Barcodes — scan to bill, print your own stickers
This guide explains how barcodes work in BillBook, how to set a shop up in ten minutes, what goes wrong at the counter and how to fix it. It is written for the person guiding shop staff; the short version lives in the app under Products › Barcodes and Products › Print labels.
What you get
- Every product carries a barcode. New products get one automatically; you can also type the supplier's own number (the EAN printed on the box).
- On a sale, purchase, quotation, estimate or credit note, scanning a box adds that item as a row and puts the cursor in its quantity. Scan the same box again and the quantity goes up by one.
- Print labels makes a sheet of stickers for any products you tick, on A4 label sheets or thermal label rolls, at any size.
What you need
| Item | Notes |
|---|---|
| A barcode scanner | Any USB or Bluetooth scanner in "keyboard" mode (the factory setting). ₹800–₹2,500 models all work. No software or driver. |
| Stickers, if you print your own | A4 label sheets (65, 40, 24 or 21 labels per sheet) from any stationery shop, or a thermal label printer with 50×25 mm or 38×25 mm rolls. |
| A computer or tablet with the app open | The scanner plugs into it. Phones work for scanning if the scanner pairs by Bluetooth. |
Setting up in ten minutes
1. Your products already have codes
Open Products. The Barcode column shows an 8-digit number on every product. These were assigned automatically. You do not have to do anything to start scanning; you only need stickers on the boxes.
2. Print stickers
- Products › Print labels.
- Tick the products you want (all are ticked by default), set Copies each if you want more than one sticker per product.
- Under Stock, pick the sheet you bought. "A4 · 65 labels (38 × 21 mm)" is the most common. For a thermal printer pick a Roll size. If your sheet is not listed, choose Custom size and type the label width, height, columns, rows and margins printed on the sheet's packet.
- Tick what each sticker shows: Product name, MRP, Final price and Shop name. With both prices on, the MRP is struck out and the final price (the retail offer price, or the wholesale rate net of discount) is printed bold under it. If the two are the same only one price is printed.
- Press Print. In the print dialog choose Actual size / 100% and switch off "Fit to page". Print one sheet first and hold it against the label sheet.
- Stick one label on each box, or on the shelf edge for loose items.
If a sheet was partly used earlier, type the number of used positions in Skip first labels so printing starts from the next free sticker.
3. Scan at the counter
Open a new sale or quotation. Scan the first box. The item appears with the cursor in quantity; type the count if it is more than one. Scan the next box. Save with Ctrl S (⌘ S on Mac) as usual.
If your stock already has the supplier's barcodes
Many boxes arrive with a barcode printed by the manufacturer. You can use those instead of printing your own:
- Products › Barcodes.
- Click the Barcode cell of the first product and scan its box. The code is saved and the cursor moves to the next product.
- Keep scanning down the list. Use the search box to jump to a product.
A code that is already on another product turns the cell red and tells you which product has it. Clear a cell and press Enter to go back to an automatic number.
How the numbers work
- The automatic code is the product's own record number, padded to 8 digits, such as
00000623. It is never reused, so two products can never share one. - The same item in two price lists (say Rate A and Rate B) gets the same code, so one sticker works in both lists.
- Renaming a product keeps its code. Deleting a product and adding it again gives a new code unless the same item still exists in another price list, in which case the new row borrows that code.
- Next financial year products start as a fresh list. Export this year's products (the file includes the Barcode column) and import that file next year to keep the same stickers valid.
- Importing a sheet: map your Barcode / EAN / UPC column on the mapping step. Rows without a code are numbered automatically. Format the column as Text in Excel so codes that start with 0 keep their zeros.
Common problems at the counter
| What you see | Why | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing happens when you scan | The app tab is not in front, or the page is a screen that does not take scans (dashboard, reports). | Click once anywhere on the sale or quotation page, then scan. |
| Numbers appear inside a field and nothing is added | The scanner is not sending Enter after the code. | In the scanner's manual, scan the setup barcode for "Add Enter / CR suffix". This is the factory default on every common model. |
| "No product with barcode …" | The code is not on any product in this list. On a retail quotation only the selected Pricing version is searched. | Check the Pricing version at the top of the items table. Or open Products › Barcodes and attach the code. |
| Sticker will not scan | Printed too small or blurry, or printed with "fit to page" which shrinks bars. | Print at 100%. Use a bigger label, or a shorter code (the automatic 8-digit codes are the easiest to read). The Print labels page warns you when a code is too long for the label. |
| Quantity became 1 after scanning | This is expected: each scan adds one box. | Type the count after the scan, or scan the box once per unit. |
| Scanned the wrong box | Press Alt D on that row to delete it, or change the quantity to 0. | |
| Codes show without leading zeros after import | Excel treated the column as numbers. | Format the column as Text before saving the sheet, then import again. |
| A product has no barcode | Only possible for catalogues created before the barcode update and never numbered. | Press Number blank on the Barcodes page. |
Tips for a fast counter
- Keep the scanner on the counter facing you; you scan the box, the app does the rest. No mouse is needed for a whole bill.
- Put the sticker on the same corner of every box so the person scanning never has to search for it.
- Loose items sold by count (single sparklers, chakkars): stick one label on the shelf edge or on a card at the counter and scan that.
- Use Copies each to print a strip of the fast movers and keep spare stickers near the counter for boxes that arrive without one.
FAQ
Does it work offline? No. The app needs the internet, the same as billing.
Do I need a special printer? No. A4 label sheets print on any inkjet or laser printer. Thermal label printers work too; pick a Roll size.
Can I use the pamphlet product numbers instead? Yes. Scanning a code that matches a product's Product no. also adds it. That lets old numbered stickers keep working while you move over.
Can two shops share a barcode list? Codes belong to your business. Another shop using BillBook has its own numbers; nothing clashes.
Can I change a code after stickers are printed? Yes, on the Barcodes page, but stickers already on boxes will then stop matching. Reprint those.
What symbology is printed? Code 128, which every scanner reads. Supplier EAN-13 numbers that you attach are stored as they are and scan as they are.
Will scanning add GST, HSN and rate? Yes, exactly as if you picked the product from the dropdown. Rates follow the selected pricing version on retail quotations.
Can staff with limited roles scan? Anyone who can open the sale or quotation screen can scan. Printing labels and attaching codes needs the Products screen.
Is there a limit on how many products? No. The label page prints 500 stickers per go; select fewer products or print in two batches for more.