Can I use Barcodes with Square Retail Free version?

[Quilter]

[The title of this thread has been edited from the original: Barcodes with Square Retail Free version]

Hi.  I'm a very small business and only vend 1 or 2 times per year (thus paid $60 per month is out).

I want to use the free version however I'm unsure if I can use barcodes.  I see that it doesn't GENERATE barcodes.  If I use an outside source to generate them, will the free Square Retail store and retrieve (during checkout) these bar codes?   If so, can you recommend a barcode-generating software, please. 

I already have a scanner and a Zebra printer.  

Thank you! 

[homeprogreen]

Yes the free version of Square for Retail will let you add items to the cart by scanning barcodes. Zebra actually has software for their printers that will generate basic barcodes so just a matter of generating the SKU, printing the label, then scanning it into the spot available on your item to enable using it for checkout. I would recommend a spreadsheet to keep track of what SKU’s are assigned to what items so you avoid duplicate barcodes 

[Sarahrass]

Hi, I'm also struggling to find a solution to inventory management across Etsy and Square integration. I'd like to use barcodes for my in-person sales, but I can't figure out how to do this with the free version of Square (I don't have the paid Square for Retail version.) Can you explain how you would go about integrating barcodes with the free version? How do you "scan it into the spot available on your item?" I don't see on my Square dashboard where that is possible. Thank you.

[homeprogreen]

You can open up the Square POS app, hit the 3 bars labeled more in bottom right hand corner then select items from the list of options available. Scroll to the item that you want to add a barcode for then open that item. About 1/2 way down the page for that item you will see “SKU”  touch it to put the cursor in the box then just scan the barcode that’s on your item. Hit save and you’re done. Then any time you sell that item just scan the barcode and it will add it to the cart

[Sarahrass]

I don't have a barcode scanner yet, and for context I use my iPhone with a Square Reader as my POS. Do I need to get the scanner model that Square sells (Socket Mobile S700)? Or will it connect to Square and work with any bluetooth scanner? Is there a way to use my phone as a scanner and have the info integrated into my Square app? Thank you for your help. 

[homeprogreen]

It’s more work to do it without a scanner but it’s doable. Just have to be careful about typos. Follow the instructions that I gave you earlier to get to the SKU field then instead of scanning the barcode you can just type in the numbers under the barcode. Then hit save. That will give the system the necessary information in order for you to scan items. Personally I have the socket mobile S700 and it works with my iPads so should work fine with iPhone. Any scanner not listed as supported is hit and miss. Some connect just fine and work well, others just don’t connect. It helps narrow it down by looking at the reviews on each scanner you’re considering because I have found that most mention that it works with square or doesn’t. I haven’t personally tried using the IPhone camera to scan barcodes but it’s supposed to work. What I would do is manually enter a SKU for an item, save it then do a test sale of that item using the iPhone camera as a scanner to see if it actually adds the item to the cart. If it does then I would try to use it to setup an item barcode. If it works for that then no need to purchase a separate scanner. 

[JayElleBee]

Excellent answer! We only use NAICS bar codes, and still have to keep a spreadsheet for multiple platforms. Just part of the workload, I guess?

[michelle168]

Easy Label App at Square has  the ability to generate barcode with free version of Square retails. You can also print barcode label with Zebra printer. The monthly cost is $9.99. Please check it out.