Use the camera you have
Scan with the camera on a phone or tablet. No extra hardware is needed.
Barcode scanning
Scan barcodes with the phone you already have
You do not need to buy a scanner to start. Shopkeepa is built so the camera on your phone or tablet can scan a barcode, and a Bluetooth or USB scanner works too if you already own one.
Corner Shop
Add productCost, barcode and supplier can wait.
Add productAdd another
What you get
Or bring a scanner
Bluetooth and USB barcode scanners work as well, which suits a busy counter.
Finds products in your shop
Scan an item and Shopkeepa opens the product you already added with that barcode.
Starts a new product when unknown
If the barcode is not in your shop yet, you begin creating the product right there.
Rapid stock counting
Scan, enter the quantity, move to the next item. A shelf goes quickly.
Duplicate warnings
If a barcode or product already exists, Shopkeepa warns you before you create a second copy.
What scanning does, and what it does not
A barcode is a number. On its own it does not say what a product is called, how much it costs or where it came from. It only gives you something to match. That is how scanning works in Shopkeepa: it matches the barcode to a product in your own shop.
It does not look product names up in any outside database. If you scan something Shopkeepa has not seen in your shop, it does not guess a name. It starts a new product with the barcode filled in, and you add the name, price and quantity yourself. That keeps your product list exactly as you want it, with the names your staff and customers use.
Three ways to scan
| Method | Good for | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Phone or tablet camera | Starting out, adding products, counting stock | The device you already have |
| Bluetooth scanner | Busy counters and moving around the shop | A Bluetooth barcode scanner |
| USB scanner | A fixed till on a tablet or computer | A USB barcode scanner |
The camera is the easiest way to begin. Hold the phone steady over the barcode in decent light and it reads. A dedicated scanner is faster when you ring up many items an hour, because it reads in a flash and keeps your hands free. You can start with the camera and add a scanner later without changing anything else.
Adding products by scanning
Scan the item
Point the camera at the barcode, or use your scanner.
Shopkeepa checks your shop
If the barcode already belongs to a product, you see that product instead of a blank form.
Fill in what is missing
For a new item, the barcode is already filled in. Add the name, price and how many you have. Cost and a low-stock minimum can come now or later.
Save and scan the next
Repeat down the shelf.
This is a handy way to build your product list from the stock you already have, because you work with the real items in your hand. If your list already exists in a spreadsheet, bulk import may be quicker, and you can scan afterwards to find and tidy what you imported.
Duplicate warnings
The most common mess in a product list is the same item entered twice, once as a long name and once as a short one. Then sales are split across two entries and neither count is right. Shopkeepa warns you when you are about to create a product that already exists, so you can use the existing one instead.
Counting stock quickly
Counting is where a scanner pays for itself. The usual way is to write names on paper, then type them in. With scanning, the loop is short.
- Scan the barcode on the shelf.
- Type the quantity you can see.
- Move to the next item and scan again.
When a counted quantity differs from what the system had, the difference is saved as its own count entry in the product's history. You do not overwrite the past, so you can still see what the screen said before the count. Our guide to doing a stock count without closing the shop shows how to split a count across a few quiet mornings.
Counting one aisle at a time works well with scanning, since you can stop and pick up again whenever a customer walks in.
Scanning at the till
At the counter, a scan puts the product straight onto the sale. That is faster than searching for a name, and more accurate when two products have similar names, like two sizes of the same drink. Everything else about the sale works as normal: you set the quantity, record how the customer paid, and share a receipt. See the point of sale for the full flow.
Not every product has a barcode. Loose items, local produce and things you repackage often have none. They are still easy to sell by searching, browsing a category or pinning a favourite, so scanning is a speed-up for the products that have one, not a requirement.
Getting good scans
- Light: scan where the barcode is well lit, without glare on the label.
- Distance: hold the camera a hand's width away, then adjust until it focuses.
- Damaged labels: if a barcode will not read, search for the product by name instead.
- Consistency: keep to one barcode per product so a scan always finds the same item.
Scanning pairs well with stock tracking and low-stock reminders. Once products are in with accurate counts, the rest of the shop follows from them.
Common questions
Do I need to buy a barcode scanner?
No. The camera on a phone or tablet can scan. A Bluetooth or USB scanner is an option if you want faster scanning at the counter.
Does Shopkeepa fill in the product name when I scan something new?
No. It does not look up names from any database. A new barcode starts a new product in your shop, and you enter the name, price and quantity.
What happens if I scan a product I have already added?
Shopkeepa finds it in your shop and opens it, so you can sell it, count it or edit it.
Can I use scanning to count stock?
Yes. Scan an item, enter the quantity, then scan the next. Differences are saved as count entries in each product's history.
Will it stop me creating the same product twice?
It shows a duplicate warning when a product or barcode already exists, so you can choose the existing one.
Is it available yet?
Not yet. Shopkeepa is in development, and early access shops will help shape it. Join the waitlist to be one of the first in.
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