Numberingatenderorlegalpackproperly

Number the pack, not the parts

Each source document is numbered correctly on its own, which is exactly the problem: assembled, the sequence restarts at every section and page 4 exists five times.

Numbering the assembled document gives every page one unambiguous address. It also survives further changes — add an annexure, renumber the pack, and the addressing stays consistent.

When Page x of y earns its place

For anything printed and handed round — tenders, bundles, board papers — Page 3 of 47 makes a missing sheet obvious at a glance. A bare number does not.

For a document that stays on screen, the total adds clutter for no benefit. Choose by how the document will be used, not by habit.

Covers, annexures and continuing sequences

• Skip the cover. A cover page is not page one, and numbering it looks careless.
• Start from a number when the document continues something else — an annexure that follows page 40 of the main pack should begin at 41.
• Keep the position consistent across every document in a set. Mixed corners in one bundle reads as three documents stapled together, because that is what it is.

The check that takes thirty seconds

Open the finished pack, jump to the last page, and confirm the number matches the page count you expect. It catches a missing annexure, a duplicated section and a numbering run that started in the wrong place — all of which are cheap to fix now and expensive to explain later.