Multiple Invoice Numbers Based On Logged In Creator

bucobill

I swear I read somewhere but cannot find a post about being able to create a unique invoice number based on the loggedin (?) This was done so a customer could have duplicate invoice numbers and not create an issue in AwareIM. So that it is better understood.

You have two Customers - Customer 1 and Customer 2, Each customer wants sequential invoice numbers in their files. How would we go about this? Should we create a new attribute with Invoice number under the customer make it read logged in customer.InvoiceNumber+1

bucobill

Maybe I did not explain it properly.

You have multiple customers in the system. They each produce an invoice. If you have 5 customers they can each select a starting number for their invoices and then it would increase by 1 for that invoice number.

Example
Customer 1 Starting Invoice Number 1000
They create new invoice now invoice 1001

Customer 2 Starting Invoice Number 100
They create new invoice now invoice 101

Customer 3 Starting Invoice Number 1
They create new invoice now invoice 2

Then Customer 2 creates another invoice and their invoice number for the new invoice is 102

Etc.

I thought I read somewhere that this was possible. If it is not then let me know. I would appreciate it.

hpl123

Bucobill,
This is how I do it. I have UserId attribute on all BO´s and each user has a unique UserId (created by a similar rule when the user is created) and then when a user creates a new e.g. invoice I use the following rule:

If Invoice IS NEW Then
Invoice.InvoiceNo=MAX Invoice.InvoiceNo WHERE (Invoice.UserId=LoggedInSystemUser.UserId)+1

hpl123

hpl123 wrote
Bucobill,
This is how I do it. I have UserId attribute on all BO´s and each user has a unique UserId (created by a similar rule when the user is created) and then when a user creates a new e.g. invoice I use the following rule:

If Invoice IS NEW Then
Invoice.InvoiceNo=MAX Invoice.InvoiceNo WHERE (Invoice.UserId=LoggedInSystemUser.UserId)+1

Another solution if you don´t want to incorporate the UserId solution explained above, you can instead create a attribute on the user BO called "InvoiceNo" and this attribute would then be used when creating new invoices:

If Invoice IS NEW Then
Invoice.InvoiceNo=LoggedInSystemUser.InvoiceNo+1
SystemUser.InvoiceNo=SystemUser.InvoiceNo+1

bucobill

Thank you I will give it a try.

BobK

Another (better*) solution if you are using a newer version of AwareIM (I don't know which build this functionality was added).

On the Invoice, set the Invoice Number field to “Auto incremented”. Then hit the Settings button, for “How to increment value” select “Auto-increment within a group of object instances” and for “Group is determined by value of attribute” enter the Invoice attribute that identifies the customer. By doing this, the invoice number for each customer will increment independently of the other customers. The only issue with this method is that you will have to manually update the database to get the starting invoice number for each customer.

*Why this is better:
from the users guide:

The benefit of using auto-incremented numbers compared to incrementing numbers by rules is that the auto-incremented number is set into the database immediately without waiting for the current database transaction to commit. This avoids the potential problem of having two users having the same number if numbers need to be unique

customaware

The only downside of Auto Incremented numbers is that even though the manual speaks of setting the value into the database immediately, if you want to use it to display the number on a form while creating a record you cannot.

Imagine you want to use it as an Purchase Order Number. The only way (never say only because there is always another way 😉 )I have found to display the Order number on the form while the user enters the details of the form is to CREATE the form first and then VIEW/EDIT it.

Other than that....all good.

hpl123

I have thought about using autoincremented but honestly don´t fully understand how to use them (haven´t taken time to learn how they work). Bob, when you say you have to manually set value in database, does that mean what I think it does i.e. having to do something outside of Aware IM (like stored procedure)?

Mark, regarding the e.g. Order number on form via ENTER NEW, if you change the rule to a "Initialization rule" I THINK you get the number calculated / populated before the user starts typing in info.

BobK

I have just started looking at auto increment myself, so I am certainly no expert on it.

I did notice that when you set a field to auto increment, AwareIM creates a table that is used internally by AwareIM to keep track of the current number. My initial thought was that the data within this table would need to be manipulated outside of AwareIM to get the different values for different customers. You still might have to do that for existing customers. But I could be wrong for new customers because the User Guide mentions several ways to set the initial value inside AwareIM. So I did some more testing.

Method 1: Initial value is determined from value range.
Test: Set the from field of the Value range to 1000 and created a new invoice for a new customer. The invoice number was set to 1000. Works, but I do not like it because you would need to change the range and re-publish for each new customer.

Method 2: Initial value is determined by value of attribute.
Test: Added a new field (InitialInvoiceNumber) to the SystemSettings. Added a new field (InitialInvoiceNumber) to the Invoice BO. Changed the Auto Increment Setting of the InvoiceNumber field to “Initial value determined by value of attribute: InitialInvoiceNumber”. Added the following rule to the Invoice BO:

If Invoice.InitialInvoiceNumber IS UNDEFINED Then
 Invoice.InitialInvoiceNumber=SystemSettings.InitialInvoiceNumber

Published, set SystemSettings.InitialInvoiceNumber to 5000 and created a new invoice for a new customer (customerA). The Invoice number was set to 5000. Changed SystemSettings.InitialInvoiceNumber to 7000 and created a new invoice for another new customer. The Invoice Number was set to 7000. Created another invoice for customerA and the invoice number was set to 5001. Works without having to re-publish for each new customer. But I still do not like it because you need an extra field on the Invoice BO that is really only used when adding a new customer.
It would be nice if on the Auto Increment settings, for the “Initial value determined by value of attribute” you could use an attribute from the SystemSettings. Then you would not need the extra field on the Invoice BO and you would not need the rule to populate it.[/code]

bucobill

Couple of issues I am having trying to implement this. I have tried what HPl123 wrote and that did not function properly and I have tried auto increase.

On HPL123 post I tried this inside the Invoice BO as a Rule:

If Invoice IS NEW Then
Invoice.InvoiceNumber=LoggedInCustomer.InvoiceNo+1
Customer.InvoiceNo=Customer.InvoiceNo+1

I did this because we have managers and staff which don't include InvoiceNumber as an Attribute. I would actually prefer to just set to the Manager and have the customer invoice number increase based upon a Manager having the Initial Value for the Invoice Number and then increase for each invoice owned by any Manager Customer.

Then I attempted the Auto Increment function on the InvoiceNumber inside of the Invoice BO, however the issue runs that Customer is attached to Invoice but doesn't show as a group of object instances option. So I created a ShortCut to CustomerInvoiceNo from Customer.InvoiceNo inside Invoice. Then went to InvoiceNumber and selected Auto-Increment, Inside the Settings I selected "Auto-increment within a group..." Looked for the ShortCut but it wasn't there. Then I changed the ShortCut to a calculated Number with a rule that the Invoice.CustomerInvoiceNo=Invoice.Customer.InvoiceNo

When I published the test version I went to the Order and tried to create an Invoice from a process. This process contains an ENTER NEW and then a VIEW Invoice. At the VIEW portion of the process it stops and says the initial value of InvoiceNumber not found, even though the Customer InvoiceNo is set to 1 and shows under customer edit as a 1.

I tried "Initial Value Is Determined By Initial Value Of Attribute" Set it to CustomerInvoiceNo and changed group to InvoiceNumber but this also did not work and produced an error.

I have opened the User Guide and only see auto-increment on page 183 which I have read. Am I missing more in the User Guide. I did a search for the word Auto to find anything that could possibly be associated. At this time I am at a total loss.

I know that we all help each other and I appreciate it.

hpl123

Bucobill,
My bad, sloppy writing. You have to use LoggedIn as part of the second action and this definitely works:

If Invoice IS NEW Then
Invoice.InvoiceNumber=LoggedInCustomer.InvoiceNo+1
LoggedInCustomer.InvoiceNo=LoggedInCustomer.InvoiceNo+1

The second thing you write about is also possible (i.e. having invoice no set based on manager attribute). Please note, these suggestions might need some tweaking (I write these out directly without testing):

With a relationship already defined between customer and manager:
If Invoice IS NEW Then
Invoice.InvoiceNumber=LoggedInCustomer.Manager.InvoiceNo+1
LoggedInCustomer.Manager.InvoiceNo=LoggedInCustomer.Manager.InvoiceNo+1

Without relationship (but with manager defined per customer):
If Invoice IS NEW Then
FIND Manager WHERE Manager.Id=LoggedInCustomer.ManagerId
Invoice.InvoiceNumber=Manager.InvoiceNo+1
Manager.InvoiceNo=Manager.InvoiceNo+1

NB: Another thing you have to think about here (with the 2 last solutions) is possible access level and/or protection rule restrictions i.e. a Customer might not be able to change a Manager attribute.

hpl123

BobK wrote
It would be nice if on the Auto Increment settings, for the “Initial value determined by value of attribute” you could use an attribute from the SystemSettings. Then you would not need the extra field on the Invoice BO and you would not need the rule to populate it.

Good idea. Another thing/idea might be having the option directly from the autoincremented settings to use rules for example FIND to find some initial value somewhere in the application.

bucobill

Thanks to everyone so far it is basically working but it is losing the number on save.

We did the code inside of both the process and rule attached to invoice.

If Invoice IS NEW Then 
Invoice.InvoiceNumber=LoggedInManager.InvoiceNumber+1 
LoggedInManager.Agency.InvoiceNumber=LoggedInManager.InvoiceNumber+1

In Invoice.InvoiceNumber we use Calculated in the attribute.

Then we add the following

Invoice.InvoiceNumber=LoggedInManager.InvoiceNumber

Once again this is under the process and rule. We tried just as a rule and then just as a process but it only worked with both being inserted. On the process we use ENTER NEW and then a VIEW. We tried as a CREATE and EDIT but that did not work at all.

So then I tried a Protect action in the Rule.

We entered the following

 If Invoice.InvoiceNumber IS DEFINED
Then PROTECT Invoice.InvoiceNumber FROM ALL EXCEPT System

So when we create the Invoice the number shows and when we hit save it disappears from the system. Any help would be appreciated.

hpl123

Bucobill,
First of all, having the 2 additional rules is not necessary. The first rule is enough. I have tested this with your exact scenario i.e. ENTER NEW and VIEW and the value is not lost when I try it:
If Invoice IS NEW Then
Invoice.InvoiceNumber=LoggedInManager.InvoiceNumber+1
LoggedInManager.Agency.InvoiceNumber=LoggedInManager.InvoiceNumber+1

Regarding the value lost on save, this is most likely due to other rules clearing the value after you save the BO. One thing is, do you have a "Initial value" (e.g. 0) set for the Invoice.InvoiceNumber attribute? If so, clear it and try again. If this doesn´t work, go through your rules to see if any rule works with the InvoiceNumber attribute. The change (value lost) is coming from somewhere. Your best bet at finding where is to go through the logviewer (rule by rule).

Another thing, If you are using ENTER NEW and then VIEW solely because you want the InvoiceNumber to be displayed when the user types information on the form, instead change the rule populating the InvoiceNumber to a "Initialization rule" (i.e. check flag "Use rule during initialization" in the rule advanced options). Then use ENTER NEW action only, not followed by the VIEW action.