Generic barcode scanner- add to cart

[Craftopia]

We're a new business and money is very tight.  I was gifted a generic barcode scanner (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B4VCSMHS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) but am having issues (with it or with square, not really sure).  I realize it is not on the list of recommended/approved scanners but we just don't have the money right now to spend on one-and not sure the investment will fix my issue.  

We have the complete square register (android), and when I plug the usb scanner into the hub the square register does recognize and read it.  As in, if I have the on-screen keyboard up it will scan and show the barcode correctly. So obviously they talk ok to each other, and it is recognizing the barcode as the correct sku for the variation.

But it only pulls up the item, not the variation?  And is there no way to make it put it straight into the cart? I read through a couple other threads and it appears this has been asked before but I didn't actually see an answer.  All I want is to scan the item and have it go straight to the cart, not have to open the keyboard each time to scan/search the library and pop it up.  Because at that point it is just as fast to manually find the item.

Will a 'supported' barcode scanner do this? Or is it just a flaw in the register hardware?  Any work arounds for this broke small business owner??

[HC_Charlie]

Hello @Craftopia thanks for your post. I just have a few questions so I understand how to answer your question. First, when you say "add to cart" are you talking about checking out someone in-person at a store, as opposed to an online cart? I'm guessing because you're using a Square Register you are working with people in-person. When you are scanning to checkout, are you in the "Item" screen, or the "checkout" screen? It almost sounds like you're in the item window where you can add/edit inventory by scanning items. Double check this.

Also when you are creating a variation, you should be able to enter a different SKU (or barcode) for each variation. Check and see if you are in the item screen, and click on a variation to scan a barcode and see if it enters into that field.

Since you can get the barcode scanner to work as far as you are, it seems like it should work for you. You can also check on different barcode formats; there are different types such as ISBN, UPC, etc. Google this and you can read how they are different (based on number of characters, letters vs. numbers, etc.) Your barcode scanner may only work with certain types of barcodes. I hope this might help answer your question.

[Craftopia]

Hi there,

Thanks for the quick reply!

Yes, we are in-person.  I'm ideally wanting to scan the barcode of the item for sale and have it pop straight up in the "current sale" panel.  Right now it is just pulling the item listing in the library (not even opening it).  I have confirmed I am in the checkout screen.

I do have different codes for every variation. And when it selects the item from the library and I open the window for that item, the variation I scanned is highlighted.  I'm just hoping there is a way to bypass the extra step of having to open the item and select the variation to add it to the cart.

Here is a video of what is happening.  https://youtu.be/gAPFY4AIf9I 

I did manually create all the sku's then used excel to translate them to code 39.  They are just numeric codes varying from 2 to 5 digits in length, so not sure if there is something else I can add to the code?  This is still all pretty new to me.  Sadly the booklet that came with the scanner was lacking in instruction, but it looks like it speaks pretty fluent barcode with all the options I can turn on and off.

[Candlestore]

@Craftopia ;

The Popup that you are getting looks like when I scan my GTIN which is the same for multiple Items.  My actual SKU is what we try to scan but sometimes if the SKU is too small we will scan the GTIN which matches just our glass container in this example.  So all our 70 oz pumpkin jars all have their own SKU from from the glass manufacturer. If we scan that barcode we get a popup to choose the scent for us.  Our SKU that we created is different for each scented Jar, and if we scan the SKU we do not have the additional popup screen.  

Below is a picture of our Items for the 70oz Pumpkin Jars.  As you can see in the photo our GTIN is the same, and our SKU's are different. 

So as was mentioned before your Barcode you created could match multiple items or since they are only 2 digits long for some items you may be getting multiple items with those same 2 digits.  If I type Red or Scan a barcode that only has red for the SKU all items in my library with RED in the name or the SKU will show up.  So maybe the SKU  you created and scan is actually showing for multiple items.  Example if you used 12 for your sku and other SKU's or Item names begin or end in 12 they may be the items that are popping up to choose from, but the Highlighted one is the EXACT match.  This is why it is better to have longer SKU's or try ones with letters in it but keep the SKU the same length so 1D barcodes are the same size to fit your Labels.  I use a 2D barcode similar to a QR code for my barcodes, which is why my SKU are up to 30 letters and Numbers in size.  I limit to 30 characters because of QuickBooks limit.