The two-minute guide to using barcodes
May 28th, 2008
If you sell products, you may want to take advantage of their barcodes to let you take orders and receive goods faster and more accurately. If you’re selling a product, just scan what you’re selling, then print out an invoice and have your inventory automatically adjusted.
It’s much easier and cheaper to get this going than most people think. All you need besides your computer is a barcode scanner and some compatible software.
A basic barcode scanner typically sells for about $150. Don’t be overwhelmed by all the choices out there; a basic USB barcode scanner will work with just about any computer and will suit the needs of most small businesses. Your biggest decision will be whether or not you want to pay more for a wireless scanner.
Your local computer stores may also carry barcode scanners, or here’s a few possible places you can buy them online:
You also have various options for the software. If you run a retail store, a point of sale (POS) system may suit your needs. You can also buy add-ons that add barcode capability to Quickbooks. Or inFlow Inventory is a complete small business system that lets you manage inventory and take orders using barcodes. It even has a Free Edition you can download and use with no time limits.
Do you know someone who might want to start using barcodes in their business?
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Tags: barcode, book, business, free, inventory, invoice, software
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what do i need to start a barcode business?
You can buy a scanner from the online stores in this blog post, and use inFlow software to help you keep track of your stock.
i used legalbarcode.com to get my barcodes. I paid 50$ for a barcode with lifetime right of usage and i even got a second for free.
Thanks Michael; that’s a great tip that I’m sure will help people!
I am having trouble finding a good program for inventory tracking. I want to be able to use my new barcode scanner (USB) with a simple inventory control program (possibly free). I tried inFlow but was a little overwhelmed. I am brand new to barcoding. I want to be able to scan an item and have the database (inventory control program) to subtract from whatever total quantity. Please help, thank you.
Regards
This article on how to use barcode with inFlow should help: http://www.inflowinventory.com/KnowledgeBase/questions/5/Barcode+Support
Thanks,
-Louis
i read the message u sent to me bit i can not find any point that could be the answer for my question.i were interested to get this soft ware having my own account by free since i can not afford any payment u know this is why since i am from ethiopia. so please try your best to help me have a free inflow soft ware with my own account.i hope u will do this soon
thank you in advance
I am taye from Ethiopia,Bahir Dar
I have a series of 49 bar code numbers that I have been shown how to input into Corel to convert to the bar code. I do not understand how the code is programmed to have the information about the product and price. Where does that stage occur?
- Julie
Dont even spend $150 i bought a usb barcode scanner on ebay new from Hong Kong for $40 shipped and it works great with inflow and my computer! It was plug and play and saves me tons of time.
(Sorry for the extremely slow responses!)
@Taye: You can try our Free Edition at http://www.inflowinventory.com
@Julie: Usually, this information isn’t kept within the barcode itself. You would use some software (e.g. inFlow) that recognizes the product from the barcode, and then retrieves the rest of the product information, including the price.
@P: That’s quite a bargain! Thanks for sharing