Create and manage numbering series

Q: How do I restart numbering, or skip some numbers?

Add a new series that starts where you want. Changing Current no on a saved series does not change the next number.

Q: I made a series by mistake. Can I delete it?

In this release the delete is refused. Deactivate the series instead.

Q: My clerks pick the wrong series from the Add list.

The list shows each series' Name in capital letters. Give every series a name that says what it is for, such as the branch and the year, and switch off the series nobody should use.

The Document numbering screen

Open Document numbering (menu Document Numbers). The list shows, for each series: Module code, Description, Start date, Prefix, Suffix, Body length, Fill up char, Start no, End no, Branch, Last document (the latest number given) and Status. Filter by Branch, Description, Module code, Prefix or Suffix.

Add a series

Open the form
Who
Administrator
Where
Document numbering > Add
What changes
The form opens with the Start date, End date and Suffix filled from the active fiscal year (Fiscal years: create, activate and prepare the next one). Change them when you prepare next year's series.
Choose the module
Where
Module
What changes
The kind of document the series numbers (sales invoice, receipt, return, journal and so on). Choosing it fills Prefix with its code and a dash.
Name and period
Where
Name, Start date, End date
Needs
A name of up to 50 characters. Both dates inside the fiscal year the series is for, the start not after the end.
Shape the number
Where
Prefix, Suffix, Body length, Fill up char ?, Fill up char
What changes
The number printed is prefix, the counter padded to the body length, and suffix. Doc total length shows the total and cannot be edited. Choosing the body length fills End no with the largest number that fits.
Needs
Prefix and suffix up to 6 characters each. Body length 1 to 7. The total of prefix, body and suffix at most 20.
Set the counter
Where
Start no, End no, Current no
What changes
Current no is where the counter starts (use the start number for a new series).
Needs
Start below end; current not below start and below end.
Choose the branch
Where
Branch
What changes
The branch the series serves. It is switched off when the company is not branch based.
Switch on
Where
Active, Default
What changes
Only an active series is offered. Default matters for the journal voucher series: it marks the one the automatic depreciation journals use. Tick it on one journal series, no other kind needs it.
Save
What changes
"Document saved successfully". The series is ready for the branch.

Worked example: invoice numbers for Head Office

ABC Traders adds the invoice series for Head Office. The active fiscal year is 2083/84 and its Fiscal year code is 83/84. The form opens with Body length 5, Fill up char ? ticked, Fill up char 0, Start no 1 and Current no 1 already filled in. The entries:

Box	Entry	What it does
Module	Sales invoice	Fills Prefix with the module's code and a dash
Name	Sales invoice 83/84 Head Office	Up to 50 characters. It is the name shown in the Add list when a branch has more than one series
Start date, End date	Filled from the active year	Both must be inside the fiscal year
Prefix	SB-	The letters before the number
Suffix	-83/84	Filled from the fiscal year code. Typed without a dash in front, it gets one when you save
Body length	5	End no fills with 99999. Doc total length shows 14: prefix 3, body 5, suffix 6
Fill up char ?, Fill up char	Ticked, 0	The counter is padded with zeros up to the body length
Start no, Current no	1, 1	The counter starts at the start number
Branch	Head Office	The branch the series serves
Active	On	Only an active series is offered
Default	Cleared	Only a journal series needs it

The invoices of Head Office then print as SB-00001-83/84, SB-00002-83/84, SB-00003-83/84 and so on. The 125th prints SB-00125-83/84.

A receipt series for the same branch could use Prefix REC-, Body length 4 and the same suffix. End no then fills with 9999, Doc total length is 14, and the 7th receipt prints REC-0007-83/84.

One series per kind, per branch, per year

Give every branch a series for every kind of document it uses, and give every new year its own: a different suffix or prefix, because two series cannot share a module, prefix, suffix, body length and fill character. A series that has run out or whose dates have ended stops the first document after it.

Worked example: next year's invoice series

Before 2084/85 starts, the administrator adds the fiscal year (with Active cleared) and then this series for the same branch:

Box	This year	Next year
Name	Sales invoice 83/84 Head Office	Sales invoice 84/85 Head Office
Start date, End date	The first and last day of 2083/84	The first and last day of 2084/85
Prefix	SB-	SB-
Suffix	-83/84	-84/85
Start no, Current no	1, 1	1, 1

Saved with the old suffix -83/84, the new series would be refused: a series of the same shape already exists, and the fix is to change the suffix. With -84/85 it saves, but the sales screens do not offer it while 2083/84 is the active year. On the first day of 2084/85 the accountant makes that year active (Fiscal years: create, activate and prepare the next one): the 83/84 series stop being offered, the 84/85 series appears, and the first invoice prints SB-00001-84/85. If the series was forgotten, the first day starts with no Add button (A document number is missing, repeats or stops).

Change, switch off, delete

Edit changes the form. Do not use it to move the counter: Current no on an existing series does not change the number the next document gets (see below). To restart or skip numbers, add a new series.
Deactivate or Activate from the row, or select rows and use Activate all or Deactivate all.
Delete is offered only while the series is unused (its counter is still at its start number), and Delete all is offered for several. In this release the delete is refused with a general error even for an unused series: switch the series off instead.

Common questions

How do I restart numbering, or skip some numbers?

Add a new series that starts where you want. Changing Current no on a saved series does not change the next number.

A branch has no Add button on the sales screens.

It has no active series for that kind of document with dates inside the active fiscal year. Add one (A document number is missing, repeats or stops).

I made a series by mistake. Can I delete it?

In this release the delete is refused. Deactivate the series instead.

Can two branches use the same prefix?

Not with the same suffix and the same body length: the screen refuses a second series of the same shape, whatever its branch. Give each branch its own prefix, for example SB- for Head Office and SB2- for the second branch (Branches).

My clerks pick the wrong series from the Add list.

The list shows each series' Name in capital letters. Give every series a name that says what it is for, such as the branch and the year, and switch off the series nobody should use.

What do I enter for Start no and Current no in next year's series?

The start number you want the year to begin at, normally 1, and the same number for Current no. A new series counts from Current no.