New invoicing - Assign next number in sequence when number removed
We bulk upload invoices in advance with "Draft" invoice numbers as we don't know their ultimate sequence for issue. We then assign a chronological invoice number when the invoice is approved and/or saved. In "Classic" invoicing, if I delete the invoice number it automatically assigned the next number in sequence e.g. #INV-0089, however in "New" invoicing if I delete the invoice number is warns me that I need a number and reverts to the original "Draft" number" and not the next chronological number in sequence. This is a significant backward step in functionality, can you confirm this bug will be solve before Classic Invoicing is retired. Thank you. Rene
 Rene Milner
    
 shared this idea
Rene Milner
    
 shared this idea
      
    Hi team, we appreciate the added feedback from you on the behaviours from classic that you'd find useful in new invoicing. The invoice number assignment is still a feature that our teams are continuing to monitor closely. Right now, while we don’t have plans for changing the way invoice numbers are assigned, our product teams are considering future improvements - As part of this they are doing some discovery that we’d love to get your contribution to.
We'd like to invite you to share back though our survey here. Insights from this will help our product teams get a deepened sense of our invoicing users. Thanks
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       Ben Houston
    
 commented Ben Houston
    
 commentedI have voted and suspect this is part of the auto save feature that really would be best if it could be turned off. 
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       Laura Mason
    
 commented Laura Mason
    
 commentedKeep voting people!! 
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       Charles Mitchell
    
 commented Charles Mitchell
    
 commentedI am already well and truly fed up with the so called improved new invoicing. Sequential number gone, cannot copy to a Purchase order. Xero for an accounts solution obviously have Zero life experience doing accounts 
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       Brooke Alexander
    
 commented Brooke Alexander
    
 commentedI can't even fathom that we must process this manually, how ridiculous is this? This is no way productive / efficient whatsoever – what a stuff up Xero. Please fix this so we do not have to manually add invoice numbers. 
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       Colm Waldron
    
 commented Colm Waldron
    
 commentedThis is really important - we are now expected to apply the invoice number manually. That just makes no sense. I wonder how many accountants are actively engaged with by XERO. 
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       Charles Mitchell
    
 commented Charles Mitchell
    
 commentedThanks so much Xero for making Invoicing more time consuming than it was. Glad you think us customers of Xero's are so unimportant and decide you know best. Other accounting solutions exist... 
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       Spencer Clarke
    
 commented Spencer Clarke
    
 commentedWhy oh why has Xero not ensured that New Invoicing includes all the functionality of Classic? The numbering system auto-saves before I can renumber (we use two numbering systems - one for online automated sales and one for offline Xero sequential numbering). New Invoicing then skips sequential numbering when we add an online invoice (for which its sequential numbering system starts with 999). As it stands, I am concerned that Xero has made us uncompliant in the UK with HMRC sequential numbering rules - and that this could lead to financial penalties. Thank you Xero. You've managed to create a problem when there wasn't one before... Oh - and another thing - your survey does not allow for multiple answers to explain how and when we invoice. So even that has been poorly thought-out. 
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       Kamil Shah
    
 commented Kamil Shah
    
 commentedSo today is the first official day of using new invoicing. Xero have told me that the automatic assigning of the next number is "not an priority" so I am led to believe that all the communication that they are "closely monitoring this" is superficial. Xero have told me to use a workaround... I am to have a separate tab open to show all the invoices so that I know which is the latest number and therefore be able to add this manually on new invoices I am creating. OBVIOUSLY this is a ridiculous state of affairs given that technology is supposed to make work more efficient, not less... Invoice numbering is a basic practice of accountancy so for a software provider to expect customers to use workarounds to manage such basic practices is beyond belief. Finally, I have a question for people on this group. Does anyone have experience of QUICKBOOKS and whether it is a good platform for switching over to? 
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       Rae Stanton
    
 commented Rae Stanton
    
 commentedSTILL A MAJOR FLAW IN YOUR SO CALLED IMPROVED INVOICING SYSTEM!!! Please, please, PLEASE do not retire classic invoicing until you get this (and other non-improvements fixed!! 
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       Lizette van Blerck
    
 commented Lizette van Blerck
    
 commentedHi Kelly, Thank you for your feedback. It is disappointing and frustrating to see that this feature will not be replicated before turning off classic invoicing. 
 We are dreading this and feel it is unfair to pass on the cost of the additional time it is going to take us to process these invoices, to the client. Our time could be spent more efficiently/cost-effectively.
 Please do not turn off Classic invoicing until this issue has been resolved.Thank you. 
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       Julian  Chetham
    
 commented Julian  Chetham
    
 commentedI fail to understand how this represents Xero being open. This is a major flaw that you are introducing in almost all jurisdictions and environments. Auditors, governments and tax departments relay and recommend sequential invoicing, not to mention the day-to-day reliance on appropriate invoice numbers internally. This should be an absolute minimum requirement from Xero. Please do not remove classic invoicing until you have resolved your issue. 
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       Charles Mitchell
    
 commented Charles Mitchell
    
 commentedKelly, If this cannot be replicated I suggest you do not 
 retire classic. The trouble is your developers do not use the product in a work enviroment.
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       Lizette van Blerck
    
 commented Lizette van Blerck
    
 commentedHi Kelly, thank you for your feedback. We are unable to switch over to the new invoicing as we require the automatically assigned invoice number to be active. We have hundreds of draft invoices which, when it is time to raise the invoices, we encounter the same issue/s that our colleague mentioned. This is a critical issue. 
 We are also more than one staff member invoicing at the same time and thus, having to look manually for the next invoice number causes frustration due to using the same number and one member having to start over again. It is a waste of time and money.Your urgent attention to this matter will be appreciated. Thank you. Lizette 
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       Charles Mitchell
    
 commented Charles Mitchell
    
 commentedThis has still not been resolved- just tried it. Classic invoicing must not be retired until this is sorted. 
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       Jim Morris
    
 commented Jim Morris
    
 commentedYep, it's BS that it's still an issue—like so many other things that should have been fixed by now. 
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       Matthew Edmunds
    
 commented Matthew Edmunds
    
 commentedThis idea has been here for 9 months but it is a critical issue especially in some jurisdictions like the Philippines where TAX invoices must be sequential AND chronological. If number are missing or out of sequence, the Tax authority will ask a lot of questions. My suggestion is that the sequence number is only added to the document upon FINAL approval and sending. Prior to that it should be in draft mode and we don't really care what the nuber is at that stage. I believe this simple approach would help ALL customers. Thank you 
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       Rae Stanton
    
 commented Rae Stanton
    
 commentedI have raised this issue SO MANY TIMES!!!! It's infuriating and a backwards step with the so-called new invoicing. Here's my standard comment that I'm posting wherever I feel it is relevant ... I see that Xero has extended classic invoicing until end of Feb 25 (yay, coz let's face it, we all want to KEEP it!) ... so how about you let us just stay with classic invoicing instead of making us switch back every 24 hours. I would really appreciate not having to click twice to get back to where I want to be. Alternatively ... feel free to fix the bug where Xero doesn't know the next available invoice number when I delete the existing invoice number ... coz that one is also very annoying and at this point it might be the only thing holding me back. Thanks! And yes, I'm posting this in a few different places in the hope that I will be heard and that this infuriating bug will be fixed so that we get the old functionality in the so called New Invoicing. 
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       Brianna Deacon
    
 commented Brianna Deacon
    
 commentedI had raised this same issue with Xero Support on 02 September, and on 07 November I was told in my case: "I apologise for the lengthy wait, it appears that this is not something that will be looked at before the retirement of Classic Invoicing." 
 Unfortunately, it feels like they aren't listening to their customers and taking on our feedback with features we need and want.
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       Alison Walker
    
 commented Alison Walker
    
 commentedI will be changing jobs in the New Year and I'm considering turning down job opportunities with any future employer who uses Xero as I fully expect the abomination that is the new Sales Ledger process to be transferred over to Purchase Ledger once Xero have railroaded us to use their new Sales Ledger. The phrase 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' springs to mind - the Classic version works so well for so many of us end users why won't Xero listen??? 
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       Kathy Skinner
    
 commented Kathy Skinner
    
 commentedAgree - they are all about the money now, increase the price for a package that is going backwards especially now. 
