Invoice numbering and number series

Every document kind has its own number series. Alya Books allocates the next number when you save, so numbers are unique and gap-free even when two people work at the same time.

Steps

1. Go to Settings → Outgoing invoices and find the Document Numbering card. Owners and admins can edit.
2. Each row is one series: Tax invoice, Credit note, Debit note, Proforma, Quote, Order confirmation, Payment reminder, Customer number (default C-{n}) and Item number (default IT-{n}). The customer and item series feed the wand buttons next to Customer number on a contact and Item number on an item.
3. Edit the Template. Use {n} for the running number and {YYYY}, {YY}, {MM}, {DD} for the date, for example INV-{YYYY}-{n}. A template must contain {n}, and two series cannot share the same template.
4. Set Padding (1 to 10): the number of digits {n} is filled to. With padding 5 the first number is INV-2026-00001.
5. Last used is the counter behind {n}. Leave it, or raise it to continue from your previous system.
6. Switch Reset yearly on if the count should restart at 1 in January.
7. Check the Next number preview and click Save Numbering.

Manual numbers

Below the series, the Numbers, terms and editing card has the switch Allow manual document numbers. It is off by default.

• Off: invoices, credit and debit notes, proformas, quotes and other documents always take the next number from their series, in order. The number field in the editor is read-only (shaded), and a new document always gets the next number when you save it.
• On: members who can edit invoices may type a different number. The series then jumps to that value, so the sequence continues after it.
• Either way, CSV and connector imports and the API keep supplying their own numbers, and customer numbers on contacts can still be typed.

Good to know

• The editor shows the next number of the series as a preview; the number is fixed when you save.
• Saving a number that already exists is refused.
• If the next number is somehow taken, the series skips ahead automatically.
• Numbers imported from Zoho Books or Tally keep their original values; the series continues after the highest imported number.
• Converting a proforma, quote or order confirmation to a tax invoice allocates a number from the tax invoice series at that moment: for a proforma, when you click Create draft invoice (the number shown in the dialog is a preview).
• The FTA requires a unique sequential number per tax invoice; keep one live series and avoid changing the template mid-year.
• Integrations can read the next number and verify a number through the API; see docs.alyabooks.ai.

Related

• Document designs and text presets
• Custom fields and templates