How things are numbered
Accounts, counterparties, structures and operating entities each carry a reference number. A numbering scheme decides what those numbers look like and keeps count of the ones already issued. The Numbering Schemes screen is where you set them up.
You can hold as many schemes as you like. A bank that numbers retail accounts differently from corporate ones holds two, and points each account type at the one it should use.
What a scheme is made of
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Key | The scheme’s identity. Other settings point at it, so it cannot be changed later. |
| Description | The name you read on screen. Change it whenever you like. |
| Prefix | Characters in front of the number, such as A. |
| Suffix | Characters after the number. |
| Digits | How many digits the number is padded to. Prefix and suffix do not count. |
| Increment | How far the counter moves each time it issues a number. |
| Opening number | The first number the scheme issues. |
Next number is not a field you set. It is what the scheme will issue next, shown so you can see the effect of a change before you make it.
A scheme with prefix A, six digits and an opening number of 600120 issues A600120
the first time it is used. The screen then shows its next number as A600121.
Adding a scheme
- Select Add.
- Give the scheme a key. Use lower-case words separated by hyphens, such as
retail-accounts. - Fill in the description, prefix, suffix, digits, increment and opening number.
- Select Save.
The scheme is offered straight away, wherever a type is pointed at one.
Changing a scheme
You can change the description, prefix, suffix, digits and increment at any time. The change affects numbers not yet issued; everything already numbered keeps the number it has.
Re-prefixing a scheme does not restart it. A scheme that has issued A600001 and is
then re-prefixed to RB issues RB600002 next.
The opening number is different. It is spent the first time the scheme issues a number, and is fixed from then on — changing it afterwards is refused, because it would either re-issue numbers already in use or skip a block. To move a scheme that is already running, set its next number instead.
Retiring a scheme
A scheme is retired, never deleted. Clear Active and the scheme stops being offered when you point a type at one. Everything already pointed at it carries on working, and carries on getting numbers from it.
That is why retiring is safe: nothing breaks, the scheme simply stops being a choice. If you retire one by mistake, set Active again and it is offered once more.
A retired scheme stays on the screen, marked inactive, so you can see what a number was issued under.
Schemes you cannot change
A few schemes are marked system-owned. Their format is fixed by a file the platform sends somewhere else — a payment file, for instance, where the receiving bank dictates the layout. You can see them, but you cannot change or retire them.
Gaps in the numbers are normal
A number is issued the moment a form opens, before anyone saves anything. If the person filling it in abandons the form, that number is spent and the next record gets the one after it.
This is deliberate. The alternative is two people opening the same form and being handed the same number, which is far worse than a gap. Do not read a gap as a missing record.
What your organisation configures
- Which schemes exist, and what each one looks like.
- Which scheme each account type, counterparty type, structure type, operating entity type and organisational unit type numbers from — set on that type, not here.
- Which schemes are still offered, and which have been retired.
A type that names no scheme is not numbered automatically. Whoever creates the record types the number in by hand.