how do i individually number my invoices sequentially

Hi Duncan,

Numbers does have a template for creating an invoice, which you can modify to suit your friend's needs. It doesn't include creating invoice numbers, as this ability is not built directly into Numbers. A script is likely the best solution to the serial number issue.

Take a look at this thread:Automating Numbers for Invoices, taking on much the same question, but doing the invoices in Numbers. If it doesn't quite solve your issue, post a new question, with a clear description of the whole issue, and (if possible) a screen shot of the invoice as you'd like to see it. It will likely attract the attention of the scriptwriters currently participating in the Numbers community.

Regards,

Barry

This is exactly what I'm trying to do for a friend on his Mac. I've very rarely used a Mac and never used Numbers.

I can't find "Sheet Inspector" and so it's not working for me.

Numbers version is 4.0.5 on MacOS Sierra.

I am not sure what you are asking. Do have the table in each invoice? What have you tried and what is happening that isn't working for you?

There isn't any such function in Pages. You'll have to do it manually.

Maybe it can be done in Numbers, invoice and table and all. Ask in the Numbers forum.

As Fruhulda pointed out, Numbers is probably better suited to doing an invoice than Pages. I don't think Numbers has any built-in ablilty to automatically increment an invoice number each time you open a template, either, though.

In either Pages or Numbers, it would be possible to use an AppleScript to open the invoice template and then automatically enter the new invoice number in the new document. Numbers works much better if you want to use AppleScript to manipulate the contents of tables, but in a relatively simple case like this, Pages would allow you to place the invoice number in a text box or a shape.

Numbers is indeed the way to set up invoices. Assuming your template is set up for each sheet (page) to become a separate invoice, the best you can do is to make use of page numbering.

Your first sheet in the list can be blank, (or in my case I just added a note to it to remind me how to use my template). In the Inspector, choose Sheet Inspector (the second icon in Numbers '09) and set the page number to Start At and choose a number to begin from (I chose 2000, and my next invoice would get the number 2001).

Your second sheet should be set up with your invoice template. Open the Inspector. In Sheet Inspector, change the page numbering to "Continue from previous sheet." Your invoice number field should have its Cell format set as "Number." Then select your invoice number field and choose Insert -> Page Count from the upper menu.

Now whenever you make a new invoice sheet, right-click (or control-click) on any invoice sheet in the Sheets panel and choose "duplicate." If it wasn't the last sheet in the list, be sure to drag the new duplicate to the bottom of the list, to keep the numbering intact. Your invoice number field will now have a sequential invoice number in it.

If you make each Invoice a new page in your Pages document you can use the Auto-Page numbering to create a sequence of numbers for your Invoice.

Peter