Friday, June 12, 2015

Barcode Tracking Software Standard Features

By Jeanie Bailey


For small businesses and large companies alike, keeping track of assets and inventory is a critical business function. Barcode Tracking Software is designed with a standard set of features to help meet this need. These features can be found with nearly all programs either as included sets or add-on items for additional expense. The main items are inventory control, asset management, multiple site controls, scanner and printer integration, and finally inclusion of export formats to be used with other software systems.

Inventory control is the basic act of counting the number of products or parts the company has on hand. Older paper systems have proven to be a burden to growing companies that must move fast and be able to order more product from the manufacturer in order to fulfill customer orders in a timely fashion.

Keeping track of assets includes items that are usually not considered part of the products to be sold. Office furniture, work computers, and vehicles are primary examples of items a company may own as an asset. Keeping track of this information is important for tax purposes and can eliminate duplicate purchases when assets such as desks are already available for new employees.

Multiple site warehouse controls are designed to track items as they move from one company location to another. Whether the location is an actual warehouse or a retail location, it is extremely important to be able to tag each item with its location. Each location can then operate efficiently. Using this feature, companies are able to shift their inventory between locations as needed, providing a better customer experience and eliminating wasted expense.

There are many different types of scanners. The wireless version is useful for doing a regular inventory count. The employee simply walks through the warehouse and scans each item. This information is sent to the main system and the count is updated. Using wired or desktop type scanners helps warehouses track items being received or shipped. These help eliminate costly data entry mistakes.

Barcode printers have been manufactured for some time. They include special paper with a sticky sheet that is peeled and stuck onto the item. This allows companies to track products using their own barcodes. Using this type of system makes inventory management extremely efficient. The programs are also able to print the codes using standard paper.

Integrating with other software programs has become essential. While the tracking systems come loaded with features, many companies need to port the information to their financial software, spreadsheets, and even the Internet cloud. The flexibility of integration eliminates hours of transcribing the information from one system to another. Many of the popular program data formats are included.

Barcode software meets the essential function of keeping track of inventory and assets within a company. Since most have these standard features, they are able to provide huge savings in both employee time and lost inventory control. Without these systems a company can easily become overwhelmed with the procedures needed to keep track of every item, part, and asset that may be moved, used, sold, or even thrown away.




About the Author:



No comments: