Skipping automatically generated numbers

[damo]

I have a database for creating internal invoices, whenever someone creates a new invoice the invoice number goes up by 1. However I have noticed that sometimes a number is skipped, ie; the invoice number goes up by 2.

This will normally occur when 2 or more users are logged into the database.

Has anyone noticed this?

Does anyone know of a fix?

[aaa]

How your invoice number goes up by 1?

[Vaughan]

If a new invoice is created then immediately deleted the number is one: serial numbers are never recycled. I'd say this is your problem.

Two solutions are to make it hard for users to create new invoices and delete them; or get used to the fact that the numbers will have holes.

If you are using FMP 7 you can elect to have the serial number generated on comit rather than record creation. That way if a user makes a new record then immediately deletes it the serial number is not lost because it was never assigned.

[Søren Dyhr]

According to legislation in my neck of the woods, is deleting invoices the same as cooking the books, a wrong invoice should be followed by a credit note that counters the wrong amount.

But admitted it's a tricky thing to maintain these days with evaporative storage of eh meaning ...Paco di Paciolis two sided book keeping, demanded such matters written in non erasable ink. Removing an invoice in the sequence is simply illegal ...at least inside the EU...

--sd

[damo]

Users already do not have permission to delete invoices, this is akin to cooking the books.

I'll give your solution a try Vaughan since having holes in the number sequence would appear as though we are trying to hide something when it comes to audit time.