[16.3.73] Reference number is now generated when document is saved

In previous versions, when you clicked New Sales Invoice button, the invoice number was assigned to sales invoice before it was actually saved.

This wasn’t a problem in desktop edition because only one invoice could be created at the same time. However in cloud edition or server edition, multiple users could be creating new invoices at the same time. This could make system incorrectly assign the same invoice number to multiple users which means the business could end up with multiple invoices with the same invoice number.

The latest version no longer assigns invoice number upon clicking New Sales Invoice button. By default, the field will be empty.

Invoice number will be assigned upon clicking Create button so multiple users can be creating invoices at the same time without worrying about duplicate invoice numbers.

Beside sales invoices, this change also affects all other documents which automatically generate reference numbers such as:

  • Sales quotes
  • Purchase orders
  • Delivery notes
  • Credit notes
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Now that this is done (and presumably has fixed any problems people have had with invoice numbering), would it be possible to implement an option for random increments on invoice etc. numbers?

By this I mean that instead of numbering invoices etc. consecutively (e.g. #101-#102-#103-#104), have an option for numbers to increase each time by some random number on a specified range (e.g. #101-#107-#121-#129-#131-#150 or #1005-#1197-#1332-#1520-#1888).

The reason for this is that consecutive invoice numbers reveal information about business volume to customers. If a customer receives invoice #120 on May 1st followed by invoice #122 on June 1st, he can tell that he’s one of only two customers in May. That’s not something all consultants want their clients to be able to figure out.

The current workaround is to change invoice numbers manually each time, but that runs the risk that numbers won’t increase each time. Having an option to skip a random number of numbers each time would automate this and would help to obfuscate the business volume, while still making sure that invoice #3453 comes sometime after invoice #3199. (Another good system would be to add a monthly prefix to numbers, and then choose the starting number for the month randomly, like #2016040123-#2016050101-#2016060297.)

Is this a problem anyone else has?

P.S. @Lubos: What I really wish is that a customer-specific prefix could be used for all documents, incorporating the customer code, so in the scenario above, the May and June invoices would be called #ABC0001 and #ABC0002 for customer ABC, and #XYZ0001 and #XYZ0002 for customer XYZ, respectively. A customer could tell from his June invoice number that this is the second invoice he has received from me, but he couldn’t tell how many other invoices I issued in the interim. This is how I did it before Manager when I was doing everything manually, but I think this is too much to ask, though.

If you want to obfuscate the fact you issue only 2 invoices per month, then just set invoice numbers manually as you say to whatever you like. It’s not a big deal with small volume.

I will probably implement some way to run multiple sequences with different prefixes side-by-side. This would be solution to your issue.

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Well, 2 was just an edge-case example. I have more than 2 clients! :blush:

What if two users press save button at the same time? wont the problem of clicking the create button show up again? i don’t get it.

I think the chances of two people clicking Create and having both their data packets arrive at the same nanosecond is next to nonexistent. And Manager will (I assume) only be able to receive one at a time. The problem before was that one person could start a new invoice (or whatever) and spend considerable time preparing the transaction. Meanwhile, because the transaction hadn’t been created, another person might start an invoice and Manager would assign the same number because it would find the highest completed transaction and increment by one. Both people might complete their transactions at different times, but because of the lag between number assignment and completion, you could end up with a duplication.

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it really trouble when I want to edit my sales quote the reference no. also change…back to normal is better.

We are using in our quotation for examples Q157 but now with automatically numbering it show 1576 all our quotations numbers are wrong
so please inform us how we can make it manually ?

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I am having a major issue in Purchase Orders Only … I have a Reference Number that is stuck and it keeps automatically generating to the next number in sequence … even if I try to manually change it. The number is 5021490693 … and then it automatically gives me 5021490694, then 5021490695, then 5021490696 and so on. This same number has been stuck in Purchase Orders for several months, but it used to allow me to remove it manually and put in another reference number. But now after upgrading to 16.3.73 the Reference Number will not go away even if I try to delete it manually. Also, if I go in to make a change on the Purchase Order, it will automatically advance the reference number to the next highest number all by itself. So I have no control over assigning the correct number, and the stuck number keeps changing. Can you please tell me what is going on and how to fix this? Thank you!

@Amir_Mazloum & @ILoveMovingUSA, could you try the latest version 16.3.77? It should fix the issue.

BEAUTIFUL!! Works perfect now! Thank you so very much! You guys are the best! :sunglasses:

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its great thank you

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I personally would prefer to have auto invoice numbering, maybe make it a choice

Invoice numbering is automatic. The change announced with release of v16.3.73 (now many, many updates old) applied only to when the number is automatically generated. The change has the number being generated when the transaction is saved, rather than when it is opened. This way, if multiple users are working on invoices at the same time on the server or cloud editions, numbers are not accidentally duplicated.

unlike other businesses where invoicing may be done at the office, with my pest control business it is I who do the work, the invoicing etc., I invoice mainly at the end of each day, sometimes not, but sometimes I may have to invoice one of those jobs with a higher invoice number, because the customer wants it immediately, simply because I like to invoice as per job done, as in first job of the day next invoice number.

So if I invoice the last invoice of the day first, my auto invoice then makes my first invoice of the day a number to follow the last one.

Showing the next number in the box gives me the opportunity to correct that.

You can always change invoice number when editing invoice. But why do you really care about in which sequence are invoice numbers.

you are right of course just can’t see the point of creating an invoice and then having to edit

@norfolkislandam, you illustrate a common feeling. Once we have a system that works, most of us are reluctant to change it. @lubos, however, was addressing a very real problem for the server- and cloud-based users who actually support Manager software. They had a problem they could not control: the program duplicated numbers because they weren’t saved or reserved until people in different locations were finished working on them.

Think about how most accounting software works. Auto-sequenced invoices, vouchers, and the like are not editable. I suspect that if Manager had used that approach when you first adopted it, you would have believed it was normal and perfectly acceptable and not given the matter another thought. In your mind, you would have thought something like, “The program does that to keep track of invoices.”

That fact that Manager has retained editability for invoice numbers means you still have options. If, for example, your daily visits are scheduled and you want to assign sequential numbers, you still can. You just have to note which number you’ve planned for which customer in the cases where you create them out of chronological order.

Not sure I find your comment very helpful", @lubos, however, was addressing a very real problem for the server- and cloud-based users who actually support Manager software.".

I do rather like Manager, but of course I can always go back to my previous MYOB, just as a freebie user, not paid up user, I like to contribute, even if I am wrong

My apologies, @norfolkislandam, if I came across as rude or patronizing. I certainly wasn’t demeaning your contribution if you took my comment that way. Nor do I think you were wrong. By mentioning the server- and cloud-based users, I was only pointing out that there was a real issue to be addressed. It would have been just as real no matter what business model was being used. It is inherent in supporting the three different environments.

I can appreciate your thoughts and the desire to have a familiar work pattern remain available to you. If that isn’t going to happen (and I have no idea whether some option might be introduced), I tried to suggest a workaround.