How to control leading zeros in Finder batch rename counter

When batch renaming files in Finder, I am setting the fields in the Rename Finder Items box like this: 'Format' set to (Name and Counter), 'Where' set to (after name), setting the 'Custom Format' and telling it what my 'Start number at' is. All that works well. BUT the start number is led by padding zeros. That is fine, but if the starting number is a single digit (5), the system pads it with 4 leading 0s (00005). I'd like to be able to set the number of padding 0s. Is that possible? In the project I'm working on, there never needs to be more than 3 digits. So I would need 005, 040, 160--my sequence will never go over 999. How can I change the number of digits on the counter? Thanks.