Quick Inventory Entry: Add Items to Inventory Using a Barcode Scanner

Receiving goods is one of those tasks where time just flies by. For each item, you have to open the product list, search for the item, click on it, find the inventory field, enter the quantity, and save. Quick inventory entry cuts that down to three steps: scan the barcode, enter the quantity, and press Enter.

What Quick Inventory Entry Does

The page looks up one product at a time based on the item’s code and lets you add a quantity to inventory immediately. It searches for both the item’s barcode and its SKU, so you can scan whatever’s printed on the box. The barcode is called GTIN in Shoporama—that is, the number beneath the bars on the packaging, typically a 13-digit EAN-13. The item number is called SKU and is your own number for the item. You don’t need to find the product in the list first.

Here’s how to find the page

Go to Inventory, Quick Inventory Entry in the menu on the left. The page opens with a single field where the cursor is ready, so a scanner can enter the code immediately.

You can also access it from Inventory> Inventory Movements, where there is a search field at the top of the page. Both paths lead to the same place.

Step by step

1. Go to Inventory, Quick Inventory Access.
2. Scan the item’s barcode into the “GTIN or SKU” field. If you don’t have a scanner, type in the code or item number.
3. Click “Find Item.” You’ll be taken to a page titled “Add to Inventory” followed by the product’s name, so you can verify that it’s the correct item.
4. Enter the quantity in the “Quantity to Add to Inventory” field. The field is already selected, so you can start typing right away.
5. If the item has variants and the code didn’t match a specific variant, select the correct one from the list.
6. Check the “Unit Price Excl. Tax (Purchase)” field, which shows the cost price per unit excluding tax.
7. If you use warehouse locations or batch management, select the location and batch in the fields below.
8. Click “Add to Inventory.” You’ll return to the scan field with a receipt at the top, so you can simply scan the next item.

What You See on the Page

The left side is where you enter data. The right side is your overview, so you can quickly spot if you’ve scanned the wrong item.

• The product image in the right corner is the quickest way to check whether you’ve scanned correctly.
• "How the code was matched" tells you whether the code was found as a GTIN or SKU, and whether it matched a specific variant. Below that are the item’s and variant’s own codes, so you can tell the difference between a variant barcode and the item’s general barcode.
• "Current Stock Status" shows how many items are currently in stock. If the product has variants, each variant gets its own line.
• "Backorder" appears for items without variants if the inventory has gone into the negative. The number indicates how many you still need to deliver.
• "Location" appears if you’ve entered a location for the product, such as a rack or a shelf.

The code must be on the item first

The lookup only works if the code is stored on the item. Open the product under Products, expand the Inventory Management section, and enter the code in the GTIN field, where it says “Barcode, e.g., EAN-13” below. The item number is in the SKU field in the same place. If the product has variants, there are both a GTIN and an SKU column in the variant table further down, so each size or color can have its own codes.

If you need to assign codes to many products, you can do so via product import. The system searches for the barcode first and then for the product number, so a product that only has an SKU can also be scanned in. However, secondary fields such as SKU, MPN, and product name will not yield any results.

Items with Variants

If the product has variants, an additional list appears. It’s named after your variant classification, such as Size or Color. The entry is assigned to the exact variant you select. There are two scenarios, and it’s important to understand the difference:

• You scan a variant code. If each size has its own GTIN or SKU, Shoporama finds the product and automatically selects the correct variant. Then you just need to enter the quantity. If, by mistake, the same code has been assigned to multiple variants, the site won’t select any of them, and you’ll have to choose yourself.
• You scan the product’s common code. In this case, the system doesn’t know which variant you’re looking at, and the list displays “Select variant.” You can’t save your selection until you’ve made a choice, so the items can’t accidentally end up in the wrong size.

This is the main reason for assigning a separate barcode to each variant: it allows a person with no product knowledge to process incoming goods. Read more about product profiles and variants. Note that a product can have only one variant axis—either size or color, but not both.

The price you enter is the cost price

The “Unit Price excl. Tax (Purchase)” field shows what the item cost you per unit when purchased, excluding tax. This is not the selling price, and it remains unchanged.

• The field is pre-filled. If the code corresponds to a variant with its own cost price, the variant’s price is displayed; otherwise, the product’s price is shown. If you change the variant in the list, the price updates accordingly.
• Both commas and periods are accepted as decimal separators. 39 .68 and 39 ,68 are treated the same.
• If you leave the field blank, the items will still be added to inventory, but they won’t be included in your inventory value. However, they will be included in the quantity over which the average price is calculated, so the value per unit will be lower.
• The price is saved only at the time of the inventory receipt. The product’s fixed cost price is not updated for this reason.

If you also need to adjust the fixed cost price, you can do so on the product page or via the Cost Price page. For information on how your total inventory value is calculated, see “How is the inventory value calculated?”

How to Use a Physical Barcode Scanner

A standard barcode scanner functions like a keyboard. It enters the digits where the cursor is located, and most automatically send an Enter key press afterward. No installation or setup is required in Shoporama.

1. Open Inventory, Quick Inventory Entry. The cursor is already in the field.
2. Scan the item’s barcode. If the scanner sends an Enter, the page will search automatically.
3. Now the cursor is in the quantity field. Enter the quantity from the register and press Enter.
4. You’ll return to the scan field with the cursor ready. Scan the next item right away.

At the top, you’ll see a receipt for what you just added, for example, “+5 Blue T-shirts (M)” and the current total in stock. It remains on the screen while you scan the next item, so you’ll notice right away if a quantity was entered incorrectly.

If the scanner isn’t working properly, test it in a regular text field. If it doesn’t send the Enter key, press it yourself. If incorrect characters appear, it’s typically set to a keyboard layout other than Danish; you can adjust this in the scanner’s manual.

When the code isn’t found

If the code doesn’t match either the GTIN or SKU of any item, you’ll see a page titled “No item found.” Nothing will be added to inventory, and no product will be created. You can continue scanning in the field on the left, or click “Create New Item with This Code.” The item will be created with the code set as the GTIN, so you can scan it right away afterward. The typical reasons why a code cannot be found are:

• No GTIN or SKU has been entered for the product yet.
• The code contains a space, a hyphen, or an extra character. It must be entered exactly as the scanner reads it.
• You’re scanning a variant barcode that isn’t saved in the GTIN column for that variant.
• The item is in one of your other stores. The search only looks in the store you’re currently in.
• The item is in the trash. Deleted products will not be found.
• You’re scanning a code on the outer packaging—for example, a 14-digit package code—instead of the product’s own EAN-13.

What Happens Automatically

• The item can go back online. If the “Online when back in stock” option is enabled for the product, it becomes visible in the online store the moment stock turns positive.
• Customers on the waiting list are notified. If customers have signed up to receive an email when the item is back in stock, that email is sent. View emails when items come back in stock.
• Shared inventory is synchronized. If you run multiple stores from the same warehouse, the other stores will also receive the new stock.
• The inventory value is updated. The figure is calculated overnight, so your new stock is included the next day.

Inventory Location and Batch

If you use warehouse locations or batch management, you can handle product receipt right here on this page. These fields only appear if your store uses them.

• Warehouse location. If you’ve created warehouse locations, use the “Warehouse location” field to select where the items are physically stored. If you select none, the items will be assigned no location and will appear in the “No warehouse location” column in the inventory overview. The field is reset between each item, so it must be selected each time.
• Batch and Lot Number. If you’ve enabled batch management, you can either select one of the product’s existing batches or enter a new number in the “Or Create New Batch” field. The list shows only batches associated with the product you’ve scanned. A batch you create here will only have the number itself; you’ll need to fill in the expiration date, supplier, and notes later under Inventory> Batches. When the item is sold, the system automatically deducts from the oldest batch with available stock.

What the page intentionally does not do

• Bulk processing. It handles one product at a time. If you need to update hundreds of item numbers, updating inventory with a CSV file or uploading supplier delivery notes is significantly faster.

What it’s worth

If a manual inventory update takes 40 seconds per SKU and a scan takes 5 seconds, you save 35 seconds per item. If you receive 60 SKUs per week, that’s a good 30 hours per year. On top of that, there are fewer errors because the item is identified based on the code on the packaging rather than on two item numbers that are confusingly similar.

For those with a technical background

• The codes can be found in two places: on the product as a whole and on each individual variant. The lookup attempts the product level first and then falls back to the variant level. The GTIN is looked up before the SKU.
• If two products have been mistakenly assigned the same GTIN, only one will be found. If the same code appears on multiple variants of the same item, the site does not select a variant by default. Clean up duplicates if you actively use barcodes.
• The quantity field accepts negative numbers. If you enter -3, three units will be deducted from inventory. This is a quick way to correct a misreceipt.
• If you’ve turned off “Use inventory management with entries” at the bottom of Inventory Movements, the quantity is added to an existing inventory line instead of being saved as a separate entry. In that case, the cost price from the initial receipt is not retained.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I find this page?

Under " Inventory," " Quick Inventory Receipt " in the left-hand menu. The search field at the top of "Inventory," "Inventory Movements" leads to the same place. If you can’t find the option, type "scan" or "barcode" in the menu search bar above the menu.

What’s the difference between Quick Inventory Addition and Add to Inventory within the product?

Quick Stock Entry finds the item based on the code, adds one quantity at a time, and then returns you to the scan field. If you’re already on the product page, you can instead click “Add to Stock” at the top of the product page. Here, you enter the quantity for all variants and stock locations at once, and you can check the box next to “Update the product’s cost price” if you want the fixed cost price to be updated. You’ll stay on the page afterward, and if you’re using inventory management with entries, the most recent entries will appear below the form.

Can I scan our own item number and not just the barcode?

Yes. The field is called “GTIN or SKU.” The page first searches for the barcode and then for the item number, and both are used to look up the item and its variants. If you’ve assigned an item number to each size, scanning the supplier’s SKU label will match the correct variant. The “How the Code Was Matched” card shows which of the two resulted in a match.

Which barcode scanner should I buy?

There’s no specific model. Any handheld scanner that sends the characters as if they were typed on a keyboard will work, and virtually all USB and Bluetooth scanners do this. Make sure it uses a Danish keyboard layout and that it sends an Enter key press after the code.

I don’t have barcodes on my items. Can I still use this?

Yes, if the items have an item number. The page also searches by SKU, so you can type or scan your own number from the shelf edge or the packing slip. If the item has neither a barcode nor an item number, the page won’t find anything, and in that case, it’s easier to update inventory directly on the product or via a CSV file.

Why does it say “Select variant”? It used to be selected by default.

Because the code matched the item and not a specific variant. Previously, the list defaulted to the first variant, so a shared barcode could assign the entire shipment to, for example, size S, without anyone noticing. Now you have to select it yourself, and you can’t save until you’ve done so. If the code matched a specific variant, it’s selected for you, and it says so on the “How the code was matched” card.

It says “No item found.” What should I do?

This means the code doesn’t match the barcode or item number of any product in the shop. First, check whether you scanned a code on the outer packaging instead of the item’s own code. If the item doesn’t exist yet, click “Create new item with this code.” The item will be created with the code set as the GTIN, so it can be scanned right after.

I entered the wrong quantity. What should I do?

The receipt at the top shows what you added and how many are now in stock, so the error is easy to spot. Scan the item again and enter the quantity with a minus sign in front, for example, -45, if you accidentally entered 50 instead of 5. Alternatively, go to Inventory Transactions, find the entry, and click “Edit,” where you can correct the quantity and cost price or delete the entry.

Do I have to enter the cost price every single time?

No. The field is already filled in, and if the barcode corresponds to a variant with its own cost price, that variant’s price will be displayed. You only need to change it if the supplier has changed the price. Remember that the price must be exclusive of sales tax, and that items added to inventory without a cost price are not included in the inventory value.

Can I see who added the items to inventory?

Inventory transactions show the item, transaction, cost price, selling price, time, and location, as well as an order number if the transaction resulted from a sale. It does not show which user made the entry, so for auditing purposes, the documentation must be included in the delivery notes.

We use inventory locations. Where do the items end up?

There’s a “Warehouse Location” field on the page where you select where the items are placed. If you select none, they’ll be assigned “No warehouse location” and appear in the “No warehouse location” column in the inventory overview. The field defaults to “No Storage Location” every time, so you must select a location for each item. If you forget to do so, you can correct the location later by clicking “Edit” on the entry.

Can I create the batch number while I’m at the checkout?

Yes, if your store uses batch management. You can either select one of the item’s existing batches or enter a new number in the “Or create new batch” field. The batch is assigned only the number itself; you’ll fill in the expiration date, supplier, and notes later under Inventory > Batches. When a sale is made, the system automatically deducts from the oldest batch with available stock.

We receive 300 item numbers at a time. Is scanning still the right approach?

No, not for this kind of thing. For large deliveries, a CSV file or uploading the supplier’s packing slip is much faster because the entire file is processed at once. Scanning makes the most sense for ongoing receipts, backorders, returns, and inventory counts.

Does the item automatically go back online when I scan it in?

Only if the product has “Online when back in stock” enabled under Inventory Management. If it does, the item becomes visible in the store the moment stock turns positive, and customers who have signed up for the waitlist are notified.

Can I use the site without a scanner?

Yes. The field is a standard text field, so you can type in the digits from the barcode and press Enter. It’s still faster than searching for the item in the product list.

If you’re stuck or a code isn’t behaving as expected, please email support@shoporama.dk with the barcode and the product name.