Numbering sequences

What this page is — the sequences that give a document its number at the moment it is finalized: the pattern, its tokens, when the counter resets, and what can and cannot change afterwards.

What it is for — so every issued document carries a unique, gap-free reference that says what it is and when it was issued.

The problem it solves — hand-typed references collide, skip and mean nothing, and a document sealed without a number stays that way.

Route: /org/settings?tab=papers → Numbering · Permissions: Manage org letterheads, seals, watermarks and numbering sequences. for organisation sequences; Manage the project's numbering-sequence overrides (requires open numbering lock). for project sequences while the numbering lock is open.

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1. What it is

A sequence is a counter with a format. It does nothing on its own: a document type names it on its Behavior tab, and the number is allocated when a document of that type is finalized.

Moment	Number
Created	None — the list shows —
Submitted, approved	None
Finalized	Allocated and sealed into the PDF

Numbers are never allocated retrospectively

A document finalized while its type had no sequence stays unnumbered forever. Bind sequences before the first real document.

Gap-free is literal: the counter is locked while a number is allocated, and the increment commits only if the finalize commits. A finalize that fails releases its number.

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2. Why you would use it

• A number people can quote. "AGR/2026-27/0042" in an email, on an invoice, in a dispute.
• Auditors get a complete series. No gaps means no unexplained missing documents.
• The format encodes meaning. Year, month and type prefix are in the number itself.
• Resets match how you file. Invoices restart every fiscal year; certificates never do.

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3. Step by step

1. + Sequence.
2. Set Prefix, Suffix and Pattern.
3. Pick a Reset policy.
4. Choose Applies to — the organisation, or a project whose numbering lock is open.
5. Save.
6. In the Type Designer, bind the sequence on each type's Behavior tab.

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4. Field reference

Pattern tokens

Token	Becomes	Example
{PREFIX}	The prefix, verbatim — may be empty	AGR
{SUFFIX}	The suffix, verbatim — may be empty	-IN
{FY}	The Indian fiscal year, April to March	2026-27
{YYYY}	Four-digit calendar year	2026
{YY}	Two-digit year	26
{MM}	Two-digit month	09
{SEQ}	The counter, unpadded	42
{SEQ:0000}	The counter, zero-padded to the number of zeros	0042

Default pattern: {PREFIX}-{FY}-{SEQ:0000}.

Rule	Detail
{FY} boundary	31 March 2026 → 2025-26; 1 April 2026 → 2026-27
Padding never truncates	Counter 12345 with {SEQ:0000} → 12345
A counter token is mandatory	pattern "X" must contain a {SEQ} or {SEQ:0000} token
Unknown tokens are refused	invalid token {BANANA} in pattern "…". Allowed tokens are … — an unrecognised token would otherwise be stamped literally into permanent numbers

The designer's in-product hint shows AGR/{{YYYY}}/####. That is not the token syntax — use AGR/{YYYY}/{SEQ:0000}.

Reset policy

Policy	Counter restarts at 1
Never reset	Never
Each fiscal year	1 April
Each calendar year	1 January
Monthly	The first of each month

Refusal: invalid reset_policy "x": must be one of never, fiscal_year, calendar_year, monthly.

Editing and deleting

Can change	Cannot change
Prefix, suffix, pattern, reset policy	Applies to — organisation or project. Create a new sequence instead

Delete works only on a sequence that has never allocated a number. Otherwise: sequence has already allocated numbers and cannot be deleted — the series must stay auditable.

Changing a pattern changes future numbers only. Existing numbers are sealed.

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5. Designing a numbering scheme

The pattern is permanent on every number it produces, so it is worth ten minutes before the first finalize.

Decision	Recommended	Why
One sequence per type, or shared	One per type where people quote the number; shared only where uniqueness is all you need	"INV-00118" and "AGR-00119" from one counter look like gaps to an auditor reading either series
Put the type in the prefix	Yes — INV, AGR, CERT	A number should say what it is
Resetting sequences	Always include a period token	A fiscal-year reset with no {FY} produces INV-0001 again every April — two different invoices, one number
Padding width	Size for your busiest period	{SEQ:0000} holds 9,999 per period; the 10,000th becomes 10000, never truncated, but the column stops lining up
Monthly resets	Include {MM} and a year	Without both, January numbers repeat every year
Subsidiaries	A project sequence, with the project's numbering lock open	Its documents carry its own prefix without touching the group series

Patterns that work

Documents	Pattern	Reset
Tax invoices	INV/{FY}/{SEQ:00000}	Each fiscal year
Agreements	AGR/{YYYY}/{SEQ:0000}	Each calendar year
Certificates checked by third parties	CERT-{SEQ:000000}	Never
Monthly statements	STM-{YYYY}{MM}-{SEQ:000}	Monthly

Patterns that cause trouble

Pattern	Problem
INV-{SEQ:0000} with a fiscal-year reset	Numbers repeat every April
{SEQ} alone, shared across types	Unreadable, and every type shows gaps
A pattern changed after go-live	Two formats in one series — both permanent

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6. Worked example

A finance controller sets up tax invoice numbering.

Field	Value
Prefix	INV
Pattern	{PREFIX}/{FY}/{SEQ:00000}
Reset policy	Each fiscal year
Applies to	Organisation

They bind it on the Tax Invoice type.

Finalized on	Number
30 March 2026	INV/2025-26/00411
31 March 2026	INV/2025-26/00412
1 April 2026	INV/2026-27/00001

In May they try to delete an old test sequence and are refused — it allocated three numbers in UAT. They leave it, and remove it from the types that referenced it instead.

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7. The admin contract

Must be true	Where	What breaks without it
Each numbered type binds a sequence	Behavior tab	Documents seal unnumbered
The role holds Manage org letterheads, seals, watermarks and numbering sequences.	Role editor	Organisation sequences cannot be managed
The numbering lock is open, for project sequences	Override locks	Project members cannot create them
The pattern is final before go-live	This screen	Early documents carry a format you later regret

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8. Downstream

When you…	Then
Bind a sequence to a type	The next finalize of that type allocates from it
Edit the pattern	Future numbers use it; sealed ones do not change
Relock numbering for a project	Its types keep using their bound sequences

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9. Don't confuse this with…

Verification codes	Random, for public authenticity checks. A number is your own reference
Bates prefix	Stamps a reference on every page, set on the type
The document title	Free text the author chooses

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10. Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause
Documents finalize with no number	The type binds no sequence
Older documents are unnumbered	Numbering is never retrospective
{FY} shows the wrong year	It is the Indian April–March year, not your company's configured fiscal year
The counter did not reset	Resets happen on the boundary the policy names, not on demand
A sequence cannot be deleted	It has allocated numbers
A project cannot create a sequence	The numbering lock is closed

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Related

• Behaviour settings
• Finalize and numbering
• Papers settings