Scan it at the till, at the door and on the shelf.
One barcode per variant does three jobs in Timeo: selling at the counter, booking in deliveries and counting stock during a stocktake.
Typing SKUs is where mistakes start
When the cashier has to type a code or scroll a product list, the queue grows and the wrong colour gets sold. When deliveries are keyed in from the supplier invoice, a line gets skipped. When stock is counted on paper, someone has to type it all in again.
Each of those steps has its own small error rate, and together they are why the stock number on screen slowly parts ways with what is in the shop.
How barcodes work in Timeo
Each variant can carry its own barcode alongside its SKU. At the register, the search box finds products by barcode, and the Scan button opens a Scan barcode window that reads codes through the device camera. A USB scanner that types like a keyboard works in the same window, and the TimeoPro Android app has its own Scan barcode button.
The same code is used when stock arrives. Receive stock is built around a scanner: each scan adds one, scanning the same item again adds another, and you check the totals before adding them to stock. An unknown barcode can be linked to an existing product by its SKU without leaving the screen.
Stocktakes use it too: the stocktake screen searches by scan, product, variant or SKU, so counting a shelf is scan, type the count, move on.
Start scanning
- Open Catalog > Products, open a product and fill in the barcode on each variant (or link barcodes later from Receive stock).
- At Sales > POS, press Scan and point the camera at the code, or click into the barcode field and use a USB scanner.
- For deliveries, switch on Inventory & supply chain in More features (Settings > Features), then use Inventory > Receive stock and press Receive by scan.
- Press Use camera on Receive stock if you do not have a handheld scanner.
- During a stocktake, scan each item in the search box on the stocktake session and enter the count.
What shoppers see
A beep and the item appears on the bill with the right size, colour and price. Busy Saturdays move faster because nobody is searching a long product list while the queue waits.
Fewer typing mistakes also means fewer awkward corrections at the counter and receipts that list exactly what the shopper took home.
Questions
Do I need special hardware to scan?
No. The POS can read barcodes with the device camera. A USB scanner that types the code also works in the scanner window.
Can two variants share one barcode?
Give each variant its own barcode so a scan always finds one exact size or colour, and its stock moves correctly.
Can I scan stock in when a delivery arrives?
Yes, on Advance. Receive stock adds one per scan, lets you fix the counts, and then adds the whole delivery to stock in one step.
What happens if I scan something that is not in my products?
Receive stock tells you the code is not in your products and lets you link it to a product by typing its SKU, or create a new product.