How to rename your invoice numbers by replacing or removing characters
This guide covers how to use the 'Find & Replace Invoice No.' feature on the reconciliation results page to correct invoice numbers that prevent matches between invoice and statement lines. Learn how to replace or remove prefixes, suffixes, or characters anywhere within invoice numbers step-by-step, helping you ensure accurate matchings by standardising invoice formats 💯
At the top right of your rec results page, you'll find the Find & Replace tool as a magnifying glass icon.
With this feature you can replace or remove text that appears:
before the invoice number (prefix)
after the invoice number (suffix)
in the middle of the invoice number (anywhere)
How it works:
Enter the text you want to find in the 'find' field
Enter the replacement text in the 'replace with' field
If you want to remove the text entered in the 'find' field, leave the 'replace with' field empty
These are the options to edit your prefix and suffix text
Prefix & Suffix:
Replace or remove prefix/suffix text: enter the characters that come before/after the invoice number that you want to remove or replace with preferred characters.
Replace or remove no. of characters at the start/end: enter the number of characters at the beginning or end of your invoice number that you want to remove or replace with your preferred characters.
Replace or remove all text before/after the first/last instance of...: enter the specific text (e.g., "inv") you want to retain. You can choose to replace or remove all text before or after that instance. Leave the replace with field blank if you want to keep only the specified text.
💡 Note: if you have to edit prefix and suffix text we suggest to always edit suffix text before prefix text.
Anywhere:
Replace or remove all occurrences: this option will find and replace or remove every instance of the specified text throughout the entire invoice number
Replace or remove first occurrence: this option will only find and replace or remove the first instance of the specified text in the invoice number
Replace or remove last occurrence: this option will only find and replace or remove the last instance of the specified text in the invoice number
When you are editing your invoice numbers, you will see a list of the changes you are making so you know how the original invoice number reads and how the new invoice number will read.
When you are happy with the changes, click the 'Apply' button on the top right.
💡 Note: You cannot apply two changes in one time. If you want to e.g. replace prefix text AND remove suffix text, you'll need to perform each change separately - one at a time.
Here are some useful cases for you to understand the scope of the Find & Replace Invoice No. features.
1. In this example, we are showing you how to remove prefixes from an invoice number. We have entered the invoice we want to find but the matches results are coming empty.
So, we have now entered the invoice number exactly how it is recorded, with the prefix.
In this case we have selected the 'replace or remove prefix text' option in the Prefix category and entered the five 0s we want to remove in the 'find' field. To remove them, we have left the 'replace field' empty. Now the invoice number reads 'inv-xxxx'
2. To retain just one prefix character, select the 'replace or remove all text before first instance of...' option in the Prefix category and enter that character in the 'replace with' field. This will replace the current prefix with your chosen character, making the invoice number start with only that character.
3. To remove characters in the middle of your invoice number, enter the text you wish to remove in the 'find' field in the Anywhere category and leave the 'replace with' field empty so the original text will be removed.
4. To replace characters at the end of your invoice number, select the 'replace or remove no. of characters at the end' option in the Suffix category. Enter the number of characters that appear at the end in the 'numbers of character field. In this example there are 3 zeroes after the invoice number so we have entered 3. Then to replace it, we have changed it to '.0' so now the invoice number reads: 'inv-xxxx-.0'
