Using UPC Codes for Point of Sale

Can I use a bar code scanner to enter items by UPC or vendor codes?

Starting with Goldenseal accounting software version 2.9, you can enter Sales items by their UPC code. You can use a bar code reader, or manually select items by their UPC code, vendor product name or vendor code.

UPC and Vendor Setup

Before you set up UPC codes, decide which code(s) you will want to use for the Cost Items that you buy and sell. There are three choices:

  • The UPC Code field lets you enter code text (letters or numbers) up to 31 characters in length.
  • The Vendor Code fields can be different for each vendor.
  • The Vendor Product Names can also be different for each vendor.

You can use more than one code, for example if you use both UPC scanners and vendor product names.

Cost Item Setup

To enter code numbers or names for the items you sell, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Cost Items from the Costs menu.
  2. Click the New button to add a new item, or use the Find command and scroll bars to locate an existing item.
  3. Enter a UPC Code if you'll be using it.
  4. Click the Vendor Prices button.
  5. Enter product names and/or product codes for each vendor that supplies this item.

HINTS-- If you use a bar code scanner, use the scanner to enter the code number into the Cost Item record. That way you won't have problems with typos. You only need to enter codes into the fields that you plan to use for order entry. It doesn't matter what you enter into unused fields, but you might as well just leave them blank.

Custom Indexing

If you have more than a hundred Cost Items, you can get much quicker data entry by creating an index for the Cost Item fields that you'll use for bar code scanning.

To do that, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Custom Layouts from the Options menu, and choose Transactions from the submenu.
  2. Enter Cost Items into the Transaction popup field at upper left.
  3. Choose New Field Index from the Edit menu.
  4. You'll see a list of fields that can be indexed. Scroll down to the UPC field, the Product Name field or the Supplier Code field, and select it.
  5. Goldenseal will ask if you want to create a category text index. Click Yes.
  6. Goldenseal will ask if you are sure you want to add an index. Click OK.
  7. Goldenseal will take a few seconds to check your records and build the index.

For more about custom indexing, click here.

Adding Table Columns

If you are entering items by UPC code or vendor codes, you may need to add a column to the Sale breakdown table so you can enter those values. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Custom Layouts from the Options menu, and choose Transactions from the submenu.
  2. Enter Sales into the Transaction popup field at upper left.
  3. Enter Items into the Layout popup field at upper left.
  4. Click in the breakdown table.
  5. Choose Add Column to Table from the Edit menu.
  6. You'll see a list of fields. Choose UPC Code, Product Name or Supplier Code.
  7. Click OK.

Entering UPC Codes

To enter a sale item by its UPC code, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Sales from the Income menu.
  2. Click the New button.
  3. Enter Items into the breakdown field on the left side of the window.
  4. Click in the UPC Code column.
  5. Enter a value from the bar code scanner, or click on the popup button to choose a code from the list.
  6. Goldenseal will automatically fill in the Cost Item with the entered code number. If it doesn't find a match it will beep.

NOTE-- Goldenseal uses a literal text match for UPC codes and vendor codes. Capitalizing is not important, but punctuation and spaces are. If you are having problems getting a match, check for extra spaces or punctuation in the scanner output or in the Goldenseal data.

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