Barcodes make billing faster and stop typing mistakes at the counter. One scan adds the right item, size and price to the bill. You don't need a special label printer to start: an ordinary laser or inkjet printer and pre-cut sticker sheets are enough.
1. Give every item its own code (SKU)
A barcode is just a code in a form a scanner can read. First decide the code, called a SKU (stock keeping unit):
- One SKU for every variant you stock separately. A T-shirt in three sizes and two colours is six SKUs, because each has its own stock.
- Keep SKUs short and readable, using letters, digits and hyphens, for example
TEE-NAV-M. Short codes print as wider, easier-to-scan barcodes. - Never reuse a SKU for a different item, even after the old one is discontinued. Old bills and stock history point to it.
- Products that already carry a maker's barcode (EAN, the 13-digit number on packaged goods) can be billed by that barcode instead. You only need your own labels for items without one.
2. Pick the barcode type: Code 128
For your own labels use Code 128. It holds letters as well as digits, stays compact, and every ordinary barcode scanner reads it. EAN-13 is only for numbers registered with GS1, so don't make up EAN numbers for your own stock.
3. Choose a label sheet
- A4 sheets with pre-cut labels work in any office printer. A common choice for shelf and garment tags is 30 labels per sheet, 3 across and 10 down, each about 64 × 27.5 mm.
- Use sheets made for your printer type, laser or inkjet. The wrong kind smudges or peels inside the printer.
- If you print thousands of labels a week, a dedicated thermal label printer with label rolls is cheaper per label. For most shops, sheets are fine.
4. Print so the labels line up
This is where most people get stuck. Each label has to land exactly inside a pre-cut sticker.
- Print one test sheet on plain paper first. Hold it against a label sheet in front of a light to check that each barcode sits inside a sticker.
- In the print dialog, set Scale to 100% (or "Actual size"). Turn off "Fit to page", which shrinks everything and throws off alignment.
- Set paper size to A4, not Letter, and margins to None if the dialog offers it.
- Feed one label sheet at a time if your printer tends to skew thick paper.
- If every label is off by the same amount, that's your printer's feed. Some printers have an alignment or registration setting, and moving the paper guide slightly also helps.
5. Stick and scan
- Put the label on a flat part of the item or tag, not over a seam or curve, and keep the barcode bars upright and clear of creases.
- A USB barcode scanner needs no setup. It types the code into whatever box has the cursor, as if from a keyboard, and presses Enter. Most cheap scanners work this way.
- A phone camera can also scan, which is handy for a second counter or stock-taking.
- Test-scan a few labels from each sheet before labelling the whole stock.
Common problems
- The scanner beeps but nothing appears: the cursor isn't in the item box. Click the box and scan again.
- It won't scan at all: the print is too faint or the barcode was shrunk. Print darker and at 100% scale.
- Wrong item comes up: two variants share a SKU. Give each its own code.
How InvenCore handles it
- InvenCore gives every product variant its own SKU, with size and colour.
- Barcode Labels prints Code 128 labels laid out for precut A4 sheets of 3 × 10 labels at 64 × 27.5 mm. Each label shows the product name, the barcode with its SKU, and the size and colour.
- The page margins for the label sheet are set for you, so you only need to choose the printer and keep the scale at 100%.
- In Quick Sale (F1), scanning a label adds the item, and scanning again adds to its quantity.
- The InvenCore Counter app scans barcodes with the phone camera.
This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice. GST rules change through notifications and circulars, so check the latest position on gst.gov.in and cbic-gst.gov.in, or ask your tax professional.