diff --git a/versioning/README.md b/versioning/README.md
index fd527fb..49ea543 100644
--- a/versioning/README.md
+++ b/versioning/README.md
@@ -5,24 +5,15 @@ This project uses a time-based versioning scheme: `year.month.sequential_number`
 This scheme makes it easy to identify when a version was released and provides a clear order for releases within a given month.
 
 ### Examples
-- `2024.12.01` – First release of December 2024.
-- `2024.12.02` – Second release of December 2024.
-- `2025.01.01` – First release of January 2025.
+- `2024.1.1` – First release of January 2024.
+- `2024.12.2` – Second release of December 2024.
+- `2025.3.1` – First release of March 2025.
 
 ## Files
 - **`VERSION`**: Contains the current version of the project as plain text.
 - **`bump_version.sh`**: A script to increment the version based on the current date and release sequence.
 - **`README.md`**: Documentation for the versioning process.
 
-## Versioning Rules
-1. The version format is `YYYY.MM.NN`, where:
-   - `YYYY` is the current year.
-   - `MM` is the current month (two digits).
-   - `NN` is the sequential release number within the month (starting at `01`).
-2. On each new merge to the `main` branch:
-   - If the month hasn’t changed, the sequential number (`NN`) is incremented.
-   - If the month has changed, the sequential number resets to `01`.
-
 ## Usage
 
 ### Automatically Managed
@@ -54,12 +45,12 @@ This ensures the correct version is used directly in the ESPHome setup without r
 
 The versioning system enforces strict format validation:
 - Year must be a 4-digit number (YYYY)
-- Month must be a 2-digit number (01-12)
-- Sequence must be a 2-digit number (01-99)
+- Month must be a number from 1 to 12 without leading zeros
+- Sequence must be a positive number with no leading zeros (1, 2, ...).
 
 The `bump_version.sh` script includes validation checks and will fail if:
-- The version format is invalid
-- The sequence number would exceed 99 in a month
+- The version format is invalid.
+- Other format-related issues are detected.
 
 ### GitHub Actions Workflow Adjustment
 The GitHub Actions workflow for versioning runs only when changes are merged into the `main` branch, ensuring no premature version updates during PR creation.
diff --git a/versioning/bump_version.sh b/versioning/bump_version.sh
index 6cd72c6..3b85e58 100644
--- a/versioning/bump_version.sh
+++ b/versioning/bump_version.sh
@@ -5,15 +5,15 @@ VERSION_YAML_FILE="./versioning/VERSION_YAML"
 
 # Read the current version
 if [ -f "$VERSION_FILE" ]; then
-  CURRENT_VERSION=$(cat $VERSION_FILE)
+  CURRENT_VERSION=$(cat "$VERSION_FILE")
 else
   CURRENT_VERSION="0.0.0" # Default if file doesn't exist
 fi
 
 # Extract components
 CURRENT_YEAR=$(date +%Y)
-CURRENT_MONTH=$(date +%m)
-if ! [[ "$CURRENT_VERSION" =~ ^[0-9]{4}\.[0-9]{2}\.[0-9]{2}$ ]]; then
+CURRENT_MONTH=$(date +%-m) # Use %-m to avoid leading zero for the month
+if ! [[ "$CURRENT_VERSION" =~ ^[0-9]{4}\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]]; then
   echo "Error: Invalid version format in $VERSION_FILE"
   exit 1
 fi
@@ -24,17 +24,12 @@ VERSION_MONTH=$(echo "$CURRENT_VERSION" | awk -F. '{print $2}')
 
 # Determine new version
 if [[ "$CURRENT_YEAR" == "$VERSION_YEAR" && "$CURRENT_MONTH" == "$VERSION_MONTH" ]]; then
-  NEXT_SEQ=$((10#$CURRENT_SEQ + 1))
-  if [ $NEXT_SEQ -gt 99 ]; then
-    echo "Error: Sequence number would exceed 99"
-    exit 1
-  fi
-  NEW_SEQ=$(printf "%02d" $NEXT_SEQ)
+  NEXT_SEQ=$((CURRENT_SEQ + 1))
 else
-  NEW_SEQ="01" # Reset sequence for a new month
+  NEXT_SEQ=1 # Reset sequence for a new month
 fi
 
-NEW_VERSION="${CURRENT_YEAR}.${CURRENT_MONTH}.${NEW_SEQ}"
+NEW_VERSION="${CURRENT_YEAR}.${CURRENT_MONTH}.${NEXT_SEQ}"
 
 # Update the plain text VERSION file
 echo "$NEW_VERSION" > "$VERSION_FILE"