Barcode Sales and Stock Control for Shops and Boutiques: A Step-by-Step Guide

In a shop two things must be right at the same time: sales at the till must be quick, and the stock on the shelf must match the system. Barcodes connect these two ends. This guide covers seven steps, from setting up the catalogue to stock counts, and how each is done in the RoxPos shop POS.

1. Set up the catalogue properly

Every item sold at the till should be its own product, with its barcode on the product card. In a boutique each size and colour of a style is set up as a separate product with its own barcode, so sales, stock and counts are right per size. Keeping a style's variants in one category makes them easy to find at the till.

• Name: the style name, with size and colour where needed.
• Barcode: the manufacturer's barcode on the item.
• Unit: piece, kilo or litre.
• Purchase unit: up to 5 units such as a case or crate, with their base-unit equivalent.

If you have hundreds of products you don't need to enter them one by one: download the template from Excel Import & Update under Quick Actions, fill in products and prices and upload the file back.

2. Barcode sales at the till

The Quick Sale screen works without tables. An item is scanned with a barcode scanner or the phone camera and drops into the basket; items without a barcode are picked from the on-screen categories. Payment can be cash, card, on account or split; the cash drawer opens on cash payments and a second customer display shows the basket and total live.

3. Goods receipt: purchase documents and units

Incoming goods are recorded on the Stock Movement screen with a document type (no document, delivery note, invoice); lines are entered by hand, by barcode or from Excel. For an item with a case unit, typing "2 cases" adds the equivalent number of pieces. An invoice entered on account goes to the supplier's balance and shows in Purchase Documents with paid and remaining amounts. You can also upload the invoice as a PDF or photo and let AI read it; lines are matched to your products and each page uses 1 credit.

4. Low stock: reorder on time

You set a critical level on every stocked item. When stock drops below it you get one notification per item; a new stock receipt re-arms the alert. Instead of repeated warnings all day, you get a single notice telling you it's time to reorder.

5. Stock counts: by barcode or Excel

1. Open the Count & Reset screen.
2. Scan the shelf items with the barcode scanner, or type the counted quantities into the Excel template.
3. The counted quantity becomes the new stock and the system records the difference from recorded stock.
4. Review differences per period in the stock reports; deleted lines and cancellations stay in the Activity Log.

6. Price updates and seasonal sales

Bulk Price Change raises or lowers prices in chosen categories by a percentage, with a rounding option and old and new prices side by side before saving. For a discount on one sale use preset rates such as a staff discount; for a time-limited offer use a time-based discount rule.

7. More than one store

Each store has its own stock. Move an item that has run out from another branch or the central warehouse with Warehouse Transfer, and copy products and categories to a new branch. The Branch Comparison report puts stores side by side for takings and stock, and each user only sees their assigned branches. See the retail POS and boutique POS pages for details.

Quick checklist