Barcode Inventory Management
Scan a barcode with the phone already in your pocket, and go straight to the product it belongs to - no dedicated hardware, no typing a name to search for it.
What is barcode inventory management?
Barcode inventory management is using a product's barcode, rather than its name, to find and identify it in a stock system, so a scan lands on exactly the right product instead of a search that has to guess at spelling.
Instead of typing "Enamel mug - blue - 350ml" and hoping it matches what was typed in when the product was added, a scan reads the code and lands on exactly the right product, every time.
Do you need special scanning hardware?
No. A phone camera reads a standard barcode as well as most dedicated scanners for the volume a small business actually handles. A USB or Bluetooth barcode scanner also works if one is already owned - it types the number and presses enter, the same as typing it by hand, just faster. Neither is required to get started.
Getting barcodes for products that do not have one
Loose goods, own-made items, and anything that arrived in a plain box often have no barcode at all. The free barcode generator solves this without needing to buy a registered product code: it prints barcodes from the number range GS1 reserves for use inside a single business, so they will never clash with a real retail product, and they scan on any standard reader.
Barcode scanning during a stocktake
Typing product names while counting is where most of the time on a stocktake goes, and where most of the transcription mistakes come from. Scanning removes the typing: point the camera, the product is identified, type the count. The free stocktake tool and StockRoom's own Count screen both work this way.
Setting up barcode scanning in StockRoom
Nothing to configure beyond having products with barcodes against them - existing codes work immediately, and a code StockRoom has not seen before starts adding a new product with the number already filled in. Scan is the dedicated screen for it, and the same camera reading works inside Count and Receive wherever a barcode field appears.
Products that already have a barcode
Most stock bought in from a supplier already carries a barcode from the manufacturer, and nothing needs to be done to it beforehand: scan it once during Receive and StockRoom either recognises the code or offers to add it as a new product with that number attached. The free barcode generator is only for the gap this leaves - products made or packed in-house, loose goods sold by weight, and anything that genuinely has no code of its own.
Printing your own barcode labels
A barcode is only useful once it is actually on the product, which means printing it onto something that survives handling. Ordinary sticker label sheets from any stationery supplier work for shelf edges and cartons; for something that gets touched, wet or scanned outdoors, a purpose-made label roll and a small thermal printer lasts longer than an inkjet sticker that smudges within a month. Neither is required to start - the free barcode generator produces a printable sheet that works from any ordinary printer, and upgrading the printing setup is a decision to make once scanning has proved useful, not before.
Size matters more than the printer. A barcode that is too small for its own bar width blurs into an unreadable smear the moment it is printed at reduced scale on a home inkjet, which is the most common reason a freshly printed code will not scan. The free generator sizes each code so it stays readable at ordinary label sizes, rather than leaving that to guesswork.
When a barcode will not scan
Three things account for most failed scans: the code is too small or blurred from printing at reduced size, the surface it is printed on has glare under the light being used, or the phone has not been given permission to focus close enough. Typing the number is always the fallback, and it is exactly the same lookup a successful scan would have done - nothing is lost by typing over scanning when a code will not cooperate, it is just slower.
Barcode scanning for receiving vs selling
The same scan does a different job depending on which screen it happens in. During Receive, scanning confirms a delivery matches what was ordered, line by line, rather than trusting a packing slip that may not match what is actually in the box. During Pick and Sell, scanning confirms the right product is leaving, which matters most when two products look alike on the shelf but are priced or sized differently. Neither use is more important than the other - they catch different mistakes at different points in the same journey a product takes from arriving to being sold.
One barcode, not one per size or colour
A common setup mistake is giving a whole range - one product in several sizes or colours - the same barcode, on the reasoning that they are "the same product." They are not, for stock purposes: a scan has to land on the exact variant in your hand, not a list of five to choose from afterwards. Each size and colour that gets counted, sold or reordered separately needs its own code, even when the product name on the packaging is identical.
Try scanning on your own products
Free up to 50 products, then A$9 a month. No card to start.
Start free, no cardFrequently asked questions
Does barcode scanning work on an iPhone?
Reading a barcode with the camera needs a browser that supports it. Chrome on Android and Microsoft Edge can. Safari on an iPhone cannot yet, so on an iPhone the number is typed by hand or read with a USB or Bluetooth scanner, which works everywhere.
Can I sell products with generated barcodes on Amazon or in a supermarket?
No. Retailers and marketplaces require a GTIN registered to you, bought from GS1. The free generator uses the range GS1 sets aside for use inside one business, which is right for your own shelves and scanner but not for selling through somebody else's system.
What barcode format does StockRoom use?
Standard EAN-13 - the same format on the vast majority of retail products, readable by any ordinary barcode scanner or phone camera, not a proprietary code that only works inside one app.
Do I need a scanner for every till or workstation?
No - a phone camera at each point covers most small-business cases without buying hardware per station. Dedicated scanners are worth it for a high-volume goods-in bench, but are not required to start.
Can two products accidentally end up with the same barcode?
Not inside StockRoom - a barcode is unique across your whole account, so saving a second product against a code already in use is refused rather than silently creating a clash a scan would later resolve unpredictably. The more common real-world version of this problem is a manufacturer reusing a code on a discontinued line, which no software can prevent and is worth checking for if a scan ever lands on the wrong product.