Format.im
Free online tool for professional invoice number generation
What is Format.im? Complete Overview
Format.im is a specialized online tool designed to generate professional invoice numbers efficiently. It caters to businesses of all sizes, freelancers, and accounting professionals who need to create structured, unique, and compliant invoice numbering sequences. The tool solves key pain points around invoice management, including ensuring number uniqueness, maintaining proper sequencing, and accommodating various business-specific formats. With support for sequential, random, and custom-formatted numbers, Format.im eliminates the hassle of manual invoice numbering while reducing errors. The platform also provides integration capabilities with popular accounting software and programming languages, making it versatile for both standalone use and system integration scenarios.
Format.im Interface & Screenshots
Format.im Official screenshot of the tool interface
What Can Format.im Do? Key Features
Custom Number Formatting
Create invoice numbers in any format you need, including year prefixes (2024-001), client codes (CLI001-001), department identifiers (SALES-001), or date-based formats (20240121-001). Supports custom separators like hyphens, slashes, dots, or underscores, with up to 50 characters per number.
Multi-sequence Management
Generate and maintain separate numbering sequences for different invoice types (regular, proforma, quotations) or business units. Each sequence can have its own unique prefix, counter, and formatting rules, allowing for complete organizational control.
Bulk Generation
Produce up to 1,000 invoice numbers in a single batch, with options for sequential or random numbering. This feature is particularly useful for businesses needing to prepare large sets of invoice numbers in advance for system implementation or migration.
Financial Year Handling
Automatically reset numbering sequences at fiscal year transitions with specialized formatting options (e.g., FY24-001). The tool can accommodate different fiscal calendars and maintain separate counters for each financial period.
Integration Support
Comes with ready-to-use code examples for integrating generated formats with PHP, Python (including Django), and popular accounting software. Includes implementation guides for database storage, retrieval, and validation of invoice numbers in various systems.
Best Format.im Use Cases & Applications
Small Business Invoicing
A freelance graphic designer uses Format.im to create client-specific invoice numbers (CLIENTCODE-YEAR-001) that automatically increment with each new project. This professional numbering helps with record-keeping and appears more credible to clients.
Enterprise Accounting System Migration
During a software transition, a manufacturing company generates 500 sequential invoice numbers with department prefixes (PROD-, SALES-, ADMIN-) to maintain continuity while implementing their new ERP system.
E-commerce Platform Integration
An online retailer implements Format.im's PHP code examples to automatically generate unique order numbers (STORE-YYYYMMDD-001) directly in their shopping cart system, ensuring no duplicate orders.
How to Use Format.im: Step-by-Step Guide
Select your numbering pattern: Choose from pre-defined templates or create a custom format using the intuitive interface. Specify prefixes, suffixes, separators, and number length according to your business requirements.
Configure sequence options: Set whether you want sequential or random numbering, define the starting number, and specify any fiscal year or reset parameters needed for your accounting practices.
Generate numbers: Click to create your invoice numbers. The tool will immediately display a preview of your sequence, showing several examples of how the numbers will appear when used.
Export or implement: Download your numbers in Excel format, copy them to clipboard, or use the provided code snippets to integrate them directly into your accounting system or custom application.
Format.im Pros and Cons: Honest Review
Pros
Considerations
Is Format.im Worth It? FAQ & Reviews
Yes, our tool supports random invoice number generation while ensuring uniqueness. This is particularly useful for situations where sequential numbering isn't desired or required.
We provide ready-to-use PHP code examples that demonstrate how to implement the numbering patterns generated by our tool, including database storage and retrieval methods.
Our generator supports invoice numbers up to 50 characters total, including all prefixes and suffixes, though we recommend keeping them under 20 characters for practicality.
Absolutely. You can create distinct numbering sequences for different business units by using unique prefixes or identifiers in your format.
Our date-based formatting options allow automatic reset of numbering sequences at fiscal year transitions, with customizable prefixes like FY24-001.