Scanning Products
Use the barcode scanner or RFID reader to count products in an inventory count.
The In-Store App supports two scanning methods for recording stock quantities in an inventory count. Barcode scanning (camera or hardware scanner) opens a dialog to record the counted quantity for a single product. RFID scanning (Zebra RFID reader, when connected) continuously reads tags in the background and accumulates quantities in a separate Scanned column until you save and merge them.
Barcode scanning
Barcode scanning updates the Counted quantity directly on a product that is already in the count, or offers to add the product if it is not.
Camera scanner (mobile only)
- Open the count detail page.
- Tap the overflow menu (⋮) in the top-right corner.
- Tap Scan.
- The Scan Barcode camera scanner opens. Point the camera at the product barcode — a white square viewfinder is centred on screen as a guide.
- The scan is detected automatically. The camera scanner closes and the scan dialog opens.
The torch (flashlight) and camera-switch buttons are available in the top-right corner of the scanner if you need them.
The camera scanner supports Code 128, Code 39, EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, UPC-E, ITF, Codabar, and QR Code formats. One scan is captured per session — the scanner closes immediately after a successful read.
Hardware scanner
When a hardware barcode scanner is connected, it is active automatically on the count detail page. Scan the product barcode directly — the scan dialog opens immediately without using the overflow menu.
The scan dialog
The scan dialog appears whenever a barcode is scanned (by camera or hardware). The dialog has two modes depending on whether the scanned product is already on the count.
Updating a product already in the count
When the scanned EAN or SKU matches a product already on the count, the Update Count dialog opens.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Product image | 56 × 56 thumbnail |
| Product name | Shown in bold |
| EAN and SKU | Shown below the name |
| System qty | The current system inventory quantity for this product |
| Scanned qty | The quantity recorded by RFID scanning (if any) |
| Current counted | The previously recorded counted quantity — shown only when the item has already been counted |
| Counted Quantity field | Editable number field (auto-focused) |
Enter the quantity you physically counted in the Counted Quantity field and tap Save, or press Enter on the keyboard.
Leaving the Counted Quantity field empty and tapping Save uncounts the item — the counted value is cleared and the item is marked as not yet counted.
Scanning a product not in the count
When the scanned code matches a product that exists in the system but has not been added to this count, the Scanned Product dialog opens showing the product details and the message This product is not in the current inventory count.
Tap Add to Count to add the product and then immediately record its counted quantity in a follow-up Update Count dialog.
Scanning an unrecognised barcode
If the scanned code cannot be matched to any product in the system, the dialog shows a search icon and the message Product not found for code: followed by the scanned value. Tap Close to dismiss and try scanning again.
RFID scanning
RFID scanning requires a connected Zebra RFID reader. The Start Scan button and the NFC indicator in the AppBar are only shown when a reader is connected. See Scan Filter Settings to configure which tags are accepted.
RFID scanning reads tags continuously in the background. Each unique RFID tag is counted once per session — rescanning the same physical item does not increment the count twice. Quantities are stored in the Scanned column on item cards and are separate from the Counted column until you explicitly merge them.
Starting RFID scanning
- Tap Start Scan (blue, NFC icon) in the action button row below the count header.
- If items in the count already have scanned quantities from a previous session, the Existing Scanned Data dialog appears:
- Tap Keep Existing to resume scanning and add to the previous totals.
- Tap Clear & Start Fresh (orange) to clear all previous scanned quantities and start from zero.
- Tap Cancel to go back without starting.
- Scanning becomes active. The Start Scan button changes to Stop Scan (red).
The scan status bar
While scanning is active (or while unsaved changes are present), a blue status bar appears above the action buttons:
| Element | When shown |
|---|---|
| Spinning indicator + Scanning | While RFID scanning is active |
| HW or SW filter badge | When a scan filter is configured (HW = hardware filter, SW = software filter) |
| N filtered chip (purple) | When tags have been rejected by the active filter — tap to see the filtered tag list |
| N unmatched chip (orange) | When tags were read but could not be matched to any item in the count — tap to see the unmatched tag list |
| N scanned | Total number of RFID tags read and matched in this session |
Stopping RFID scanning
Tap Stop Scan (red) to stop the RFID reader. The quantities already recorded in this session are kept as pending changes until you save or discard them.
Saving scanned quantities
Scanning accumulates quantities as unsaved changes. The Scanned column on each item card shows the pending total in blue, and a blue Save (N) floating action button appears at the bottom-right of the screen showing the number of items with pending changes.
Tap Save (N) to write the scanned quantities to the server. On success, a Saved scanned quantities for N item(s) confirmation appears and the Scanned column values are saved.
Scanned quantities are stored in the Scanned column and do not automatically update the Counted column. You must use Update Counted (see below) to transfer them. If you leave the count detail page before saving, all unsaved scanned quantities are lost.
Merging scanned quantities into counted
After saving, if any items have a scanned quantity that is higher than their counted quantity, an orange Update Counted floating action button appears. Tap it to transfer scanned quantities into the Counted column.
Items that have not been manually counted yet are updated automatically. Items that already have a counted value lower than the scanned quantity are shown in the Resolving Count Conflicts dialog before being updated.
See Resolving Count Conflicts for details on how to handle those cases.
Leaving the count with unsaved RFID data
If you tap the back button while there are unsaved scanned quantities, the Unsaved Scanned Data dialog appears showing the number of items with unsaved changes.
- Tap Stay to remain on the count detail page and save before leaving.
- Tap Discard & Leave (red) to discard all unsaved scanned quantities and navigate away.