All you have to do is identify them in some way. With smaller companies all the ID you need is the name of the form.
If you look at
www.qs9000.com/pdf_files/Doc_Matrix.pdf you will see a document matrix for a small company. None of the procedures, forms, etc. have any identifier other than the disk file name. You could just use the name of the form as several clients have done. Companies turn to numbers and such as their size grows. If you have 5000 people you're gonna have a lot of different forms and procedures - a name simply will not do.
I recomment a letter prefix, number base and 'clarifier' (form, procedure, policy, whatever) suffix such as QA-1234-F (Quality Assurance form 1234) and where hte form is linked to the reference procedure. Let's say QA-1234-P has 3 associated forms - they will be QA-1234-F1, QA-1234-F2 and QA-1234-F3. I prefer the letter prefix so that you don't have to remember a number. If you see PUR you pretty well know its a document 'owned' by purchasing.
Keep it simple and keep it as self evident as possible. I prsonally recommend that a company NOT link procedures to sections of ISO9001 or any other standard. Do what's right for your company. As many companys are beginning to realize, as ISO9001 evolves their link to the old 20 elements means nothing. Nada.
My 3 cents...
[This message has been edited by Marc Smith (edited 02 May 2000).]