Setting Up Barcode and NFC Scanners

An external scanner posts articles, vouchers and customer cards on the Sales Point in a single step. For every scan to arrive quickly and completely, the scanner has to match the way the Sales Point reads its input. This page explains how that works and which scanner settings follow from it. How to change a setting on your model is described in the manufacturer's manual.

How the Sales Point Reads Scanner Input

An external scanner works on the Sales Point as a keyboard. Whether it is connected via USB or Bluetooth, it types the code it has read character by character, as if someone were typing very fast. The Sales Point receives key presses, not barcodes. This applies to 1D and 2D scanners as well as to external NFC readers that output the number of a card or tag.

This means:

• A code ends with a terminator or with a pause. If the scanner sends Enter after the code, the Sales Point posts it immediately. Without Enter, it waits a quarter of a second after the last character before it considers the code complete.

• A code has at least three characters. The Sales Point does not treat shorter input as a code.

• Speed tells the Sales Point what belongs together. Characters that are at most about 30 ms apart certainly come from a scanner and not from a person. The Sales Point uses this to separate two scans and to detect a scan of which only part has arrived.

• What the scanner sends is looked up exactly as it arrives. The Sales Point looks up a scanned code as the complete product number or external ID of an article. One character too many or too few, and the article is not found.

The Sales Point does not evaluate the barcode type itself, only the characters that arrive. EAN-8, EAN-13, UPC-A, UPC-E, Code 128 and QR codes therefore work alike, as do GS1 barcodes carrying a price or weight (see Articles).

Recommended Settings

The names differ between manufacturers. The term in brackets is the one under which the setting is often found.

Testing the Scanner

1. Open the ordering screen on the Sales Point.

2. Scan an article whose product number is stored in the Manager.

3. The article should appear in the cart straight away, without a noticeable delay.

4. Scan the same article several times in quick succession. Each scan should be posted exactly once.

If the Sales Point posts only after a short delay, Enter is usually missing as the terminator. Other symptoms are covered in the next section.

Symptoms and Fixes

Message "The barcode was only partly read"

The Sales Point shows "The barcode was only partly read ('…'). Please scan the article again." when the scanner has sent only one or two characters of a code followed by Enter. The brackets show what arrived. The Sales Point posts nothing in that case. Simply scan the article again.

If the message appears often, the cause lies in the scanner:

• If variable-length barcode types are reading along, switch off the ones you do not need.

• If the scanner cuts the code short, check the character spacing: if it is at the factory setting without a delay, set the smallest step.

• For Bluetooth scanners, check the battery and the distance to the Sales Point; a weak connection can lose characters.

"Article not found"

The message "Article '…' not found!" shows in brackets the code the Sales Point received. Compare it with the article's product number:

• Extra characters at the start or end: switch off prefix, label ID or AIM ID.

• Code shorter than expected: the scanner sent only part of it; see above.

• Letters swapped: match the scanner's keyboard layout to the Sales Point's.

• Code is correct: the product number is missing on the article or stored differently. Enter it in the Manager under Articles.

Two Scans Are Merged into One Code

Without Enter, the Sales Point separates two codes by the pause between them. If the characters within a code are already far apart, that pause becomes harder to detect. Set Enter as the terminator; then every code is clearly closed. If that does not help, reduce the character spacing.

A Scan Posts Nothing, Without a Message

If the character spacing is above about 30 ms, the Sales Point no longer detects a partly read scan as such. The fragment is then lost without a message. Set the character spacing to 30 ms at most. The Sales Point also does not post codes with fewer than three characters.

The Scanner Seems Slow

Without Enter as the terminator, the Sales Point waits a quarter of a second after every scan. Set Enter (CR) as the suffix. A delay between characters also lengthens every scan; choose the smallest step that works reliably on your device. If only scanning the same article repeatedly still feels sluggish afterwards, shorten the double read timeout.

FAQ

Can I enter codes without a scanner? Yes. Use the numpad to post articles by product number and to enter voucher, loyalty-pass and customer-card codes.

Why does the Sales Point ignore very short codes? The Sales Point does not treat codes with fewer than three characters as a scan, so that input from an additionally connected keyboard does not post anything by accident.

Can I connect a scanner and a keyboard at the same time? Yes. Note, however: if you type at least three characters on the ordering screen and press Enter, the Sales Point looks up the input like a scanned code.

Does this page also apply to the built-in scanner of my POS device? Not necessarily. Some POS devices connect their built-in scanner through an interface of their own. This page covers external scanners that work as a keyboard.

Related Topics

• Articles

• Create an Order

• Redeem a Voucher