GroovePacker Lite utilizes your existing Shopify catalog to determine which barcode value should be expected for each item.
The physical barcode that is printed and scanned can match either your Shopify SKU or your Shopify barcode (UPC, ISBN, etc). Meaning that when the barcode is scanned, the value that gets "typed out" at the cursor will need to match exactly what is saved in one of these fields.
Barcode Value: The value that the scanner types out when a barcode is scanned.
Pre-Barcoded Items
(If your products are not barcoded skip down to Creating barcodes for Unbarcoded Items)
If you are reselling items that have a UPC code printed on their packaging (ie pre-barcoded items) you'll want to save the barcode value of each item in Shopify's barcode field.
This should be done for every product as well as every product variant. Product variants are treated as totally separate items when it comes to accounting, inventory and QC purposes. For this reason, it's important that each variant be assigned a unique UPC.
In Shopify any number of variants can be added to a product. A UPC should be saved for every possible combination: Large Blue, Small Blue, Extra Small Blue, Large Red, Small Red, etc.
After clicking Edit beside a variant we can see if it has a barcode assigned.
During scanning GroovePacker Lite will display an "Add Barcode" button any time the suggested item does not have a barcode assigned. You can simply click the button and scan in the barcode to save it. This is an easy way to add missing barcodes.
For larger catalogs with many missing barcodes, you'll likely want to import the barcode data using Shopify's CSV import option if you have your barcodes available in a spreadsheet.
If you're not sure how many items have a UPC saved, you can get a quick overview of all the product data by exporting it to a CSV or XLS file and viewing it in Google Sheets, Excel, or similar. Any time you are working with barcode values in a spreadsheet it is important that you let the app know that the barcode column contains "text" rather than numbers. Selecting the "text" data type will prevent leading 0's from being dropped and prevent barcodes from being converted to scientific notation. More on this here.
Creating Barcodes for Unbarcoded items
If you've never used barcodes before and your products (or your bins) will need to be labeled with barcodes you create, the setup will look a little different. Since the barcode value can be anything you like, most businesses will use the SKU as the barcode. This is the best option unless you know that you'll need registered barcodes for your distributors. (Registered barcodes ensure that products from different manufacturers do not have conflicting barcodes but it is not necessary for barcodes that are used internally for inventory and pick pack scanning.)
GroovePacker Lite makes it very easy to begin using the SKU as the barcode value. Simply check the option in the settings section to accept the SKU during scanning. If the SKU will be used exclusively for scanning you can Uncheck the option to Accept the UPC.
If some products or variants are missing SKUs those SKUs will need to be added. If you have a large catalog and need to generate SKUs in bulk I recommend using an app like Multi-Label barcodes which can generate the SKUs as well as print product barcode labels.
TIP: When using Alphanumeric SKUs as the barcode, be sure that all SKUs are uppercase as mixed case barcodes can cause headaches later.
Once each item (and variant) that you sell in Shopify has a unique SKU assigned, your product setup is complete.
If you'll be generating product barcode labels yourself there are many software options ranging from free sites to paid apps. You can label the products individually, which offers the greatest accuracy, or you can label the product bins and scan them as items are picked. It's also possible to transition from labeling only the fastest moving products and scanning the bins for the others, to having all products individually barcoded.
Testing your Product Barcodes
Testing your product barcodes is easy. If you place your cursor in a text doc, like an email, or notepad, and scan the barcode, the value that is typed out should match (exactly) the value you have saved for the SKU or Barcode (depending on which you are using) in Shopify. The cursor should drop to the next line after typing out the value. If it does, it will work perfectly with GroovePacker Lite.
If the scanner beeps indicating it recognizes the barcode but nothing gets typed, out it is likely the scanner connection.
If there is no beep, but the scanner does beep when scanning retail barcodes that you know to be scannable, then the printed barcode is likely the issue. Be sure that no portion of the barcode was accidentally cropped off during printing.
If the correct value is typed out but the cursor remains on the same line, then the scanner is not including a carriage return (a press of the enter key) after the scan. You can check the scanner manual to learn how to enable this.
If it appears that the barcode and scanner are working properly but the barcode is not accepted by GroovePacker Lite, try copying the value saved in Shopify (either the SKU or the UPC, whichever you are using) and pasting it in the scanning field. If it is accepted, while scanning is not, then the chances are high that the barcode value does not match exactly what is saved in Shopify. Be sure to eliminate any extra spaces or differences. It may help to scan the value directly into the field to ensure it is an exact match.
If you are unable to resolve the issue please reach out to Groovepacker Support and let us know so we can assist. We are here to help!