale | Receipt voucher (REC) | "Please set document number format for receipt" |
| Goods delivery | Sales goods delivery (SGD) | The delivery is not numbered |
| Customer opening amount | Customer opening (OBC) | The customer is not saved |
Rules for a series
- Each series needs its own Name. Two series cannot have the same module, prefix, suffix, total length and fill character, so a new year's series needs a different suffix (for example the year,
-82/83) or prefix. - Body length is at most 7. The total of prefix, body and suffix must stay within 20 characters.
- Choosing the Body length fills End no with the largest number that fits (5 gives 99999). Start no must be below End no, and Current no must be at least the start and below the end.
- Choosing the module fills the prefix with the module code and a dash. A prefix that does not end in
-or/gets a-at the end, and a suffix that does not start with one gets a-in front. - Start date and End date must both fall inside the active fiscal year. A series that does not is not offered to the sales screens.
- If a branch has two series of one module, the Add button becomes a menu and the clerk chooses which one to use.
Gaps and jumps
The counter moves only when a document is saved, in the same step, so a refused save does not use a number. A number is lost when a saved document is deleted (the next one still takes the next number), and a cancelled invoice keeps its number. A jump between two invoices usually means a deleted invoice, or two series (two branches, two counters). It is not a fault.
The invoice list jumps from SB-00041-83/84 to SB-00043-83/84.
SB-00042-83/84 was most likely saved and then deleted: a deleted invoice's number is not given to another invoice. A save that was refused never takes a number, so it leaves no gap.
Can every branch use the prefix SB- with the same suffix?
No. The same-format rule looks at every series of the module, whatever its branch, so a second SB- series with the suffix -83/84 and the same length is refused. Give each branch its own prefix, for example SB-HO- and SB-S2- (SB-HO-00041-83/84 is 17 characters) (Branches and projects on sales documents).