# Set up document sequences

Customize how Tooling Metrics numbers your documents to match your organization's naming conventions.

Source: https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/admin/tutorials/set-up-sequences/
Updated: 2026-10-29

**Prerequisites:** Organization created.  
**Required permission:** Admin Center access (organization owner or a member of the `<org-name>-admins` group).

A **Sequence** controls how Tooling Metrics automatically generates numbers for new documents — purchase orders, tools, parts, and more. Your organization already has a sequence for every document type with working defaults; this tutorial adjusts them to your own conventions.

## Steps

1. In the admin sidebar, click **Sequences**.
1. The list shows every document type that supports automatic numbering, already populated with defaults. Click the one you want to configure (for example, **Purchase Order**).
1. Set the **Prefix** — a fixed string at the start of every number (e.g., `PO`).
1. Optionally set the **Subsequence** — a date pattern inserted between the prefix and the number, using `%Y`/`%y` for year and `%m` for month (e.g., `/%y/`). Leave it blank to skip the date segment.
1. Set the **Size** — how many digits the number is padded to (e.g., size `4` turns `42` into `0042`).
1. Set the **Next Number** — the value used for the next document.
1. Click **Update**.

With prefix `PO`, subsequence `/%y/`, and size `4`, the next document generated is `PO/25/0042` (where `25` is the current two-digit year).

## Important notes

- Sequences apply to **new documents only**. Existing documents are not renumbered.
- Lowering **Next Number** below the count already in use is not blocked by the form, but it will produce duplicate document numbers on documents you've already issued — don't do it on a sequence that's live.
- A **Step** of `0` means the counter never advances — every document gets the same number. Leave Step at its default of `1` unless you have a specific reason to change it.

## Next

[Configure currencies and units](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/admin/tutorials/configure-currencies-and-units/) — set the default currency for purchase orders and cost tracking.