Auto-Numbering Sequences
Business records need identifiers. Invoices have numbers. Orders have IDs. Support cases have reference numbers. These aren't optional — they're how your team communicates about records internally and how customers reference them in correspondence.
Manual numbering is risky. Someone forgets the next number in sequence. Two people create records simultaneously and assign the same number. Numbers get skipped, duplicated, or go out of sequence over time.
Auto-numbering sequences eliminate all of this.
Configure the Format
Each sequence is configured with a format pattern that controls how identifiers look. Components of a format include:
Prefix — a fixed text segment that identifies the document type: INV-, ORD-, CASE-, PO-.
Year segment — the current year, full or abbreviated: 2026 or 26. Year segments reset the counter at the start of each year, making it possible to identify at a glance when a document was created.
Month segment — optionally included for high-volume contexts where year alone is too coarse.
Counter — a sequential number with configurable padding: 0001, 001, 1. Padding ensures consistent identifier lengths for clean sorting and display.
A typical invoice number format — INV-2026-0001 — is a prefix, full year, and four-digit padded counter. Change the format once in the sequence configuration, and all future records use the new format.
Collision-Free Generation
The sequence counter is generated atomically — no two records receive the same number, regardless of how many records are being created simultaneously.
For high-volume operations where many orders might be created within seconds of each other, the atomicity guarantee matters. Each gets its own unique identifier in sequence, without gaps or duplicates.
Applies on Record Creation
The sequence field populates automatically when a record is created. The identifier appears in the form confirmation and on the record immediately. Your team can reference it in communication from the moment the record exists.
No separate "generate number" step. No manual entry. No copy-paste from an external numbering tool.
Multiple Sequences Per App
Different object types get different sequences. Invoices have one sequence, orders have another, purchase orders a third. Each sequence maintains its own counter, its own format, its own reset rules.
If a single object type needs multiple sequence types — an app handling both invoices and credit notes might need distinct sequences for each — multiple sequence fields can be configured on the same type.