Everyone working with Business Central (BC) is somewhat familiar with number series (No. Series). In a nutshell, number series are used within the system to generate the next number for everything from customer, vendor, and item records to orders, shipments, invoices, and every other document, record, or journal. After establishing the number series, the series is assigned to one of the various setup pages throughout BC. In this post, we’ll discuss some of the unique options provided when using number series.
Starting Date
When dealing with certain records, some companies prefer to create next numbers based on dates. For example, let’s say that CRONUS wants to create sales invoices where the first four characters are the year followed by a sequential number. The company could remember to change the number series for the sales invoices number every year, but there is a better way using Starting Date on the series line.
Navigate to the No. Series page and select the series you need to enable the starting date. Click on Navigate / Lines from the menu.
Enter the Starting Date for the range and the Starting No. for that line. In the example above, invoices generated in 2023 will be numbered 2023xxxx and will continue until 2024. Starting in 2024, the invoices will begin numbering as 2024xxxx and will continue that way until 2025. Using this approach will prevent you from missing the change when the new year comes around.
Warning No. and Ending No.
Normal practice when using Business Central is to have a different numbering range for each document which includes a unique prefix. However, there are times when different number series have similar numbering structures, and you don’t want those ranges to conflict with each other. Using Ending Nos. can help prevent that conflict.
In the example below, you will see that the number range for posted invoices starts at PS- INV103001 and ends with PS-INV104999. The assumption is that there may be another number series which begins with PS-INV105000 and you don’t want the current series to conflict. You would create an Ending No. to prevent creating numbers above that setting.
You will also note that a Warning No. is also entered. Warning numbers can be used without setting ending numbers. The purpose here is to provide the user a visible indicator when the warning number is used for a record or document. This warns the user that they may be on the verge of running out of the numbering range and action needs to be taken.
Relationships
Relationships between number series can be used when you need different number series for the same record or document. Let’s say you are using number series to automatically create item numbers. But you want your finished goods to have a different numbering range than other items. You can only setup one number series for items in the inventory setup page. But using relationships will allow you to have multiple numbering ranges.
First, create the two (or more) series you want to use. In the example below, ITEM is used for all non- FG items, and ITEM FG is used for finished good items. On the inventory setup page, ITEM is set as the default number series for items. To create the relationship, select the ITEM series and then click Navigate / Relationships from the menu. When the relationship page opens, enter the related series on the lines. You can relate more than one series if needed.
Return to the number series list and uncheck the Default No. check boxes on both lines. The reason why will become apparent shortly.
Now, open the item list and click on + New to create a new item. You would normally tab through the No. field to have the system create the next item number. Since you want to force users to select the correct series based on the type of item, the removal of the Default No. setting will cause an error to be thrown.
Instead, when creating a new item, the user should click on the box with the three dots at the right side of the No. box. This will open a No. Series page showing the related number series allowing the user to select the correct range for the item they are creating.
Relationships can be used for any of the number series where the user is generating the next number. This should not be used when the system is creating the next number, such as posted invoices since this would disrupt the normal posting process.
Final Thoughts
No. Series are a valuable tool within Business Central. Understanding some of the added functionality as described in this article can enhance your use of number series and its functionality.
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