Vendor-Specific Sequential Invoice Numbers

Best Practices
1

In marketplace setups where invoices are created on behalf of multiple vendors, legal requirements often demand strictly consecutive invoice numbers per vendor, without gaps, and optionally including vendor or date information.

A recommended approach in Emporix is to use the Sequential ID Service with a custom schema and placeholders.

That means:

  • Independent sequences per vendor: Each vendor maintains its own consecutive numbering.

  • Structured formatting: Include elements like vendor identifier or date via placeholders.

  • Configurable starting values: Start sequences from a defined number if required.

Abstract example:
<marketplace>-<vendor>-<sequenceNumber>-<date>

Produces separate sequences per vendor, for example:
marketplace-A-0001-YYYY-MM
marketplace-A-0002-YYYY-MM
marketplace-B-0001-YYYY-MM
marketplace-B-0002-YYYY-MM

Implementation approach:

  1. Create a custom sequence schema in the Sequential ID Service.

  2. Define placeholders such as __vendor__ and __date__.

  3. Pass placeholder values dynamically when generating invoice numbers.

Example cURL to create a schema (abstract):

curl -i -X POST \
  https://api.emporix.io/sequential-id/sequenceSchemas \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_TOKEN_HERE>' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "name": "invoiceSequence",
    "schemaType": "invoice",
    "preText": "<marketplace>-__vendor__",
    "postText": "-__year__-__month__",
    "maxValue": 999999999,
    "numberOfDigits": 6,
    "startValue": 1,
    "placeholders": {
      "__vendor__": { "required": true },
      "__year__": { "required": true },
      "__month__": { "required": true }
    }
  }'

This approach allows marketplaces to meet legal compliance, maintain flexibility, and avoid the need for a separate custom microservice.

Would love to hear if others have implemented similar vendor-specific sequences, or have additional best practices to share.

2 Likes