Can I type the year into the prefix myself?

No. A prefix cannot contain 0, and a year typed there would not change on 1 January. Choose Year as the Date part instead.

Do drafts follow the new format?

No. Draft invoices and draft quotations keep their own numbers; the format applies to the number a document takes when it becomes final.

What if I change the format in the middle of the year?

It works from the next document, and the earlier ones keep their old numbers, so that year's documents carry two formats.

Keep document numbers tidy

Copy for AI

A number your customer can read at a glance, such as INV-2027-0001, saves questions on the phone and in your accountant’s checks. Settle the format once, at the turn of a year, and leave it.

How to do it

Open System settings → Company and scroll to Document numbers. You need System Edit.
Give each kind its own short Prefix that says what it is, such as INV- for invoices and CN- for credit notes. Two kinds cannot share a prefix.
Choose Year as the Date part, or Year and month if you want the month too. The count then starts again at the Starting number each year or month, on its own.
Set the Number of digits to cover your busiest year: 4 digits allow up to 9,999.
Check Next number in each block, then select Save in the bar at the bottom of the page.

Do it before the first document of the new year. A change applies from the next document; numbers already issued never change.

Why it helps

The year is in the number. Your customer and your accountant can tell INV-2027-0014 from INV-2026-0014 at a glance, and nobody has to restart the count each January.

Equal-length numbers sort in order. With a fixed number of digits, INV-2027-0009 comes before INV-2027-0010 on a list sorted by number. A series that outgrows its digits carries on with one more digit, so choose enough from the start.

A clear prefix ends mix-ups. When a customer quotes a number, the prefix says whether it is an invoice, a quotation or a credit note.

Example

Lim & Co’s invoices run from INV-10000001 to INV-10000342. On 4 January 2027, before anyone issues an invoice, Mei Tan opens Document numbers. In the Invoice block the standard numbers show as Prefix INV-1 with seven digits. She changes the Prefix to INV-, chooses Year, sets 4 digits and a Starting number of 1. Next number shows INV-2027-0001, and she selects Save. The 342 earlier invoices keep their numbers, and INV-2028-0001 will open the following year.

Common questions

Can I type the year into the prefix myself? No. A prefix cannot contain 0, and a year typed there would not change on 1 January. Choose Year as the Date part instead.
Do drafts follow the new format? No. Draft invoices and draft quotations keep their own numbers; the format applies to the number a document takes when it becomes final.
What if I change the format in the middle of the year? It works from the next document, and the earlier ones keep their old numbers, so that year’s documents carry two formats.