In that case, you can still control the page numbering for the body fairly easily, starting with a template that has the layout described in my previous post. What you can do is:
1. In the first section (front matter) header, insert a field coded as:
{SET Front {SECTIONPAGES \* Arabic}}
2. In the last section (appendices) header, insert a field coded as:
{SET Back {SECTIONPAGES \* Arabic}}
3. For the body numbering, use a field coded as follows for the 'Y' part of the 'Page X of Y' numbering:
{={NUMPAGES}-Front-Back \# 0}
That way, regardless of how many Section breaks the body has, its body will always have the correct 'Page X of Y' numbering.

Note: The field brace pairs (i.e. '{ }') for the above examples are all created in the document itself, via Ctrl-F9 (Cmd-F9 on a Mac); you can't simply type them or copy & paste them from this message. Nor is it practicable to add them via any of the standard Word dialogues.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]