By default, DEAR POS is configured to use Product-based barcodes. DEAR POS can also handle advanced barcodes with embedded data, which are ideal for stores that sell products based on weight or price, e.g. butcher shops, delicatessens, and fruit stands. 

NOTE: DEAR POS users who would like to use the barcode feature must be equipped with the label printing weighing scales which are capable of creating data embedded barcodes. 

DEAR POS currently does not support the functionality to automatically generate barcodes of any kind. Users will either have to create their own alpha numeric barcode or search in the web to find a barcode generator app, then use the inventory list CSV of DEAR to update products in bulk that do not yet have barcodes.

DEAR supports the following advanced barcodes: 

1. GS1-based
2. Weight-based data-embedded barcode
3. Price-based data-embedded barcode

GS1 are standard barcodes used in retail stores worldwide and capable of holding additional product attributes such as weight and price.If your weighing scales do not use GS1 barcodes, you can use either weight-based or price-based instead.

If you have selected GS1 based, Weight based or Price based barcodes in your integration settings, you will need to add product outlet level SKUs so your barcodes can be read correctly unless the product level SKU is configured to support the advanced barcode setup. See Managing product identifier SKUs. 

Prerequisites:

• At least one POS register added to your base subscription
• Setting up POS - Basics (required)
• Connect printers and barcode scanners (required)

Table of Contents:

• Enable using advanced barcodes
  • Sample barcode display
• Managing product identifier SKUs
  • At the outlet level
    • Manually add outlet SKUs
    • Importing a list of outlet SKUs
    • Exporting outlet SKUs
  • At the product level

Enable using advanced barcodes

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Advanced barcodes are enabled via the DEAR POS integration setup page. To configure your barcodes:

1. From the DEAR web portal, navigate to Integration → DEAR POS →[Selected POS store].
2. On the Setup tab, scroll to POS UI Settings. 
3. Select which barcodes you wish to use from the Use Advanced Barcodes dropdown field. This will enable the Barcode setup tab in the lefthand menu.
   
4. DEAR supports the following barcode types:
   • Product based: Barcode is input at the product setup level and only contains the product code. There will be no additional information retrieved through reading this type of barcode, barcode is used to lookup item only. Product quantity is entered manually by the cashier during checkout and price would be determined based on the entered qty and price per unit as per the product setup.
   • GS1 based:These are standard barcodes used in retail stores worldwide and capable of holding additional product attributes such as weight and price.
     • UPCA codes which start with 2 and are twelve digits in length
     • EAN 13 codes which start with 2 and are thirteen digits in length
   • Weight based: Barcode consists of product code/outlet SKU, then the weight information. Typically these are generated by a third party weight scale. DEAR POS reads these barcodes at the check out and retrieves product price information based on the weight given on the barcode.

   • Price based: Barcode consists of product code/ outlet SKU and product price. DEAR POS reads the barcode to calculate the quantity or weight based on the barcode price during checkout in order to determine the quantity that must be reduced from the inventory.

5. On the DEAR POS Integration page, click the Barcode setup tab to view available barcode settings. This tab is where you configure your weight- or price-based barcodes, which can contain either 12 or 13 digits, depending on your weighing scales.
   
6. For GS1 barcodes all parameters are fixed within the barcode and therefore, there is no need for additional configurations on barcode parameters. The total The following barcode settings are available in order for you to set the format of your weight-based and price-based barcode:
   • Advanced barcode SKU length: Allow user to define how many digits are allocated for the outlet SKU (product identification SKU digits). Can be between 3 and 7 digits (6 digits if Advanced barcode has delimiter is enabled). 
   • Advanced barcode value length: This field is automatically calculated from how many barcode digits are left after the other barcode settings (delimiter, SKU length, decimal point) have been applied. 
   • Advanced barcode value decimal point(not applicable to GS1 barcodes): This field defines how many digits are allocated as decimals in the weight.
     • Cannot be greater than barcode value length - 1, e.g. if value length is 4, the allowed decimal points maximum is 3.
   • Advanced barcode has delimiter: Some barcode formats do not have a delimiter between the product identification SKU digits and weight/price digits, DEAR requires this information in order to read the  barcode correctly. 
7. If you have selected GS1 based, Weight based or Price based barcodes in your integration settings, you will need to add product outlet level SKUs so your barcodes can be read correctly unless the product level SKU is configured to support the advanced barcode setup. If you wish to use separate SKUs for products at the outlet level, enable Advanced barcode uses outlet SKUs. Once you have configured your barcodes, you can set up the outlet SKUs for your products in your DEAR POS outlets and registers. See Managing product identifier SKUs for more information about this function. 
8. Save the barcode settings to finish. 

DEAR will display sample barcodes as you configure your barcode settings. See below for examples of sample barcodes. 

View sample barcode

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As you configure your barcode settings, DEAR will dynamically display your sample barcode format. 

Below are some sample barcode formats. More information about barcodes can be found in the following links:

• GS1 Specifications
  
• GS1 Barcodes
• GS1 in Retail

Managing product identifier SKUs

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If you have selected GS1 based, Weight based or Price based barcodes in your integration settings, you will need to either ensure your product SKUs are configured in such a way that the advanced barcode setup is supported, or enable and and product outlet level SKUs so your barcodes can be read correctly. 

At the outlet level

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If you wish to use separate SKUs for products at the outlet level, enable Advanced barcode uses outlet SKUs for your POS store integration settings. This is necessary if your product SKUs do not correspond to the product SKU digits of your advanced barcode format (e.g. when the product SKU digits are generated through your weighing scales). 

Outlet SKUs function in the same way as the price lookup codes of your weighing scales. DEAR POS supports all format of code (e.g. text, numerical, number of digits).

NOTE: Product must be listed on your POS store before you can add an outlet SKU for that product. 

Outlet SKUs can be added manually one by one or imported in bulk via a CSV file. If you are using the same outlet SKUs across multiple outlets, you can save time by importing the same CSV file into each outlet.

Manually add outlet SKUs

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To create outlet SKUs for your products one-by-one:

1. In the DEAR web portal, navigate to Integrations → DEAR POS.
2. Select the POS store to configure, then click the Outlets tab.
3. Click Set product outlet-level SKUs for advanced barcodes. This will open a pop-up window.
   
4. On the Outlet-Level Product SKUs window, click the + button on the top left.
   
5. Type in the product SKU, if known. As you type, DEAR responds by narrowing down your search until you see the applicable SKU. Select the product SKU to retrieve the product name and category as well.
6. Enter the outlet-level SKU. This will be validated by DEAR based on the configured barcodes under the Barcode setup tab on the DEAR POS Integration page. Outlet-level SKU for a product must correspond to the product SKU digits of the advanced barcode.
7. Repeat for as many outlet SKUs as you require. 

Importing a list of outlet SKUs

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Aside from manually creating outlet SKUs, you can also import a .CSV file with a specific format in the Outlet-Level Product SKUs window. You can either create this file manually or export your outlet-level SKUs from another third-party program using the specified template file format (see Exporting Outlet SKUs). If you have multiple outlets, this procedure simplifies the creation of outlet SKUs since you can just export your outlet SKUs from one of your outlets and import it to another outlet.

IMPORTANT! DEAR will only allow importing outlet SKUs for products that are already listed in the outlet. Thus, you must list products in the outlet first before you can import the outlet SKUs for them.

1. In the DEAR web portal, navigate to Integrations → DEAR POS.
2. Select the POS store to configure, then click the Outlets tab.
3. Click Set product outlet-level SKUs for advanced barcodes. This will open a pop-up window.
4. On the Outlet-Level Product SKUs window, click the Import button.
   
5. On the Import Outlet-Level SKUs page, download the Outlet Level SKUs template file. You can also download the template .CSV file directly from here.

IMPORTANT! Do not change the column headings in the template file. Otherwise, you may encounter problems importing the file back into DEAR.

6. Enter your outlet-level SKUs into the template file, then import the file back to DEAR by selecting it from your computer or dragging it into the box at the bottom of the Outlet-Level Product SKUs window.
7. If there are issues with the file, you will see them listed near the bottom. Correct the issues, then try uploading the file again.
   
8. Once the file is successfully imported, you will be taken back to the Outlet-Level Product SKUs window, where a listing of the imported products will be displayed.

Exporting outlet SKUs

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You can export outlet SKUs to a .CSV file from the Outlet-Level Product SKUs window. If you have multiple outlets, this procedure simplifies the creation of outlet SKUs since you can just export your outlet SKUs file from one of your outlets and import it to another outlet.

1. In the DEAR web portal, navigate to Integrations → DEAR POS.
2. Select the POS store to configure, then click the Outlets tab.
3. Click Set product outlet level SKUs for advanced barcodes. This will open a pop-up window. 
4. On the Outlet-Level Product SKUs window, click the Export button.
5. Select the folder on your computer where you want to save the file, then click OK.

At the product level

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If you do not wish to use separate SKUs for products at the outlet level, your product SKU at the product level must correspond to the product SKU digits of your advanced barcode format. Then, disable Advanced barcode uses outlet SKUs for your POS store integration settings.