How to set up scan to pack for your online store

Should you scan the GTIN or your own SKU barcode?

Scan whichever code is already unique per sellable item. A manufacturer GTIN is the better pick when the product arrives with one, because you print nothing. Your own SKU barcode fits when there is no GTIN. The important rule is that the code your packer scans must match what your tool holds for that order line, otherwise the scan finds nothing.

Checked 2026-11-05: GTIN meaning from GS1 US. The comparison is a working method.

Do not reuse a code across two products, and do not recycle the code of a product you stopped selling. A scan has to point at one item.

How do you print barcodes for products that have none?

Make your SKU the barcode. Pick one clear SKU per product and variant, with no spaces, and print it with a label printer or a plain sheet of adhesive labels. Ask your label software for a Code 128 barcode, which carries letters and digits, and print the SKU as text under the bars so a person can read it. Then put the label where a packer can scan it without unboxing, such as the outside of the bag or the product's shelf bin.

1. List every sellable item with one SKU each. Fix duplicates and typos first.
2. Decide a case rule and keep it, for example all capitals, and use it in your store, your stock list and your labels.
3. Print a test sheet of five labels and scan each one before you print the rest.
4. Stick one label per unit, or one per bin if every unit in the bin is identical.
5. Add the code to the product record your packing tool reads, so the scan and the order line agree.

GoatLabels does not print stick-on labels for your products, so use your own label tool for this step. It does print barcodes on two documents. On the Pro plan, turn on Show barcode under Settings, then Packing (it is off by default), and the packing slip carries an order barcode plus one under each line, using the GTIN, or the SKU when there is no GTIN. The pick list PDF prints the same per-line code. A line with neither has no barcode. These are Code 39 barcodes, which hold only capital letters, digits, hyphens, periods and spaces, so a SKU with an underscore or a slash prints without that character and its scan will not match. A code scanned from the slip counts the line without proving the item in your hand is the right one.

Which scanner works, and how do you test one?

Use a scanner that behaves like a keyboard. It types the code into whatever field has focus, then usually presses Enter. Many USB models work this way out of the box, and many Bluetooth models offer a keyboard mode you switch on by scanning a setup barcode from the manual. A scanner that needs a driver, or one that only works inside its own app, will not do for a browser-based tool.

Test any scanner in five checks before it goes to the packing bench:

1. Open a blank text editor and click inside it.
2. Scan one of your product labels, then any barcode you will scan from a printed slip. Each code should appear as typed text.
3. Check whether Enter follows the code. A new line after each scan means it does.
4. Scan a label with a lowercase letter and compare. If the case changes, set the scanner to pass characters through unchanged.
5. Scan a damaged or small label and a long SKU, to find the limits of your printing before packing day.

If nothing appears, the scanner is probably in a serial mode instead of keyboard mode, so check the manual for the keyboard setup barcode. If extra characters appear before or after the code, a prefix or suffix is set that your tool does not need.

What is the packing routine, step by step?

Write the routine down, tape it to the bench, and make every packer follow the same order.

1. Pick the order and bring the items and the packing slip to the bench.
2. Scan the packing slip, or type the order number, to open the order and see its lines.
3. Scan each item once per unit, because two units on the order need two scans. Watch the count for each line rise toward the ordered quantity.
4. If a scan is rejected or the count is wrong, stop and use the exceptions below.
5. When every line is complete, pack the box, add the slip, and seal it.
6. Buy and print the label last, so a box is never labelled before it is checked.

How do you handle a missing barcode, a short count or a substitute?

Plan for exceptions before they happen, because a busy day can produce all of them. Make each exception visible, because a hidden fix removes the data you need.

Checked 2026-11-05. A method for any tool; the GoatLabels behavior is described below.

What should you track after you start scanning?

Track four counts per week and keep them in a sheet: orders packed, orders with any hand-confirmed line, orders packed short, and unknown-code scans. Divide the other three by orders packed to get your own rates. After a month you can see whether wrong packs are falling, which products cause most of the exceptions, and which packer needs a better routine.

• Hand-confirmed lines by product: a product that is often confirmed by hand has a bad or missing barcode. Reprint it.
• Short counts by product: a pattern usually means a wrong stock count or a shelf that is hard to pick from.
• Complaints about wrong or missing items: compare them with your scan records to see whether the box was scanned at all.

How does GoatLabels handle scan to pack?

On the Pro plan, the Pack tab in the Operations hub works the way the routine above does: you scan the packing slip, then each item, with a USB or Bluetooth scanner that works as a keyboard. It matches the code to an order line by GTIN first, then by SKU. A barcode in your store does not import, so put each GTIN on the product in your Products list. An unknown code is flagged and an over-count is blocked. When every line is verified and the order has a rate, you buy and print the label from the same screen. An order with no rate goes to Shipments first.