Managing Naming Series (Document Numbering)

Use this guide to choose how NexWave names records, set a readable display title, and show that title in link fields. It also covers numbering for Sales Invoices, Sales Orders, Purchase Orders, Purchase Invoices, Work Orders, and Job Cards, including series counters, conditional rules, and amendments.

A record has a unique identifier, such as an item code or invoice number. Its display title can be different, such as an item description. NexWave assigns the identifier when you first save a new record. Changing a naming method, series, or counter affects future records. It does not rename records that already exist.

Before you start

You need the System Manager role to use Customize Form, Document Naming Settings, and Document Naming Rule. If you cannot open a setting, ask your administrator.
Test a naming change on a demo site before you apply it to live records. Record the existing Naming Rule, Auto Name, Title Field, and Show Title in Link Fields settings so you can restore them.
Agree the format and cutover point with the people who own sales, purchasing, manufacturing, and finance records. Confirm any invoice numbering requirements before you change an invoice series.
For each document type, record the current Series or Naming Series options and the highest number already used in every prefix you plan to change. Include cancelled records in this check.
Check whether an integration, import, print format, or other process expects the current prefix. Plan its change at the same time.
Make the change when staff are not creating documents of that type. Ask them to finish or pause new drafts during the cutover.

Do not try to make separate document types share one identifier. Each document type needs its own clear series. A counter can set the next number in one series, but it cannot make every new record match an arbitrary number from another system. Keep an external number in an approved reference field when you need to trace it.

Choose a naming method

In Customize Form, the Naming section controls how a new record gets its identifier. Choose the method in Naming Rule, then check Auto Name. The available choices can vary by document type and site version.

Naming Rule	How it works	Auto Name example
Set by user	The user enters a unique identifier when the new record is saved. Use this when staff must choose the code themselves.	`prompt`
By fieldname	Copies the value of a chosen field into the identifier. That field must have a value, and the resulting identifier must be unique within the document type.	`field:item_code` uses Item Code.
By "Naming Series" field	Uses the series selected on the new record and adds its next number. Use this when staff need a choice of approved series.	`naming_series:`
Expression	Builds the identifier from fixed text, date parts, and a running number. Use this for one automatic pattern.	`DOC-.YYYY.-.#####` gives a number such as `DOC-2026-00001`.
Random	Assigns a generated identifier. Use this when a readable sequence is not needed.	`hash`
By script	Uses naming logic supplied by an installed application. Ask your NexWave administrator to confirm the supported behaviour.	The application controls the identifier. Selecting this option does not create a script.

An Expression is a naming pattern, sometimes called formula-based naming. It is not a spreadsheet formula or a place to enter program code. Dots separate the parts of the pattern. YYYY inserts the calendar year, and five hashes insert a running number padded to five digits. The year uses the date when NexWave names the record, not necessarily its Posting Date.

An expression sets one pattern for the document type. By "Naming Series" field lets a user choose between patterns on each new record. For the series method, the form must already have a suitable Series or Naming Series field. Changing Naming Rule alone does not add this field or its options. Ask your administrator if the form does not already support series.

Some standard document types have application settings or built-in naming logic. For example, an Item can use naming controlled by Stock Settings. A matching Document Naming Rule can also take priority. Check the document type's own settings before you change Auto Name. Use Document Naming Settings for the ordinary transaction-series changes described later in this guide.

Set the naming method in Customize Form

Open a record of the required type. Open its menu and select Customize, or search for Customize Form.
Check Enter Form Type. Confirm that you selected the correct document type.
Select Details and find Naming. Record the current Naming Rule and Auto Name.
Select the required Naming Rule. NexWave can fill or clear Auto Name when you change this choice. Check it after you select the method.
Complete Auto Name for the selected method. For By fieldname, enter field: followed by the field's Name. For Expression, enter the complete pattern, including the dots and hashes.
Select Update. Reload the document form before you test a new record.

Naming Rule and Auto Name for field-based item identifiers

The example uses By fieldname with field:item_code. It takes the value entered in Item Code. Changing Item Code or another source field later does not, by itself, rename an existing identifier.

An unsaved example of Expression naming with a year and five-digit counter

The expression screenshot shows a configuration example only. It does not recommend replacing the standard Item naming method. Test the method on the intended document type before you use it in live work.

Find the value to enter for a field

Some settings need the field's Name, rather than the label shown to users. For example, Item Name is the label, while item_name is the value required in Title Field.

In Customize Form, select Form.
Select the required field in the form layout.
In its properties, check Label and copy Name. Do not change the field's Name.
Return to Details and enter that value in the relevant setting.

Item Name field properties showing its Label and Name

Set the display title and show it in link fields

Use Title Field when a readable name should appear as the record's title. Use Show Title in Link Fields when staff should see that title while selecting or viewing the record through a link field on another form.

For example, an Item can keep Item Code as its unique identifier and use Item Name as its display title. An item with code LAMP-001 can show the title Desk Lamp. The link still stores LAMP-001, even when it displays Desk Lamp. Two records can have the same title, so check the identifier when titles are similar.

In Customize Form, select the required document type and open Details.
Find View Settings.
Set Title Field to the Name of an existing field that contains a useful title. For Item, enter item_name to use Item Name.
Tick Show Title in Link Fields if links to this document type should display the title. Leave it unticked if links should continue to display the identifier.
Select Update. Reload NexWave and any other open forms that link to this document type.
Open an existing record with a populated title. Check the form heading. Then open a form with a link to this document type and check its search results and selected value. Confirm that the link opens the correct record.

Title Field and Show Title in Link Fields in View Settings

The screenshot shows Item Name selected as the title source and Show Title in Link Fields unticked. Tick the checkbox to use the title in links. Link search results can also show the identifier to help you distinguish records.

These settings change the display, not the saved identifier or the value stored in a link. They can change how existing records appear. They do not automatically change print formats, exports, or integration references. Keep the title field populated and check any required output separately.

Check a naming or title change

Create a safe new draft of the intended document type. For Set by user, enter the identifier when prompted. For By fieldname, populate the source field. For a series or expression, check the prefix, date parts, and running number after the first save.
Check that an existing record still has its original identifier. A naming change must not be treated as a rename operation.
For title changes, check a populated title, a blank title, and two similar titles. Confirm staff can still identify and open the correct record through a link.
Check the same path used by staff, including creation from another document or an integration when applicable. Built-in naming logic can differ from a manually created draft.
If the result is wrong, pause new records of that type and restore the recorded settings. This affects later records only. Ask your administrator how to correct any records already saved.

The following sections explain how to maintain selectable transaction series, counters, conditional rules, and amendments.

1. Identify the series to change

Search for Document Naming Settings in NexWave. The Select Transaction list contains the document types that support a series. Choose one type at a time.

Document type	Field on a new record	Example starting format
Sales Invoice	Series	`ACC-SINV-.YYYY.-`
Sales Order	Series	`SAL-ORD-.YYYY.-`
Purchase Order	Series	`PUR-ORD-.YYYY.-`
Purchase Invoice	Series	`ACC-PINV-.YYYY.-`
Work Order	Series	`MFG-WO-.YYYY.-`
Job Card	Naming Series	`PO-JOB.#####`

These are examples from the standard demo setup. Your site's formats may differ. Sales and Purchase Invoices can also have separate return series. Keep those options when you still use returns.

The Document Naming Settings sections

Select a document type in Document Naming Settings

2. Plan a format and preview it

In Series List for this Transaction, each format is on a separate line. A format has fixed text and can include these parts:

Part	Result
`INV-`	Fixed text in every number.
`.YYYY.` or `.YY.`	Four-digit or two-digit calendar year when the record is named.
`.MM.` or `.DD.`	Calendar month or day when the record is named.
`.FY.`	The configured fiscal-year name for the document.
`.####` or `.#####`	A four-digit or five-digit running number.

For example, INV-.YYYY.-.##### produces a number such as INV-2026-00001. If you leave out the hash part, NexWave uses five digits. Keep the dot before the hashes.

Use Try a Naming Series to preview a proposed format before you save it. The preview shows the shape of the number. It does not reserve a number or prove that a prefix is safe to reuse.

When the year or another date part changes the prefix, that new prefix starts its own series counter. A format without a changing part keeps one counter. The calendar year part uses the date when NexWave names the record, which can differ from a backdated Posting Date.

3. Add or change the available series

Open Document Naming Settings and choose the type in Select Transaction.
Copy the current lines in Series List for this Transaction into your change record so you can restore them if needed.
Add the new format on its own line. Keep any existing format still needed by staff or integrations.
Put the intended default on the first line. If staff must choose a format for every new record, tick User must always select instead.
Enter the proposed format in Try a Naming Series and check Preview of generated names.
Select Update. Reopen the document type and confirm that the lines and selection setting were saved.

Series list, preview field, selection control, and Update button

Repeat these steps for each required document type. NexWave rejects a series that is already configured for another document type, so give each type a distinct prefix.

4. Set the next number or start a new sequence

Use Update Series Counter when you need a series to continue after a previous system or skip ahead to an approved number.

Search the relevant document list for the chosen prefix. Confirm the highest number already assigned, including cancelled records.
In Document Naming Settings, expand Update Series Counter.
Select the exact Prefix. If the format includes a year, select the prefix for the current year, not an earlier year's prefix.
Read Current Value. It is the last number held by that prefix.
Enter one less than the number you want NexWave to assign next. For example, enter 4999 when the next number must be 5000.
Select Update Series Number. Re-select the Prefix and confirm Current Value now shows the value you entered.

Prefix, Current Value, and Update Series Number

Never move the counter back into numbers that may already exist. A duplicate number can stop a new document from saving. To restart at 00001, use a new prefix, such as a new year or an approved new format. Confirm that the resulting full identifiers are unique before the cutover.

The counter belongs to the resolved prefix. Changing one prefix does not change another document type or another year's prefix. It also does not rename, cancel, or remove existing documents.

5. Use the series and check the result

Open a new record of the document type you changed.
Check Series, or Naming Series on a Job Card. Select the intended format when more than one is available.
Complete only the fields needed for a safe draft, then select Save.
Check the new document number at the top of the saved record and in its list view. Confirm its prefix, year part, and running number.
Check a second new draft only if your team can safely create one. Its counter should follow the first. Record the result in your change record.

Some Job Cards are created from Work Orders. Check the resulting Job Card number after creation, even when a user did not open a new Job Card form.

The number is assigned at the first save, not at submission. A deleted draft can leave a gap. A cancelled document keeps its number. Do not reduce a counter only to close a gap.

6. Use a Document Naming Rule when a condition must choose the number

Use Document Naming Rule when a document's own value must choose a format automatically, such as a separate sequence for records with a selected Company. A rule can take priority over the Series or Naming Series selected on the form. Use Document Naming Settings for ordinary selectable formats.

Search for Document Naming Rule and select Add Document Naming Rule.
Set Document Type to the record type the rule will name.
Set Priority. A higher number runs before a lower number when more than one rule applies.
Add rows in Conditions. In each row, choose Field, Condition, and Value. All the rows must match. For example, select Company as Field, = as Condition, and the intended company as Value.
Set Prefix to the text and any date parts that must appear before the number. Set Digits to the number of digits in the running number.
Select Save. Create a safe draft that matches the rule and confirm its number. Also check a draft that does not match, so you know which normal series it uses.

A rule with no Conditions applies to every new record of its Document Type. Use Disabled to stop a rule that should no longer apply. Avoid overlapping conditions unless the Priority order is deliberate.

Each rule has its own Counter. It is separate from Update Series Counter in Document Naming Settings. If you change a rule's Counter, enter one less than the required next number and check existing names first. NexWave shows a warning when you save a changed rule counter. A year part in a rule's Prefix does not reset this separate rule counter at the new year.

If no enabled rule matches, NexWave uses the normal naming process for that document type. When a rule matches, the visible Series selection may differ from the number assigned by the rule. Check the saved number, not only the field selection.

7. Choose how amended documents are numbered

An amendment is a new record linked to a cancelled submitted document. Open Document Naming Settings > Amended Documents to choose its numbering behaviour.

Option	Result
Amend Counter	Adds an amendment suffix to the original number, such as `INV-0045-1`.
Default Naming	Uses the normal naming process for a new record, including a matching rule if one exists.

To set the general choice, select Default Amendment Naming, then Update Amendment Naming. To set a choice for one document type, add a row in Amendment Naming Override, select its DocType and Action, then select Update Amendment Naming.

Default amendment naming and per-document override controls

Choose the amendment policy before you rely on a strict invoice sequence. Test one safe example and confirm how staff can trace the amended record back to the original.

Review and troubleshooting

What you see	What to check
A field-based name does not save	Check that Auto Name starts with `field:` and uses the field's Name, not its Label. Populate that field and check that its value is unique.
The naming method does not change the result	Check the document type's own settings, built-in naming behaviour, and any matching Document Naming Rule. Reload the form after Update.
An expression gives an unexpected number	Check the dots, date parts, and hashes in Auto Name. Use `DOC-.YYYY.-.#####` as a simple pattern. Confirm no higher-priority rule controls the name.
A title setting is rejected or shows no useful title	Use the existing field's Name in Title Field, and check that the field has a value on the record.
Links still show the identifier	Check Title Field, tick Show Title in Link Fields, select Update, then reload NexWave and the form containing the link.
Two link choices have the same title	Compare their identifiers and open the intended record. Use clearer title values where possible.
The next number has the wrong prefix	Check Select Transaction, the first line of Series List for this Transaction, the Series or Naming Series field, and any enabled Document Naming Rule.
A rule gives a different number from the selected series	A matching rule takes priority. Check its Document Type, Conditions, Priority, Prefix, and Counter.
The expected format is not offered	Check that it is on its own line in Series List for this Transaction and that Update was selected. Reload the form after a settings change.
The number is already in use	Stop new records of that type. Check the highest existing number and raise the relevant series Current Value or rule Counter above it. Do not delete an existing record to reuse its number.
The year part differs from Posting Date	`.YYYY.` uses the date when the record is named. Review the format before using it for backdated records.
The counter appears to skip a number	A saved draft can use a number even if it is later deleted. Cancelled records retain their identifiers. Do not rewind the counter to fill a gap.
A rule's year changed but its number did not restart	A rule has one Counter across years. Review whether a separate rule or an approved counter change is needed.

Before staff resume normal work, confirm the saved number for each changed document type and record the old format, new format, old counter, new counter, and effective date in your change record.