Barcode Inventory Management Software

Barcode Inventory Management Solution

If you’re looking to implement a barcode system for your inventory management strategy, Finale Inventory offers an excellent solution. Finale Inventory combines barcode scanners, warehouse locations, and product barcode labels to manage and track your inventory.

Our system integrates with a variety of barcode scanners. Meanwhile, the mobile barcode scanning application simplifies warehouse operations. and provides real-time data that helps you better sort and track products wherever they are on your shelves or order bins.

How to Use Barcodes for Inventory Using Finale Inventory

The basic principle behind inventory control scanning systems is that every product has a unique number. That number can store many pieces of valuable data. Some information you can save includes the product's supplier, dimensions and weight. The number can also store some variable data, such as the current stock of the item. The unique number sequence is beneath a barcode, which a scanner can access from the set of black vertical lines.

You can also assign barcodes to bins on a shelf. When you add or remove a product from the tray, just scan the barcodes on the product and its shelf. Finale Inventory's software automatically updates with real-time information about an item's location and the available stock.

Finale Inventory's system uses one-dimensional barcodes, which are the traditional labels with vertical black lines. These codes can be read with a laser scanner or a linear image. You can choose to work with traditional laser scanners or use Android smartphones with the Finale Inventory Barcode Scanner app.

Please watch the video to learn more about the mobile scanning application.

Comprehensive Barcode Solution

Finale Inventory offers an easy-to-use turnkey barcode solution to make your warehouse more productive and your inventory count more accurate. With our integrated barcode system, user-friendly software, extensive training, technical support and custom-build capabilities, Finale Inventory meets all your inventory management and barcode scanning needs.

With Finale Inventory, your business can:

Save Time

Barcode technology allows you to locate a product no matter where it is in the warehouse. By using barcodes on products themselves and the shelves and bins where they’re stored, you can call up the location of any item within your software. The technology reduces picking errors and can direct workers throughout the warehouse.

Save Money

While many barcode solutions require specific barcode readers, Finale Inventory integrates with any barcode equipment your company chooses, even Android phones. You can shop around for the readers that suit your budget. Our customers find that smartphones are often less expensive than conventional laser barcode readers.

Eliminate Paper in the Warehouse

Handwritten or manual spreadsheet inventory tracking is time-consuming and requires your team to count inventory by hand posing the potential for math errors and illegible writing. Spreadsheets offer an improvement, with automatic calculations and a neatly laid out setup. With Finale Inventory, you can go paperless with an easy-to-use inventory tracking software and scanners specifically designed for inventory management.

Train New Employees Quickly

Many manual inventory tracking systems are challenging to learn. Every company has a different method, and both paper and spreadsheets can be difficult to read and organize. Finale Inventory’s software has an intuitive, easy-to-use interface. It can cut training time significantly. Even better, you can take advantage of our video tour, so training can be mostly virtual and self-guided.

Inventory control with barcode scanners can increase your inventory accuracy substantially. With bar-coded inventory, your computer program does all the hard work for you and updates your stock levels continuously. While computers aren’t perfect, they are lightning-fast and make far fewer errors than humans do.

Reduce manual errors and improve accuracy.
Save time with efficient picking methods.
Optimize just-in-time stock keeping.
Implement continuous inventory management.
Access real-time data.
Receive automatic notifications.
Make smarter decisions for reorders.
Lose less inventory.
Track more information.

"Before we started using Finale's Pick and Pack method, we had an order error rate of 2-3%, so that means out of 100 orders that we shipped, we’d hear from 2 or 3 customers complaining that they got the wrong color, they got the wrong size, they got the wrong quantity. On average, since we started using Finale, we’ve gone to 0.2% error rate. We even went 30 days without a single shipping error."

Brett Haney

President, Microfiber Wholesale

Warehousing Operations

You can use Finale Inventory's barcode scanning system to simplify all your warehousing operations.

Receiving a Shipment

When a shipment arrives, simply scan the barcode on the purchase order. The screen will list all the items expected. Then, scan each item in the delivery. The data will save in the scanner and synced with the software via WiFi. The scanner can also provide notifications while receiving shipments. You’ll know instantly if a wrong product is scanned or if products are missing. See the Receiving Shipments feature in action.

Sales Order Picking

The barcode scanner can be configured for four picking and two packing methods. Learn more about Finale Inventory’s sales order picking solutions.

Transfer Stock Between Locations

You can track items as they move throughout the warehouse with Finale Inventory’s inventory tracking technology. With the scanner, you can select an item and choose an origin then a destination. The information will update the software via WiFi. You’ll get a record of when the transfer occurred should you need it during an audit later. See how stock location transfer works.

Conduct Stock Takes

The handheld scanner can use two modes for conducting stock takes. You can use a cycle count or an audit cycle count, where you write zeros. Watch how Finale Inventory performs stock takes.

Picking Methods

With a barcode scanner for order picking, your pickers view orders on their mobile devices as they travel throughout your warehouse. The scanner displays the items to be picked and prompts your pickers to scan each item they collect. The system alerts the picker if they scan an incorrect product and notifies them when an entire order or batch is complete. These functions help prevent you from sending inaccurate or incomplete orders to your customers.

When you scan each barcode, the software updates your inventory records and removes the items from your on-hand quantities in real-time. It works hand in hand with your other departments like purchasing, receiving, order processing and shipping to keep your inventory up to date. When your picking tasks are complete, you can connect the scanner to your computer to quickly sync your software.

The mobile barcode inventory management solution will add a layer of quality control by alerting warehouse team members when an incorrect item has been scanned. Finale Inventory utilizes multiple types of picking methods to improve efficiency and help decrease your picking errors.

Single order, item by item picking: Finale Inventory has two ways to handle picking for one request at a time. The Basic Simple version will allow you to select an order and prompt you to scan the bar code. Basic Directed will tell you which item to pick, how many to pick, where to go in the warehouse and the most efficient route. To select which single-order picking mode you want, simply change the settings in your handheld scanner. See how Basic picking works.
Wave picking: For an advanced picking method that allows you to make one trip throughout the warehouse and pick up multiple orders, our scanners have a wave picking feature. The scanner will enable you to organize various orders into bins as you travel throughout the warehouse.
Advanced batch picking: Similar to wave picking, advanced batch picking lets you collect multiple orders on the same trip through the warehouse. The most significant difference is picking similar orders in the same batch. Since many operations stock similar items in relatively the same locations, you'll save even more time collecting.
Pick and pack: With the pick and pack method, you can create a batch of orders. Your scanner will allow you to pick multiple orders and direct you to go to the packing location of the warehouse and then pack each order. Learn how Finale Inventory's scanner technology simplifies the pick and pack process. If you are a ShipStation user, you can also leverage ShipStaton batch IDs or ShipStation tags to automatically create the batches.

Benefits of Our Barcode Inventory Management Systems

Our barcode scanners help crucial warehouse operations run efficiently. With picking and packing directives and automatic notifications available right from the scanner interface, your warehouse can keep and ship stock more efficiently. Our system can accommodate the scanning process, labeling system and hardware that works best for your operation.

Our easy-setup software with barcode scanning integration offers many advantages, allowing you to:

Reduce manual errors and improve accuracy.
Save time with efficient picking methods.
Optimize just-in-time stock keeping.
Implement continuous inventory management.
Access real-time data.
Receive automatic notifications.
Make smarter decisions for reorders.
Lose less inventory.
Track more information.

If you want to start enjoying the benefits of our barcode scanner data collection software, sign up for Finale Inventory's free trial today.

Schedule a Demo Today

Finale Inventory is a barcode inventory system for small businesses. Tour all the features Finale Inventory has to offer, including warehousing and integration with retail barcode scanning software. If you’re ready to transform your inventory management operations, schedule a demo today.

Schedule a Free Demo

The Finale Inventory Advantage

If your supply chain or warehouse has inventory to manage, an inventory management system with barcode scanning can help you drastically increase your productivity in crucial ways. It can also save you time and money in overhead, labor and other areas of your business. Generally, your barcode inventory system includes hardware, such as barcode scanners and printers, as well as software. The program will run on computers and mobile devices that support barcode scanning and other applications.

When implemented correctly, the mobile barcode inventory management solution can significantly streamline your inventory processes while improving inventory count accuracy. When implemented incorrectly, adding portable barcode scanners to your inventory management solution will be an expensive and time-intensive endeavor that may not achieve the anticipated return on investment.

If the system does not work as it should, the program is often ignored and falls by the wayside. Worse, companies often learn the barcode system deficiencies early in the engagement while remaining locked in a long-term service contract. When selecting a mobile barcode inventory management solution, make sure to evaluate several vendors to find the best solution that meets the company's needs.

Barcode chart showing competitive differences

How Does Our Barcode Scanning Solution Compare?

Does Finale Inventory have the right barcode solutions for your business? See how our services work for you.

Customer Service

When you sign up for Finale Inventory, you are assigned a customer relationship manager who will help you with every step of the process. Your customer relationship manager will provide consulting, training and any customization you need. We partner with you to create the solutions your business requires.

Low Commitment

Free Training and Consulting

Scalability

Integration with Your Existing Software

Fast and Easy Setup

Barcode Label Printing

To complement your barcode scanning, Finale Inventory offers hardware and software to print custom barcode labels. Every business should be able to handle barcode labels in a way that works best for them. We designed the system to be highly adaptable and provide many options for barcode label printing.

You can design and print Universal Product Codes (UPCs) barcode labels or QR codes labels. We can support your bar-coding system regardless of what information you use in the naming convention.

Creating the proper barcode nomenclature can be a little tricky. Refer to our handy barcode labeling guide to get more information. Need additional assistance? Call or email us.

Barcode Hardware

We designed the barcode solution to be as flexible and versatile as possible. Our inventory tracking software will work with any Windows-based mobile barcode scanner, Android-based mobile barcode scanner or Android phone. Unlike other companies, the barcode scanning application is hardware-agnostic and does not require you to use any specific make, model or brand.

We want you to have maximum flexibility to find the best hardware that best suits your application. If you need assistance, use our guide to scanner hardware requirements, complete with recommended models and vendors.

Barcode Scanning Software

Finale's inventory software can benefit any company with an extensive stock of finished goods or raw materials — and implementing it with our barcode system is even more advantageous. Our barcode system allows you to accurately and efficiently track all your warehouse operations with a quick scan. These efficiencies lead to significant cost savings by maximizing labor, decreasing storage costs and increasing your inventory management efforts.

If your company uses universal product codes (UPCs), our software can improve organization and enhance your existing system's functionality. In addition, our software pairs nicely with any labeling system you use.

Other Resources for Barcode Inventory Management

We've compiled a few helpful resources about our barcode management applications and hardware.

Barcode label basics
Data collector installation instructions
Mobile barcode scanner hardware requirements

Would You Like to See Finale in Action?

Finale Inventory offers an integrated mobile barcoding solution with our software subscription plans above the Gold level. Our system is compatible with any industry, from small startup companies to large-scale businesses with multiple locations. Our easy-to-use solutions are simple to set up and take minimal implementation time.

If you're interested in seeing how our barcode software features work for your application, schedule a free demo and download our barcode scanner app to your smartphone. If you like how it works, you can continue using your phone to scan or upgrade to a dedicated scanning device of your choice.

Get started today with a free real-time demo to learn more about Finale Inventory.

Video Transcription

Hello, this is Mike with Finale Inventory. In this short video, I wanna cover the topic of barcodes and barcode inventory management. Here at Finale Inventory, we have a wonderful integrated barcode solution that's custom developed by us. We have both a mobile barcode scanner and a tethered USB scanner. And you might be thinking, "Well, what's the difference between the two?" Well, I'm gonna show you here.

This is a mobile barcode scanner. It has no wires needed in terms of operating. You can walk around in your warehouse or your business, and it also does not require an Internet connection or any type of wireless connection either. So, I can kind of show you, it's running a Windows mobile operating system, so it looks kind of like a really miniature Windows computer. So, this is the mobile barcode scanner. And then we also support, with less functionality, but we do support this, is a tethered USB scanner. So, this one has to be plugged in at all times, and it's super easy to use, but it also doesn't have near the functionality as our mobile barcode scanner.

So, those are two different barcode scanner types. So, let's go into more detail about the mobile barcode scanner. So, in order to use the mobile barcode scanner with our solution, you have to come to this area from the home screen. So, this is the mobile barcode scanning. So, I go to Connect to Docked Mobile Scanner. So, from here, you would click on it. And of course, at this moment is when the browser is gonna search to see that it's connected to this mobile barcode scanner. So, in order to connect this to the computer, you simply use the USB cradle, and you just simply plug it in. And once you plug it in, then Windows will recognize it, and you'll see it pop-up on the screen in your web browser. And as soon as the Windows loads the drivers, now you see it available.

So, now that we're connected to the mobile barcode scanner, you simply, to talk to that device, you just connect to it, and then we will synchronize with the cloud. And this blue button allows you to update all the products, all the lookups, your stock levels, all your orders, your purchase orders, your sales orders, and such like that. So, all we do is press that button, and we synchronize with the cloud, and you're done. So, at that moment, the way the barcode scanner works is you then, once you've updated it, you just disconnect. Okay? And now, there's no longer a connection required. So, you can walk around in your business or your warehouse and scan items using the barcode inventory management app.

So, that's how the mobile barcode scanner basically functions. Now, I wanna go ahead and review a lot of the functions that you can do on this mobile barcode scanner. So, with this mobile barcode scanner, we have an application that we have custom written, and it is for interacting with the cloud. And you access it by going to the Windows Start Menu, and you run the program called Finale Data Collector. So, here is what the application looks like. And you can see that it's laid out very simple and easy to understand, and I'm only gonna cover the basics operations in this video here. But you can do a Pick operation, which is where you pick the items for a sales order that you're gonna ship to your customer.

You can do a Receive, which is for receiving shipments against your purchase orders for inbound shipments. You can do a Transfer, which is for transferring between one sub-location and another sub-location, meaning a virtual storage location in your warehouse, or it could be from one warehouse to the other. You can do a Stock Take, that's where you're doing basically an audit and counting the actual stock on hand.

If you choose to hit the More button, you're gonna see more items. So, you can do a Check Item. Check Item is used to scan any barcode, and if our inventory application or the barcode scanner knows what that barcode is, will tell you what it is and how much of it you have and where is it located in your warehouse. You can also do a Check Sub-location, which is for scanning a sub-location barcode, and the scanner will tell you all of the parts and their stock levels that are at that present location. You can do an Add Stock. You can do a Remove Stock where you're just simply adding the stock to your inventory accounts or removing. This is outside of the purchase order function. So, it's just a raw add or raw subtract from your quantity levels. Go to More. You have a transfer and remove function, which is combining a transfer function with a remove function all in one. This is very useful for consignment type operations or for businesses that aren't really selling products, but they need to track the usage or consumption.

Learn Barcode operation is a fantastic feature of the barcode inventory management app. It actually allows you to learn UPC barcodes or the barcodes that are already on your products from the manufacturers and associate them with the products in your Finale Inventory application. Remove operation, Delete operation — this allows you to review anything that you've done on the handheld scanner and either reopen it, edit it or delete it. That's what these two functions are for. So, we've got another menu here. You can do Clear Scanner Data, that's reserved for basically resetting this scanner back to a kind of like a default setting for when you first set it up. Then you have Settings, and Setting is where we can set multiple different options on using the software.

System Info is just kind of what it says. And Quit actually exits the application. So, we can go right back to the main menu. And that gets us back into the main menu of the application. And you can see that the main menu here, it also tells you what version of the software you're running. But that's a quick overview of some of the basic functionality of the handheld. And you can see that these handhelds have a keypad so you can actually type in quantities and type in part numbers and such like that. So, there's a lot of functionality based here in this mobile barcode app.

Thanks for watching and learning more about Finale's barcode inventory management solution.

Huge time saver to conduct stock takes

”I used to do stock takes with pen and paper. Using Finale and a mobile barcode scanner I get it done in half the time. Last Saturday I never would have finished doing stock takes for my 60 sublocations without the scanner and Finale. A must have for any small business looking to save time with inventory management.”

5/5 Stars

Robert F.
Miami Restaurant Suppliers
May 17, 2018

Finale Inventory is the solution for multi channel online sales with unique bar code and SKUs

"The software provides a simple solution to a common problem managing a single inventory through multi platform online sales channel. eBay, Amazon, and webstore inventory can be managed using Finale. It's easy to use for staff, smooth integration to ShipStation, easy integration with online platforms with more APIs in the works, and great tech support. Handheld scanner enables staff to add and remove inventory with ease.

Great reporting features, and is the only software in over 10 years in the industry that can manage eBay, auction, fixed price, Amazon and webstore inventory.”

5/5 Stars

Chiman Lee
Goodwill of San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin county
April 11, 2018

Comprehensive Product, Great Customer Service

”Everything you want to do for your warehouse inventory tracking, Finale can do it. It has integrations with various website storefronts, warehouse scanner capabilities and a ton of automated reports you can customize.”

5/5 Stars

Katrina E.
Unnamed Method
May 17, 2018