Document numbering

How estimates, invoices and crew invoices get their numbers: the prefix, the next number, the padding, each subcontractor's own series, and why the next number can never be set back onto a number already used.

What it is for

Every estimate, invoice and crew invoice gets a number such as "INV-0005". The number is built from three settings: a prefix, the next number, and how many digits to pad it to. FSMCore gives the numbers out one after the other, with no gaps.

The settings are under Settings, then Document numbering. You come here to change a prefix, to change how the number is padded, or to carry on from the numbers you used before FSMCore.

Who can use it

Document numbering is in the menu group Settings and is shown to owners and admins only.

Nobody can add or delete a row here. There is no New button and no delete. The rows can only be edited.

How numbers are given

• A draft has no number.
• An invoice gets its number when it is issued. An estimate gets its number when it is issued. See Numbers on the Estimates page.
• A crew invoice gets its number when it is submitted. See Crew invoice numbers.
• The number is the Prefix, followed by the Next number padded with zeros to the Padding width.
• As soon as a number is given out, Next number moves on by one.
• The number of a document never changes afterwards.
• A void document keeps its number. That number is not given out again.

So the numbers of each kind of document run on without a gap, and no number is used twice.

A new company starts with:

Change a numbering

1. Open Settings, then Document numbering.
2. Click Edit on the row. The page Edit document numbering opens.
3. Change Prefix, Next number or Padding. See Fields.
4. Click Save changes. You are back on the list.

The edit page has no buttons at the top. A change applies to the numbers given out from now on. Documents that already have a number keep it.

To carry on from your old numbering, set Next number to the number the next document should get. For example, if your last invoice before FSMCore was 412, set it to 413.

Crew invoice numbers

Crew invoices are not numbered by the company. Each subcontractor has their own series.

• The crew invoice gets its number when it is submitted, by the subcontractor in the crew app or by the office.
• A person's series is made when their first crew invoice is submitted. It starts with no prefix, next number 1 and padding 4, so the first number is "0001". It is made earlier when the subcontractor's numbering is saved on the person under People, or by the subcontractor in the crew app.
• A crew invoice that was rejected and is submitted again keeps the number it already has. No new number is taken.
• If the office typed a number on the crew invoice before submitting it, that number is kept and the person's series does not move.
• A submit that is refused takes no number.

Each subcontractor's series is a row in this list, with the document type Subcontractor invoice and the person's name in the Subcontractor column. Owners and admins can edit it here like any other row.

The same three settings can also be changed in two other places. They are the same series, so a change in one place shows in the others:

• On the person, under People: Invoice prefix, Next number and Number padding. See People.
• By the subcontractor, in the crew app under My business details, section My invoice numbering.

In those two places the prefix can be up to 20 characters. Next number and the padding follow the same rules as here: a whole number from 1, and a padding from 0 to 10.

A Subcontractor invoice row with "-" in the Subcontractor column belongs to no person. It numbers nothing. Changing it has no effect on any crew invoice. A new company has no such row.

More about crew invoices is on the Crew invoices page.

The list

The list has one row for estimates, one for invoices, and one for each subcontractor's own crew invoice series. It is sorted by document type.

There is no search box, no filter and no bulk action. The search at the top of the office finds a numbering by its type: "estimate", "invoice" or "crew invoice" (with your company's own word for crew). A subcontractor's own row is titled with the type and the person, for example "Crew invoice: Sam Subbie", and is found by the person's name or nickname too. See Search. On a phone each row is a card: the Document type badge, the subcontractor's name under it on a person's own series, the Prefix, and under Next number the next number as it will print.

Columns

Row actions

Each row has one action, Edit. It opens the page Edit document numbering.

Fields

Applies to

The document type of the row: Estimate, Invoice or Subcontractor invoice. It is shown greyed out and cannot be changed.

Prefix

Optional, up to 255 characters. The helper text says: "Optional prefix, e.g. "EST-"." The prefix is put in front of the number exactly as typed, so type the hyphen if you want one. Leave it empty for a number with no prefix.

Next number

Required. A whole number, 1 or higher. The helper text says: "The number that will be assigned to the next issued document. Whole numbers only."

A number with decimals, such as 5.5, is refused: "Next number must be a whole number, 1 or higher." Nothing is saved until you correct it.

You can raise it at any time. You can lower it only to a number above the highest number already used. See Next number is never set back onto a used number.

Padding

Required. A whole number from 0 to 10. The helper text says: "Zero-pad the number to this width, e.g. 4 → "0001". From 0 to 10."

Anything else is refused: "Padding must be a whole number from 0 to 10." The limit is the same here, on the person under People, in the crew app and for the AI assistant.

With padding 4, number 5 prints as "0005" and number 12345 prints in full as "12345". With padding 0 or 1 no zeros are added.

Next number is never set back onto a used number

If Next number could be set back to a number that a document already has, two documents would get the same number. FSMCore refuses that.

When you lower Next number to a number at or below the highest number already used, the save is refused with a message under the field, for example:

"INV-0092 is already used. The next number must be 93 or higher."

How the highest used number is found:

• For the Estimate row: all estimates of your company. For the Invoice row: all invoices of your company.
• For a subcontractor's row: that person's crew invoices in your company.
• Void documents and deleted documents count too. Their numbers are never given out again.
• The digits at the end of each number are compared. So it still works after you changed the prefix.

What is always allowed:

• Raising Next number. This leaves a gap in your numbers, which is your choice.
• Lowering it to a number that is still above the highest number used.
• Changing Prefix and Padding.

The same check runs wherever the next number can be changed: here, on the person under People, in the crew app under My business details, and when the AI assistant changes a numbering for you.

The AI assistant

If your company uses the AI assistant, an owner or admin can ask it to change the prefix, the next number or the padding of the estimate or invoice numbering. The change waits for your approval on a card first. The assistant does not change a subcontractor's own series.

What happens after

• The next document that is issued or submitted gets the number shown in the Next column.
• Documents that already have a number keep it, also after you change the prefix or the padding.
• Every change to a numbering is recorded: who changed what, and when.
• No email and no notification is sent.

Common mistakes

"INV-0092 is already used. The next number must be 93 or higher." You lowered Next number onto a number that a document already has. Type the number named in the message, or a higher one. The message names your own highest number. See Next number is never set back onto a used number.

A subcontractor sees the same message in the crew app, or you see it on the person under People. It is the same rule. The person's next number cannot go back onto a number one of their crew invoices already has.

I cannot add a numbering for a new kind of document. Rows cannot be added or deleted. Estimates and invoices each have one row. A subcontractor's row appears by itself, at the latest when their first crew invoice is submitted.

A draft has no number. That is on purpose. The number is given when the estimate or invoice is issued, or when the crew invoice is submitted.

I voided an invoice and its number is not used again. A void document keeps its number, so your numbers stay without gaps and are never used twice.

I changed the prefix and the old documents still show the old one. A change applies only to numbers given out from now on.

I changed the Subcontractor invoice row with "-" in the Subcontractor column and nothing happened. That row numbers nothing. Change the row that carries the person's name.

The number prints without zeros in front. Padding is 0 or 1, or the number is already longer than the padding. Set Padding to the number of digits you want.