Goodbye NoSeriesManagement: The New Way to Handle Number Series in Business Central

 If you've been working with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central for a while, you're probably familiar with the classic NoSeriesManagement codeunit. It’s been the go-to for generating and managing number series across modules like sales, purchasing, and finance.

But times are changing.

Microsoft is officially retiring NoSeriesManagement, and introducing a modern, modular design pattern that aligns with the new Business Foundation layer. This shift is part of a broader effort to decouple core ERP functionality from the monolithic Base App and make Business Central more extensible, testable, and future-proof.

Let’s break down what’s changing and how you can adapt.

 

What’s Going Away?

The legacy codeunit:

Codeunit 396 "NoSeriesManagement"

is being deprecated. It relied heavily on implicit logic and constructs like xRec, which made it harder to maintain and test.

Example of old usage:

NoSeriesManagement.InitSeries(SalesSetup."Customer Nos.", xRec."No. Series", 0D, "No.", "No. Series");

This pattern is no longer recommended and will eventually be unsupported.

 

What’s Replacing It?

Microsoft now recommends using two new codeunits:

1. Codeunit 310 "No. Series"

For single number generation.

2. Codeunit 311 "No. Series – Batch"

For bulk number generation.

These are part of the Business Foundation App and follow a clean, modular design.

 

New Design Pattern: Cleaner and Explicit

Here’s how you generate a number using the new pattern:

procedure AssignNoSeries()

var

    NoSeries: Codeunit "No. Series";

    SalesSetup: Record "Sales & Receivables Setup";

begin

    SalesSetup.Get();

    SalesSetup.TestField("Customer Nos");

 

    "No. Series" := SalesSetup."Customer Nos.";

    "No." := NoSeries.GetNextNo("No. Series");

end;

Key Differences:

Feature	Old Pattern	New Pattern
Codeunit	NoSeriesManagement	No. Series / No. Series – Batch
Dependency	Implicit (xRec)	Explicit field assignment
Extensibility	Limited	Modular and testable
Compatibility	Legacy	Future-proof (Business Foundation)

 

Why This Matters

• Modularity: The new pattern is part of Microsoft’s push toward modular architecture.
• Testability: Easier to write unit tests and validate logic.
• Clarity: No more hidden dependencies like xRec.
• Performance: Batch codeunit improves performance for bulk operations.

 

What You Should Do

1. Refactor your AL code to use No. Series instead of NoSeriesManagement.
2. Avoid using xRec for number series logic.
3. Explore the Business Foundation App via AL Explorer to understand other modular changes.
4. Prepare for future updates - this is just the beginning of Microsoft’s modularization journey.

 

Final Thoughts

The retirement of NoSeriesManagement marks a significant shift in how developers interact with Business Central’s core features. While change can be daunting, this new design pattern offers a cleaner, more maintainable way to manage number series - and sets the stage for a more modern ERP experience.

If you're still using the old pattern, now’s the time to refactor. Your future self (and your codebase) will thank you.