Inventory Software With a Barcode Scanner, for Makers

Good inventory software with a barcode scanner lets you scan on every screen that takes an item or a lot: receiving, counting, picking and recording a batch. It should work with the phone's camera, so you can start with no hardware, and with any USB or Bluetooth scanner when you want speed. For a food or craft maker, the scan that matters most isn't the UPC on a product: it's the GS1-128 label on a supplier's case, which carries the lot number and the use-by date, and good software reads those straight into the receipt. Below is phone versus scanner, which barcodes you'll meet, the jobs scanning speeds up, and what to check before you buy.

The short version

• Start with the phone's camera; add a scanner when the volume justifies it.
• Any USB or Bluetooth scanner that acts like a keyboard works with software that accepts typed codes.
• You'll scan three kinds of barcode: products, supplier cases, and your own labels.
• A supplier's GS1-128 case label carries the lot and use-by date. Software should read both.
• Scanning pays most at receiving and counting.
• The software has to print labels for your own stock, or there's nothing to scan.
• TaroStack scans on every screen that takes a code, with a camera or any scanner. More below.

Phone camera or a scanner?

Most handheld scanners work in "keyboard mode": the scanner types the code as if someone had typed it, then presses Enter. That's why a cheap scanner works with any software that has a field where you can type a code. Before you buy one, check it reads the barcode types you'll actually see, including GS1-128 and, if your labels use them, 2D codes.

My suggestion is to start with the camera you already own, run a week, and buy a scanner for the job where the camera annoyed you most. It's usually receiving.

The three kinds of barcode you'll scan

The GS1-128 label is the one that saves real work. The numbers in brackets on it are called application identifiers: (01) is the product code, (10) is the lot, (17) is the use-by date and (15) is the best-before date. Software that reads them fills in the lot and date for you instead of you copying them off the box. How GS1 codes work, and how to get your own, is in GS1 barcodes for small food producers.

The jobs scanning speeds up

These are my rough estimates for a small kitchen, timing a person who knows the software:

The minutes matter less than the mistakes. A typed lot code with one wrong digit is a lot that doesn't exist, which you find out the day you need it for a recall. A scanned one is right.

What to check before you buy

Label ideas, from shelf codes to lot labels, are in inventory labeling ideas, and the rest of what makes software easy on the floor is in easy-to-use inventory software.

Where this stops working

Scanning on its own is only half the job. A scanner that adds one to a count in a spreadsheet doesn't know lots, dates or units, so the supplier's case label gets scanned and its lot typed anyway. Software that scans at the till but not at receiving leaves the hardest job by hand. And without labels of your own, the shelves of decanted flour, the tubs of dough and the finished jars have nothing to scan at all.

How TaroStack does it

TaroStack takes a scan on every screen that takes a code (counting, receiving, picking and recording a batch) with the phone's camera or any USB or Bluetooth scanner. You can start this afternoon with the phone in your pocket.

Receiving reads the supplier's label. Scan a supplier's GS1-128 case label at receiving and TaroStack fills in its lot from (10) and its use-by date from (17), and reads a best-before date from (15) too. So the lot on your shelf is the lot in your records from the first minute, with no copying, and a recall later finds it. Deliveries can be received against a purchase order or without one, and over-receiving is caught and flagged.

Your own stock gets barcodes. Lot labels print with a GS1-128 barcode carrying the product code (01), the use-by date (17) and the lot (10) when the item has a 14-digit GTIN, and the lot code alone otherwise, on a sheet for an ordinary printer or as a ZPL file for a Zebra printer. Shelf labels print for every location and item labels for anything you scan. TaroStack doesn't issue barcodes or GTINs; those come from GS1.

Scanning feeds everything else. A scanned count shows what each difference is worth before you post it. Picking takes the lot with the soonest date first. A scanned batch takes ingredients from the lots you used and notes them in the batch record automatically. And all of it works with no signal, in the walk-in or at the market, sending itself when you're back.

Scanning, receiving, counting, lot labels and shelf labels are on every plan, from $49 a month; recording batches is on Standard at $99. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card, and you don't need to buy a scanner to try it. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.

Questions people also ask

Can I use my phone as a barcode scanner for inventory?

Yes, if the software supports the camera. It's slower than a dedicated scanner but fine for counting and occasional receiving. Many businesses start with phones and add a scanner for receiving later.

What barcode scanner works with inventory software?

Most USB and Bluetooth scanners work in keyboard mode, typing the code into whatever field is active, so they work with any software that accepts typed codes. Check the scanner reads the barcode types you'll see, especially GS1-128.

Do I need barcodes on everything?

No. Start with what you scan most: supplier cases at receiving, your lot labels, and shelf labels for counting. Products you sell in stores will need a GS1 barcode anyway.

What is a GS1-128 barcode?

A barcode on cases and pallets that carries several pieces of information, each marked by a number in brackets: (01) for the product, (10) for the lot, (17) for the use-by date. Software that reads it saves typing the lot and date.