If you’re switching to Productive but have already issued invoices in another accounting system this year, you’ll want to ensure that your invoice numbering continues correctly from where you left off.
In many countries, it’s essential that invoice numbers remain sequential to comply with local regulations.
Example Scenario
Suppose you've issued 50 invoices in your previous accounting tool this year. When you start using Productive, you'll want the first invoice to begin with number 51, continuing from where you left off.
Steps to Set Invoice Numbering After Previous Invoices
To ensure your invoice numbering starts correctly in Productive, follow these steps:
Turn On Autogenerate Invoice Numbers
Go to Settings > Invoicing > Invoicing options, click the subsidiary you want to configure, and enable the Autogenerate invoice number toggle.
Add the Numbering Scheme
Set up the numbering scheme you'd like Productive to use, such as{yyyy}-{nn}, which would format your invoices as "2026-51," "2026-52," and so on.Use the Counter reset dropdown to control when the sequential number restarts: select Never if you want the counter to continue from where it left off across years or Yearly to reset every January 1st.
Create a One-Off Invoice
Create and finalize a one-off invoice in Productive. After finalizing, manually edit the invoice to match your last invoice number from the previous system.
In this case, change the invoice number to 50 and follow your custom number format (e.g., 2026-50).
Continue Issuing Invoices
From now on, Productive will automatically generate your next invoice as 51, followed by 52, and so forth, maintaining the correct sequence.
Pro Tips
Custom Numbering for Subsidiaries
Each subsidiary you add can have a different invoicing numbering scheme set up. If needed, repeat the steps for each subsidiary to adjust the starting number for the sequence.
Last Manually Edited Invoice as Starting Point
Note that the last manually edited invoice number will be remembered as the starting point for your numbering sequence. For example, if you manually set the invoice to 79, the next invoice will automatically start from 80.
For more detailed information on customizing invoice numbering, check out the article on Invoice Numbering Options.