Number schemes
Overview
A number scheme produces the running numbers — invoice numbers, customer numbers, order numbers and everything else that gets counted. It can be set up per type and per brand, with a freely chosen pattern, a reset rule and a visible counter state.
All of it is maintainable without a release. The need arises sooner than expected: a turn of the year, a new brand, a prefix the accounting department requires.
Core tasks
Create a scheme. New number scheme requires the number type and the pattern. The list shows type, brand, pattern, the next number as a preview, the counter state, the reset rule and the active state.
The preview is the most important move before saving: it shows what actually comes out, before the first document does.
Choose the reset. The rule determines when the counter starts at one again — typically at the turn of the year.
Differentiate per brand. A scheme can apply to All brands or to exactly one. Separate schemes per brand are the normal case as soon as several brands issue documents.
Fields in detail
Number ranges apply to documents and master data alike — invoice, quote, order, customer, supplier, article. What is set here takes effect on the next creation.
| Field | Required | Values / format | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
Range schemeKey | yes | an existing range | Which kind of record the setting applies to. |
Brand brandId | no | one of your brands | For which brand. Empty means all. That way each brand gets its own invoice number sequence. |
Pattern pattern | yes | text, max. 120 characters | What the number looks like — with placeholders for year, month, brand and running number, such as INV-{YEAR}-{NO}. |
Next value nextValue | no | number, greater than 0 | Which running number is issued next. Change only with care: resetting produces duplicate numbers, and duplicate document numbers are a real problem, not a blemish. |
Padding padding | no | number, greater than 0 | To how many digits the running number is padded. 4 turns 7 into 0007 — which keeps sorting clean. |
Reset resetPolicy | no | never, yearly, monthly | When the running number starts at 1 again. Yearly is usual; the year then belongs in the pattern, otherwise duplicates arise. |
Gapless gapless | no | yes/no | Whether the sequence must have no gaps. For invoice numbers this is required in many countries. The price: numbers are drawn only on issue, and an abandoned document must not consume one — which is why a draft gets none. |
Active active | no | yes/no | Whether the setting applies. |
Settings & permissions
- Permission
platform.settings.manage. Without it the page is unreachable. - Gapless schemes cannot be deleted. They carry their own marker. This is not a technical lock
for its own sake: a gapless sequence is worth something precisely because it cannot be removed after the fact.
- The counter state is a fact, not a setting. Changing it creates gaps or duplicates. Touch it
only if you know exactly why.
- An unknown type points to a disabled module. The list marks it as Type not registered; the
scheme remains and works again as soon as the module is active.
FAQ & troubleshooting
A document gets no number. Check whether an active scheme exists for that type and brand. No scheme, no number.
The numbers skip. That is normal for non-gapless schemes — an aborted operation can consume a number. Where gaplessness is required, the scheme has to be set up accordingly.
The counter carries on at the turn of the year. Then no annual reset is configured.
A pattern needs changing. Check the preview before saving, and change it where possible at a point when the counter resets anyway — otherwise the change sits in the middle of a running sequence.