How to set up your DIY Barcode Inventory System

Controlling your inventory manually can be time-consuming and leave you open to errors which carry nasty flow-on effects - even for small business!

An inventory scanning system streamlines inventory management while boosting accuracy and eliminating human-error. Barcode inventory software is an incredibly beneficial tool as it’s much faster and easier than manual stocktaking and can quickly identify operational bottlenecks and productivity issues.

Let’s talk through how you can set-up your own DIY barcode inventory system!

Step 1: Generating a product listing

Firstly, you will need to make sure you have an accurate spreadsheet of your product listing. This will ensure each specific product is linked to its own unique barcode. This product information is generated from your Point of Sale system.

Step 2: Exporting your product listing

It’s now time to export a report, excel file or CSV file of all products in your system. Once this is generated, log into AdvStock’s inventory management system and import the file.

Step 3: Downloading the AdvStock App

Now you’re ready to embrace AdvStock’s revolutionary barcode scanner app for inventory.

We have two inventory management apps, one for iPhone and one for Android, both featuring the same functionality. Our barcode scanner app for inventory allows you to use your own phone to scan stock, record a quantity and upload the count data to our cloud-based inventory management system for reporting.

Both stocktaking apps are titled “AdvStock'' and are free to download on Apple's App Store and Google Play Store.

Step 4: Scanning your stock

It’s important to note here that the barcode scanner apps for inventory don’t operate as a standalone stocktake solution, they integrate only with the purchase of an AdvStock inventory scanning system.

Now it’s time to download your product database to your scanning device (i.e. phone) using the App. Then simply scan the stock using the barcode on the item or barcode on the shelf, enter a quantity then continue on and scan the next item.

Step 5: Uploading your counts

Once inventory scanning is complete, you can upload your count data from the iPhone/Android to the website via a very user-friendly function within the App.

Step 6: Accessing reporting capabilities

Now that you have synced your stocktake data from your phone to our inventory management system, you can now access comprehensive reporting online via the website.