Help · Updated 22 October 2026

Barcode scanners and hardware

You can scan with the phone camera in the Android app, or with a Bluetooth or USB scanner that types the code like a keyboard. The app reads EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A and Code 128, including a Code128 label you print yourself. No driver is needed, and the web trial cannot use a phone camera as a scanner.

There are two ways to get a barcode into Mobile Inventory: point a phone at it, or let a scanner type it. Both end in the same place — a known code opens the item, an unknown code opens the New item form with the code already filled in — and neither needs a driver, a desktop agent or a paid integration.

Phone camera or hardware scanner

The web trial cannot use the phone camera as a scanner — a browser tab has no reliable camera scanning path here, so scanning is a phone-app action. The web app does accept a USB scanner, because that scanner is just a keyboard.

Set up a Bluetooth scanner on Android

Most consumer scanners ship in keyboard-wedge mode, which means they pair as a keyboard and type the digits followed by Enter. That is exactly what the app expects.

1. Put the scanner in pairing mode. On most models this means holding the trigger, or scanning a pairing barcode in the box.
2. Open Android's Bluetooth settings and pair the scanner. It appears as a keyboard-like device.
3. Open Mobile Inventory and go to the screen where you want to scan — an item, a count line, or the scan action.
4. Pull the trigger and scan one barcode. The digits should appear where the cursor is, and the item should open.

If the scanner is set to a different profile — some can pretend to be a serial port — set it back to keyboard/HID using the manufacturer's configuration barcode. The app has no mode switch of its own, and no setting to choose a device: it simply receives what the keyboard sends.

Set up a USB scanner on a computer

1. Plug the scanner into a USB port. It is recognised as a keyboard; there is nothing to install.
2. Open the web app at /app and sign in.
3. Click into the field where a barcode belongs, or open the scan action if the screen has one.
4. Scan. The code is typed and submitted, and the matching item opens.

Because the scanner types, whatever has focus receives it. If a scan lands in the wrong place, click the right field before scanning again.

Test a scan before you rely on it

Two minutes of testing saves an afternoon of confusion later.

1. Pick an item you know is in the catalogue and has its barcode saved. Scan it. The item should open by itself.
2. Pick a barcode that is not in the catalogue. Scan it. The New item form should open with the code filled in — not an empty form, and not an error.
3. Scan the same label twice in quick succession. The second read within two seconds is ignored, so a double trigger cannot add two of anything.
4. Scan a code with a leading zero if you have one. EAN-13 and UPC-A are different lengths; if a supplier's label loses a digit, the item will not match and the app will offer a new item instead.

That last case is the most common support question with a simple cause: the barcode stored on the item is not the barcode printed on the box. Open the item, check the barcode field, and correct it rather than creating a second item for the same product.

Which barcodes are read

• EAN-13 — the standard retail code in most of Europe and much of the world.
• EAN-8 — the short version, common on small packaging.
• UPC-A — the North American retail code.
• Code 128 — what the app prints on its own labels, so a sheet you print is scannable by the same app.

A Code 128 label the shop prints works exactly like a manufacturer's barcode: it is stored on the item, and scanning it opens that item. This is the practical answer for loose goods, own-brand packaging and anything that arrives without a usable code.

Printing your own Code128 labels

Label printing is a phone-app action today. The web portal does not print labels per row yet.

1. In the Android app, open the label sheet for the items you want.
2. Choose the items and the number of copies each. Copies are capped at 50 per sheet.
3. Generate the PDF.
4. Print it or share it to a printer or label printer. The operating system's print dialog is the printer integration — there is no separate driver to install for a supported printer.

Print a test sheet at the size you will actually use, then scan one label with the same phone that will scan in the stockroom. A label that looks fine on screen can be too small or too low-contrast once printed, and it is better to find that out with one sheet than with two hundred.

Practical tips that make scans work

• Distance. A hand's width is usually right for a phone camera. Too close and the code goes out of focus; too far and it is too small in the frame.
• Light. Light the label, not the phone. A bright window behind the label is worse than a dim room, because the camera exposes for the window.
• Glare. Shiny laminate and curved bottles reflect the light back. Tilt the item a few degrees until the reflection moves off the code.
• Damaged labels. A scuffed or half-torn barcode will not decode. Find the item by name or SKU instead, and print a fresh Code128 label when you get a chance.
• Flat and square. A label on a crumpled bag reads poorly. Smooth it, or scan the item before it is packed.

What it does not do yet

• No NFC or RFID. There is no tag reading of any kind.
• No GTIN or product-name lookup. An unknown code is not enriched from a database; you get the New item form with the code filled in, and the rest is yours to enter.
• No camera scanning in the web trial. Scanning is a phone-app action; the browser accepts a USB scanner only.
• No other symbologies. QR codes, ITF, Codabar and similar are not read today.
• No label printing from the web portal. Labels come from the phone app's PDF sheet, capped at 50 copies per sheet.

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