Scan Counting
Inventory → Count → Start scan count counts a location with a barcode scanner. You walk the floor scanning serial numbers and product barcodes, the screen and its sounds tell you what each scan was from across the room, and when you finish you review the differences and post them. Nothing in stock changes until someone posts.
Overview
- One click to start. Start scan count on the Count page (or Start Scan Count on the Shortcuts page, or Start count / Resume count on the Quick Facts To-Do list) opens a short dialog: the location, what to count (the whole location, or some categories), Blind count, and a name filled in for you, such as "Scan count · Main Store · Sep 26, 2026".
- One count per location. A scan count and a typed count can't run at the same location at once. If a scan count is already running there, Start scan count opens it instead (resume), on any device and for anyone on the team. If a typed count is running there, you are told to finish or cancel it first.
- Built for not looking. A huge panel shows the product, a word ("Counted", "Already counted", "Not expected here", "Unknown code", "Pick later") and the running count ("3 of 4"), readable from about 3 m away. The whole screen flashes a colour, and a different sound plays for each kind of result.
- Scans are never lost. Every scan is kept on the device first and sent in the background. A Wi-Fi drop on the floor loses nothing: a badge shows "3 scans waiting" until they are sent.
- Several people can count together. Open the same count on more devices. Each device sees the others' progress every few seconds, and the report shows who scanned what.
- Anyone on the team can count and post. The report records who started the count, who scanned what, who chose each action and who posted it.
- Who can use it: everyone in your store, on every plan, unless the owner has hidden Management (the Count page) from their menu.
Setting up the scanner
- Set the scanner to keyboard (HID) mode and its keyboard language to US English. Most scanners do this from a setup barcode in their manual.
- An Enter suffix after each code is best. A scanner that sends nothing after a code still works: scans are told apart by their speed.
- Start a scan count. The Scanner check card at the top of the scan screen shows a test code: scan it (from the screen, or from the control sheet). The card says whether the scanner works and how it ends a code. The check is never counted.
Printing the control sheet
The Count control sheet holds barcodes for every command, so the person scanning never has to touch the keyboard. On the scan screen, open the settings (gear icon) and click Print control sheet.
| Scan | What it does |
|---|---|
| Undo | Takes back your last scan, even if it was not sent yet |
| Quantity, digits, Enter | The next product scan counts that many. For example Quantity, 1, 2, Enter, then the product barcode = 12 of that product |
| Pause / resume | Scans are ignored until you scan it again |
| Status | Says out loud how many are left to count (in a blind count, how many you have counted) |
| An area code | The scans after it are tagged with that storage area, for the report's timeline |
| Scanner check | Tests the scanner |
Finishing a count always happens on the computer, on purpose.
Step by step: a scan count
- Open Inventory → Count (or Count Inventory on the Shortcuts page) and pick the location.
- Click Start scan count. Choose the whole location or some categories, turn on Blind count if counters should not see the expected numbers, and click Start scanning.
- Scan the test code on the Scanner check card, or click Skip.
- Walk the floor. Scan each serialized unit's serial number. Scan a product's barcode once per item for stock without serials, or scan Quantity, the digits and Enter on the control sheet before the product to count several at once.
- Listen for the sounds: one short beep is a match; two beeps mean "already counted"; a two-tone means "not expected here"; a low buzz is an unknown code.
- Click Finish scanning. The device sends what it still holds and opens the review.
- In the review, place the codes nobody could place, check the shelves with a difference, and choose what happens to each missing serialized unit.
- Click Post count, read the summary and click Post count again.
- Print the report or download it as CSV, and work through Needs attention now.
The review
- Codes to place. A code that matches more than one product ("Pick later") is picked from its candidates. A code not on file is found by name or SKU and picked, or ignored. Until someone picks, the shelves the code could be are left as they are.
- Shelves. Each shelf with a difference, a choice to make, or no scan at all. Adjust to the count is the default for a counted shelf. Leave as is changes nothing. A shelf nobody scanned is left as it is unless someone chooses Set to zero.
- Serialized units. A missing unit defaults to Mark missing: it becomes Not Available, On Hand goes down by 1 and the loss is written off in your books, and it can be switched back later. Scrap is only ever a choice someone makes. A missing unit held for a customer's order is never changed by a count.
- Every choice shows who made it, or Default.
- Back to scanning returns to the scan screen; Cancel count ends the count with no stock change.
The report
The report is shown after posting, and from Scan counts on the Count page at any time. Print prints it with your letterhead; CSV downloads every shelf, unit and code.
- Headline: accuracy, value accuracy, the net difference at cost, shrinkage, overage, how long the count took and scans per minute. Once posted, also how many shelves were adjusted, left as they were, and skipped because they were counted again since.
- Who counted: who started and posted it, and a table per person — scans, units, product quantity, not expected, unknown, repeats, undos, choices, first and last scan, and devices.
- Needs attention now: what to do, most urgent first — for example a missing unit reserved for an order, a shortfall that orders awaiting fulfilment may explain, an overage an unreceived purchase order may explain, a unit an order says was sold, or a unit on another location's books.
- By category, Top 10 differences by value, Tracked vs bulk, Unit actions (each unit by product name and serial, with who chose each), Trend against the last scan count at the location, Not counted and a Timeline of scans, with scans per storage area when area codes were scanned.
- Outcome: on a posted report, the Top 10 and Unit actions say what posting actually did, for example "Adjusted", "Skipped: counted again since" or "Skipped: the unit changed before posting".
Tips & best practices
- Count in a quiet hour. Sales made while you count are handled, but fewer moving parts make a cleaner count.
- Scan serial numbers, not the product barcode, on serialized products: the screen plays a different cue and says "scan the serial instead" when you scan a product barcode on a product that has serials.
- Split a big location between people by area, and scan the area code from the control sheet at the start of each aisle.
- Use Blind count when you want counters to count what is there, not what should be.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Fix |
|---|---|
| A red screen says "Click here to keep scanning" | The browser window lost focus, so the scanner would type somewhere else. Click it; the alarm stops |
| Scans type into the search box or do nothing | Run the Scanner check. Set the scanner to keyboard mode and US English |
| "3 scans waiting" does not go away | The device has no connection. The scans are kept and sent when it is back. Don't clear the browser's data before they are sent |
| Start scan count says a typed count is running | Finish (End Session) or cancel the typed count on the Count page first |
| Post count says new scans or choices arrived | Someone scanned or chose something since you opened the review. The review has been refreshed: check it and post again |
| Post count names a device that still holds scans | That device has scans it has not sent. Get it back online, or tick Post without their unsent scans |
| After posting, a device says its scans were made after the count ended | Click Download unsent scans (CSV). They were not added. Opening an ended count on a device that still holds scans shows the same notice above the report |
| "Unknown code" for a product you sell | The product has no barcode, UPC, EAN, GTIN or SKU matching the code. Pick it in the review, then add the barcode to the product in Catalog → Products |
What's next
- Typed counts and the rest of stock management: Inventory → Management
- Print barcode labels for products that have none: Inventory → Labels
- Check stock and its history: Inventory → Snapshot
Detailed reference
Every screen, result and rule of a scan count, for when you need the exact detail. Each panel starts closed — open the one you need.
Dialog: Start scan count
| Field / control | Default | What it does | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | The Count page's location | The location to count | A dropdown only when the store has more than one active location |
| What to count | The whole location | Some categories (their subcategories too) lists your active categories to tick | The categories are expanded to their subcategories and fixed when the count starts. At least one must be ticked |
| Blind count | Off | Hides the expected numbers on the scan screen | The review shows them |
| Name | "Scan count · {location} · {date}", the date in your store's time zone | The count's name on the report and history | Left empty, the default name is used |
| Start scanning | — | Starts the count and opens the scan screen | No stock changes. If a scan count is already running at the location, it opens that one. If a typed count is running, the dialog says "A typed count is running at this location. Finish or cancel it on the Count page, then start the scan count." |
The Count page also opens this dialog from a link ending in ?start=scan, which the Shortcuts card and the Quick Facts To-Do use. When a scan count is already running at the location, the link opens it directly; when a typed count is running there, the Count page opens on it.
Scan screen
| Control | Where | What it does | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last scan panel | Middle | The result word, the product and variant (or the code), the running count "n of m", and a line of detail (a serial number, "12 of this", why it is not expected) | In a blind count the running count reads "n counted" |
| Colour flash | Whole screen | Green = counted, amber = already counted, orange = not expected or pick later, red = unknown code or not a code, blue = saved but not checked yet, grey = a command | Fades in under half a second |
| Progress | Under the panel | Expected, Counted, Remaining and Extra for the whole count, and a bar | Expected is On Hand in scope when the count started; Extra is what shelves hold over their On Hand. In a blind count only Counted shows |
| Paused, Quantity: …, Next scan counts N, Area … badges | Header | What the control sheet has set | — |
| "N scans waiting" / All sent badge | Header | Scans not yet sent by this device | A cloud-off icon when the last send failed |
| Battery low badge | Header | The device battery is under 20% and not charging | Only where the browser reports the battery |
| Settings (gear icon) | Header | Sounds on/off; Spoken results (Unknown and repeated scans / Every scan / Off); Storage area; the device's name on the report; Print control sheet | Kept on this device. A scan made while it is open is still counted, and closes it |
| X | Header | Back to the Count page | The count keeps running; open it again with Resume scan count. With scans still waiting to be sent it asks first: Wait, or Leave them on this device. Closing or reloading the tab asks too |
| Scanner check card | Top | Shows the test code and what the last check found | Hidden after a passing check on this device, or Skip |
| No scanner? Type a code + Add | Bottom | Adds a typed code as a scan | For a phone or a damaged label. After Add (or Esc) the box lets go, so the scanner counts again |
| Undo | Bottom | Takes back this device's last scan | Same as Undo on the control sheet |
| Finish scanning | Bottom | Sends what the device holds (waiting up to 10 seconds) and opens the review | Reads Sending… meanwhile |
| Red overlay "Click here to keep scanning" | Whole screen | Shown with a repeating alarm while the window has lost focus | Sounds even when sounds are off |
The screen stays awake while scanning where the browser allows it.
What a scan can be
A code is matched exactly, never by "contains". A serial number or unit barcode wins over a product code; a product's barcode, UPC, EAN, GTIN (with or without leading zeros) or SKU is next; letter case is ignored only when nothing matches exactly.
| Word on screen | Sound | Meaning | Counted? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Counted | Short beep | A serialized unit at this location (Available or Reserved), or a product barcode (+1, or the quantity set) | Yes |
| Found | Short beep | A unit here that was marked Not Available | Yes; the review offers Mark available |
| Counted with "scan the serial instead" | Rising two-note | A product barcode on a product that has serialized units here | Yes, as stock without a serial; the report says how many were counted without a serial |
| Already counted | Double beep | A unit already scanned in this count (by anyone) | No |
| Not expected here | Two-tone | A unit on another location's books, recorded as sold, written off, not in stock, outside this count's categories, a product or variant not stocked here, or an archived product | No; listed in Needs attention |
| Pick later | Two-tone | A code more than one product shares | Not until someone picks in the review |
| Unknown code | Low buzz | No product or unit has this code | Not until someone picks in the review |
| Saved | Click | Kept, but the device could not check it yet (offline) | Checked when sent |
When the server's answer differs from what the device showed (for example another device scanned the unit first), a correction cue plays and the panel updates.
How posting changes stock
- Units first. A missing unit marked missing becomes Not Available, On Hand at its location goes down by 1 and the loss is written off in your books, as marking it in a typed count does. Scrap scraps that exact unit. Mark available returns a found unit (+1). A unit reserved for an order is never changed.
- Then each shelf. The difference is what was counted less what the shelf held when it was scanned, applied to On Hand at posting time — so a sale made after the shelf was scanned is not counted twice. Shortages go to Inventory Write-Offs and overages back into Inventory, at the product's average cost, else its last cost.
- Held back, not written off: a shortfall that stock held for orders awaiting fulfilment may explain, an overage that an unreceived purchase order may explain, and movement during the shelf's counting window. Adjust, including held stock posts them anyway.
- A shortfall is never allowed to take a serialized unit the count did not name; that part is held back and listed.
- The count is posted once. A second press of Post count repeats the first answer; anyone else is told the count has already been posted. The report is frozen when it is posted.
Needs attention: what each suggestion means
| Suggestion | What to do |
|---|---|
| A unit is missing and reserved for order #… | Find it before delivery, or swap in another unit on the order. The count left it as it was |
| A shortfall orders awaiting fulfilment may explain | Check the orders awaiting fulfilment before adjusting: fulfil the order rather than write stock off |
| An overage an unreceived purchase order may explain | Receive the purchase order |
| An order says the unit was sold | Record the return if it came back |
| A unit on another location's books | Transfer it here |
| Written off, but it is here / found but still marked not available | Restore it, or mark it available |
| A code matches several products / a code is not on file | Pick the product in the review, or link the barcode to the product |
| Shelves skipped until someone checks them | Review the line and choose |
| Units counted without a serial | Scan their serials to confirm which units are here |
| Two stock records for one product | Merge them, then recount |
| A category short by more than 2% or $500 / short both times | Recount the category; review receiving or security |
| Shelves in scope were not scanned | Count them, or set them to zero in the review |
Messages you may see
| Message | Where | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| "This count was not found in your store." | Scan page | The link is for another store, or the count was removed |
| "This is a typed count. Open it on the Count page." | Scan page | The link is for a typed count |
| "This count has been posted. New scans are kept on this device only." | Scan screen | Someone posted the count while you were scanning |
| "N scans were not accepted by the server and are not counted." | Scan screen | A scan was refused (for example a code longer than 128 characters) |
| "N scans on this device were made by someone else." | Scan screen | Someone else scanned on this device and signed out; their scans are sent under their name when they sign in again |
| "New scans or choices arrived since this review was opened. Review again before posting." | Post dialog | The review was refreshed; check and post again |
| "N scans are still waiting on … Sync that device, or post without them." | Post dialog | A device holds scans it has not sent |
| "The store was busy with another change. Nothing was changed; try again." | Anywhere | Try again in a moment |
Who can use what
| Action | Who |
|---|---|
| Start, scan, resume, review, choose, post, cancel | Everyone on the team (Owner, Manager, Staff), on every plan |
| See the report and history | Everyone on the team |
A support view can open a count and its report but cannot scan, choose or post.