For businesses that handle large volumes of transactions, assigning unique, gapless
sequential numbers to invoice and credit memo records is essential for legal compliance,
auditing, and reconciliation. Manual numbering introduces operational complexity and increases
the risk of errors or fraudulent activity. Billing addresses this challenge by automating the
assignment of unique identifiers according to the defined sequence policies.
Required Editions
Available in: Lightning Experience
Available in: Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and
Developer Editions with the Revenue Cloud Billing license. Contact your Salesforce account
executive for more information.
Key Terms
Before you define your sequence policies, review these concepts.
Sequential Numbering
This feature automatically generates unique, formatted, and sequential identifiers for
posted invoice and credit memo records.
Sequence Policy
This configuration record is where you define specific rules for how a sequential
number is generated and assigned to invoice and credit memo records.
Sequence Pattern
The structure of an invoice or a credit memo number that determines how it appears and
includes components such as static text and dynamic placeholders. {SequenceValue} is a
mandatory component for the sequence pattern.
Sequence Value
The unique, incrementing value that forms the core of the invoice or credit memo
number. The system automatically updates this dynamic placeholder {SequenceValue} in the
sequence pattern based on the sequence properties. For example, in the invoice number
INV-2025-1001, the sequence value is 1001.
Sequence Pattern Value
This is the final, complete identifier that's generated and assigned to a record after
all placeholders in the sequence pattern are resolved. For example, if the sequence
pattern is US-{YYYY}-{SequenceValue}, the resolved value is US-2025–1001. The generated
sequential pattern value is stamped to an invoice or a credit memo record and stored as
the invoice or credit memo number.
Business Use Case: Create Unique Sequential Invoice Numbers
Global Electronics, a company that operates in different countries through multiple legal
entities, faced a significant issue with its generic invoice numbers. The finance team
couldn’t identify the legal entity responsible for a sale without manually checking customer
accounts. This process was slow, prone to errors, and complicated their ability to analyze
sales revenue. Additionally, their invoice numbers had unexplained gaps that resulted in
traceability issues during auditing.
To eliminate this inefficiency, the company used sequence policies to automatically assign
a unique, gapless invoice number based on the legal entity from which the products were
sold. For example, an invoice for products sold from the U.S. office now carries a number
like USA-2025-1001, indicating the country, year, and sequence value. An invoice for sales
from Germany shows a number such as DE-12-2025-2001, indicating the country, month, year,
and sequence value. An invoice for sales from India uses a number such as
IN/12-02-2025/00123, indicating the country, date, month, year, and sequence value. Each
invoice number is tailored to reflect the legal entity code and the specific numbering rules
legally mandated for that region.
This automation transformed their financial tracking by eliminating manual data entry and
reducing errors. Now, both the finance and sales teams have instant clarity, as the invoice
number itself reflects the legal entity responsible for the sale and adheres to the regional
legal regulations for invoice bookkeeping and auditing purposes.
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