For the record, based on working in the school office when I was in high school, I believe that the numbering system where the records were kept till the end of the month makes sense. IOW, I think Mikki Booth and her friend are telling the truth.
Back when we didn’t have computers to use for such things and no way to easily look up records by number, we tried to alphabetize as much as we could and we always waited till the end of the month to organize things. Always. The first of the next month was when tardies, absences, and transfers were sorted for the previous month.
That way, if you needed to know if so-and-so was tardy in September, you went to September’s records, and then went to their place in the alphabet to find their records.
Otherwise, if they were kept in the order that they came in, you could have to sort through dozens or even hundreds of records before finding what you needed.
It was the only way that made any kind of sense. It made all of the girls in the office really good at alphabetizing, too! :)
I've worked in the courthouse filing BCs and every other legal document. These are file stamped in numberical order immediately. They are never put off until the end of the month, week, or even day. Every document is always kept in order and their numbers reflect that. A-hat's BC didn't get put in a stack and left there. We're talking legal documents, not if Billy was tardy.