For the creation of receipts, it is necessary that each receipt has a unique, consecutive, and identifiable number. You achieve this via number ranges. Additionally, you define number ranges for customer numbers, supplier numbers, employee numbers, and product numbers.
The numbers of your receipts and records are assigned consecutively starting from the first number you specify.
In this article, you will find general considerations and tips as well as further articles on the following categories:
A number range in an ERP system refers to a predefined sequence or series of numbers used for the unique identification of various business objects such as receipts, sales orders, customers, suppliers, and other records. Number ranges are essential for organizing, tracking, and managing data within the ERP system, as they enable systematic and consistent assignment of identifiers.
Important aspects of a number range:
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Uniqueness: Each number in a number range is unique and is assigned to exactly one record. This prevents confusion and duplication.
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Sequentiality: The numbers within a number range follow a specific sequence, which can be defined as ascending, descending, or based on specific rules.
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Customizability: ERP systems often allow the customization of number ranges to the specific requirements of the company. This includes the definition of the start value, the end value, the increment, and the format of the numbers. Automation: The assignment of numbers from a number range typically occurs automatically through the system, which reduces manual errors and increases efficiency.
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Organizational structure: Number ranges can be configured to reflect the organizational structure of a company, for example by using different sequences for different departments, locations, or business areas.
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Legal and operational requirements: In some cases, number ranges also fulfill legal requirements, such as the consecutive numbering of invoices for tax purposes.
Note
Number ranges play a central role in data integrity and organization within ERP systems and are a fundamental tool for efficient data management and analysis.
Your business model, the size of your company, growth plans, and the integration of third-party systems such as shops, marketplaces, or tax offices often influence the choice of number ranges in your ERP system. Ideally, you will find a good way for your company’s current setup that offers you sufficient flexibility and also continuity for the near and distant future.
Here are some factors that could play a role:
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B2C business model: A B2C business model with many channels and dependencies on third-party systems that require different numbers and assignments.
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Mixed business model: B2C sales order volume mixed with high-priced B2B deliveries to customers who require different document and debtor numbers than your B2C channel.
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Company growth: Your own company growth, which can bring your number ranges to limits or limitations, especially in the tax software.
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Future planning: Estimating how your company and your team will develop in the coming months and years.
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Existing structure: An already existing number structure that you want to replace or transfer into a new structure.
Criteria for number assignment in your business model can be:
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Workflow: Daily handling in the workflow for goods and team with product numbers and document numbers.
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Number range lengths: Sufficient number range lengths for the next 18 months in document numbers.
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Data structure: Clean structuring of your data that you want to analyze later.
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Tax requirements: Monthly requirements for your tax office, including debtor, creditor, and document numbers.
Note
Focus on the most important aspects. It is often not possible to fulfill all requirements, which means that compromises may be necessary. For example, it might be necessary to make cuts in data import to support a new structure or clarify dependencies with third-party systems. Usually, a solution can be found that takes the most important criteria into account.
When choosing your number ranges, you should think about the next turn of the year and decide how you want to handle the numbers in this regard. Number ranges in Xentral automatically count up the last digit sequence and are consecutive. However, number ranges are not automatically reset at the turn of the year. You can let sufficiently large number ranges - e.g., six-digit receipt number ranges - continue over the turn of the year. Or you choose a variable for the year that automatically adjusts over the turn of the year. Note that the consecutive number is not automatically reset. You must set this manually on January 1st before the new year begins.
You can use the customer and supplier numbers from Xentral for DATEV without maintaining a different debtor and creditor number in Xentral. DATEV expects five- to nine-digit numbers here depending on settings and chart of accounts.
Tip
Here are some tips for using number ranges with DATEV:
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Do not use letters or other variables in your customer or supplier numbers.
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Exclusively use the same number of digits for customer and supplier numbers.
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Choose the number ranges according to the DATEV specifications and clarify this with your tax office (e.g., SKR04 with five-digit debtor and creditor numbers: debtors from 10000 to 69999, creditors from 70000 to 99999).
Example SKR04:
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Debtors (customers) 10000–69999: Debtor accounts are managed in this range.
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Creditors (suppliers) 70000–99999: Creditor accounts are managed in this range.
Example B2C and B2B:
In SKR04, B2B and B2C customers can be clearly distinguished from each other by separate number ranges: For example, B2B customers could receive the numbers 10000–19999, such as an electronics wholesaler (10001) or a mechanical engineering company (10002), while B2C customers use the numbers 20000–69999, such as a private customer from the online shop (20001) or an individual customer in stationary retail (20123). This division creates clarity, facilitates reporting, ensures audit security, and offers enough space to handle the higher customer volume in the B2C area.
Caution
Extending nominal accounts to e.g. 8 digits:
If nominal accounts in DATEV are extended to 8 digits, personal accounts are automatically extended to 9 digits. A separate adjustment of the personal accounts is not possible.
Important notes:
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Subsequent changes are complex and only possible at the beginning of a new fiscal year.
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Pay attention to existing bookings and number ranges.
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Interfaces and exports must be adjusted.
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Check employee management modules for compatibility.
For a smooth changeover, consultation with the tax advisor or DATEV support is recommended. There may be other more suitable options. See below Strategies for extending number ranges.
Customer sales orders from your online shop are automatically converted into sales orders with their own Xentral sales order numbers during import to Xentral. You can view the shop order number in the quick preview of the sales order or find it via the search in the sales order overview. Your shop order number is also used, for example, for the assignment of payments.
Product numbers are either imported to Xentral via data imports, created manually by your team in the product area, or transferred to Xentral via shop sales orders. If you use different shops and platforms with different product numbers/SKUs, the assignment takes place via external numbers.
If the number ranges for debtors, creditors, or receipts overflow because, for example, many customers are generated in the B2C area, there are various strategies to solve the problem. Here are some options:
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Extending the number ranges:
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Longer numbers: Increase the number of digits in the numbers, e.g., from 5 to 6 or 7 digits. Example: Instead of 10000 → 1000001.
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Splitting number ranges: Use specific prefixes or additional digits to make subdivisions. Example: B2B customers: 1xxxx; B2C customers: 2xxxx or: B2B customers: A1xxxx; B2C customers: B2xxxx.
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Using alphanumeric numbers:
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Instead of purely numerical numbers, alphanumeric numbers can be used: Example: B2C10001, B2B10001.
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Separating number ranges by year:
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Year-related numbers: Integrate the year into the number range so that each new period has its own ranges. Example: 2510001 for the year 2025. Advantage: The numbers start from scratch every year without losing the overview.
Caution
Use the variables for the year see below.
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Splitting customer groups into separate number ranges:
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Distinguish by customer types: B2B customers → 10000–19999. B2C customers → 20000–69999.
Caution
If the number range for B2C customers is not sufficient for you, you can also prepend a letter that you cut off during the DATEV export. Make sure that the debtors for B2C then remain cleanly on the range 20000-69999 every year and only the letter changes before the range overflows.
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Checking if all debtors are required:
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In the B2C area, recurring customers could be managed centrally via a generic debtor (e.g., "B2C collective debtor"), to reduce individual entries.
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Combining several strategies:
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You can combine the year-relatedness with customer groups: Example: 25-B2C-10001 for a B2C customer in the year 2025. Alternatively: Example: A-10001 for a B2C customer in the year 2025, B-10001 for a B2C customer in the year 2026.
Caution
Use the variables for the year see below, alternatively a combination as a prefix that you can cut off during the financial accounting export. Choose the same prefix component system-wide. E.g., X-.
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A clear structure for customer and supplier numbers, receipt numbers, and product numbers simplifies your daily work, helps you find data quickly, create reports precisely, and design processes such as accounting or warehouse management smoothly.
Tip
Video tutorial: Your quick start into number ranges for addresses
Would you like to get an overview of using number ranges for addresses in Xentral in just a few minutes? Then our video tutorial is just right for you. Watch it now!
The assignment of customer and supplier numbers is essential for the clear assignment and management of your master data. Debtor numbers (customers) and creditor numbers (suppliers) should be designed so that they support your internal workflows and be easy for your team to understand. A well-thought-out structure helps you find customer and supplier data quickly, create reports efficiently, and meet the requirements of your tax office.
Receipt numbers form the basis for the traceability of your business processes and the legal security of your documents. They serve to uniquely identify offers, sales orders, invoices, credit notes, delivery notes, and other receipts. A clear and consistent number structure not only facilitates the daily workflow but is also indispensable for accounting, archiving, and tax auditing.
Tip
Video tutorial: Your quick start into number ranges
Would you like to get an overview of using number ranges for receipts in Xentral in just a few minutes? Then our video tutorial is just right for you. Watch it now!
A well-thought-out product numbering is the key to the efficient management of your assortment. Product numbers should not only be unique but also optimally support your internal processes and logistics. Whether you work with product categories or assign individual product numbers – the right structure helps you manage stocks, perform analyses, and avoid errors in processing.
Also note the further information in the following articles:
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Product numbers and product categories and their importance for your assortment: Product number range and SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) (Xentral product categories)
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Assignment of numbers to third-party systems e.g. shops: External numbers in Xentral: Mapping external product numbers from shops and marketplaces and Product tree.
If the central number range for your Xentral system is not sufficient for you, you can define new number ranges for individual sales channels. One reason can be, for example, that your online shop delivers a very large sales order volume and the central number range in Xentral, which you created for B2B customers, is not sufficient for it. In this case, you can create your own separate number range for one or more sales channels (= a project).
Note
Consider whether you really need this additional complexity in the system, or if it is more of a visual distinction that you can also achieve in other ways (e.g., by filtering by projects or creating a report in Xentral).
Reasons for your own project-related number range can be:
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The system-wide Xentral number range is not sufficient for a single sales channel.
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You want to separate B2B and B2C for tax purposes.
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You have sales channels in other countries and want to identify the number ranges for a project.
Proceed as follows to define project-specific number ranges.
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Use the Smart Search to open the Projects module.
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Click on the desired project to open it.
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Switch to the Settings tab and then to the Own number ranges sub-tab.
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Activate the Own number ranges option.
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Click on Save.
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Adjust the desired number range by clicking on edit.
Warning
If you use project-related number ranges, we strongly recommend creating unique number ranges for each receipt type. If you do not define a number range for a specific receipt type, the system starts counting from 1. This can lead to conflicts if the numbers match those from the general number range.
Further information on the topic of projects can be found in the article Projects - Usage and settings.
If you want to introduce Xentral in your company, it is important to set up the number ranges correctly in advance. Xentral provides preconfigured number ranges as standard, which are adapted to SKR04 and are suitable for medium-sized companies.
In the default configuration, the number ranges are set so that the number ranges for various receipt types such as offer, sales order, invoice, credit note, etc., offer space for one hundred thousand receipts before the number range is "full". For most companies in the B2B segment or with mixed business models (B2B and B2C) with medium shop and platform volume, this is sufficient for several years.
If the number of digits of the receipts today is not sufficient for you for the coming year, you can think about whether you want to extend the numbers with further zeros at the end. This would save you the (complete) adjustment of number ranges at the turn of the year.
Preconfigured number range in Xentral (example for the most important receipts):
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Offer number: 100000
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Sales order number: 200000
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Delivery note number: 300000
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Invoice number: 400000
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Credit note number: 900000
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Purchase order number: 100000
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Customer number: 10000
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Supplier number: 70000
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Employee number: 90000
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Product number: 1000000
Note
The standard settings in Xentral offer several advantages:
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No overlaps in the number ranges: Customers (debtors) and suppliers (creditors) have separate number ranges:
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10,000-69,999 (Customer numbers)
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70,000-99,999 (Supplier numbers)
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Quick identification of receipts: Receipts can be identified quickly based on the first digit and all have the same number of digits. Invoice and credit note numbers are uniquely identifiable system-wide.
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Compatibility with SKR04 in DATEV: The number ranges are adapted to the SKR04 chart of accounts in DATEV, which facilitates cooperation with the tax office.
If necessary, you can change the standard number ranges in Xentral and define your own number ranges to better adapt them to your business model and your requirements. It is important to plan and configure the number ranges carefully to ensure smooth use of Xentral and to avoid later problems with data integrity or cooperation with third-party systems.
Proceed as follows to change the standard number range.
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Open the menu Settings > General settings > Number ranges > Number ranges.
Warning
Ensure that no one in your team is creating receipts at the same time when you change the number ranges. (Ideally, you are currently before starting with Xentral and adjust the number ranges before you go live with Xentral).
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Click on edit next to the desired number and assign a new next number.
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Click on OK to confirm.
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Repeat these steps for all number ranges you want to change.
Avoid duplicate number ranges. Ensure that there are no overlaps between the new and previously assigned numbers. The current number is displayed to you.
If you want to increase your number range, you can append more zeros to the last digits.
Note
When defining a number range, the following applies:
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The number ranges must be different and must not overlap. e.g., customers: 100000 and suppliers: 700000 (SKR04).
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You can use letters in document numbers. Make sure that there is a consecutive number at the end e.g., 10000 (Xentral only counts the last number consecutively upwards. Exceptions are, of course, variables).
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The number of digits (characters) should not change (do not start at 1 but e.g., 100001).
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Use the same number of digits for supplier and customer numbers. Ideally, the numbers should be 5, 6, or 7 digits long and contain no letters to be suitable for export to your accounting system.
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Do not use special characters such as spaces, periods, commas, colons, semicolons, and umlauts.
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Project-specific number ranges must not be identical. You can identify them by a letter or number code at the beginning (e.g., AZ100000 or 321000000, 111000000, etc.).
If you want to additionally specify the year automatically in your document numbers, you can assign a variable for it.
Note
If you want to insert the year before your consecutive document number, you can use the following format, for example:
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{JAHR}-100000 provides you with document numbers 2023-100000, 2023-100001, … , 2023-199999. The year is updated automatically once a new year starts.
The consecutive number is not automatically reset to 100000. You can do this manually on January 1st to start again with the full number range.
The following variables are available to you in Xentral:
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{JAHR}: Variable for the year
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{MONAT}: Variable for the month
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{TAG}: Variable for the current day
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{KW}: Variable for the current calendar week
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{ADRESSE_}: Receipt address contents, e.g., {ADRESSE_LAND}, {ADRESSE_KUNDENNUMMER}, {ADRESSE_FREIFELD1}. Xentral accesses the address table and the field label here.