System updates

We’re experiencing issues that may affect your Square services. We’ll continue to update our status page with more information.

Home>Items and Inventory

Using GTINs with Square for Retail

Overview

With Square for Retail, you now have the option to associate Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) with item variations created through your online Square Dashboard, on top of the existing option to add SKUs. You can do so by entering the details manually through your Item Library, or importing the information via CSV

GTINs are used to identify trade items and products throughout the supply chain and are typically 8, 12, 13 or 14 digits long. Learn more about GTINs and the types commonly associated with businesses here. Note: GTINs are not supported with Square Terminal at this time.

Getting Started with GTINs

To get started:

  1. Visit Items & Orders > Items tab in your online Square Dashboard.

  2. Select an existing item or click Create an item.

  3. Under Variations, enter the GTIN and SKU information into the applicable sections.

  4. Enter all remaining item details > click Save.

Once a GTIN has been associated with an item or item variation, you can take the same actions on the associated items that you normally would – including monitoring the item’s progress through reporting, tracking and adjusting inventory and creating/printing labels with a GTIN barcode.

Create an Item Using a Barcode

You can also easily create items by scanning a UPC/GTIN through your online Square Dashboard. First, you’ll need to make sure you’re using a compatible barcode scanner and connect it to your desktop computer or laptop. Once you’ve confirmed the barcode scanner is connected, follow the instructions below to get started:

  1. Visit Items & Orders > Items tab in your online Square Dashboard.

  2. Click on Create an Item to open the Create Item screen.

  3. From the Details section, select Auto create.

  4. Scan the GTIN associated with the item(s) you’re wanting to create and click Select once the item appears under Top results found.

  5. From here, select suggested variations to apply to the item or scan the GTINs associated with the variations you’d like to apply > click Add variation(s).

  6. Click Save.

In addition to creating items from your Square Dashboard, you can also create a new item by scanning a GTIN directly from the Square for Retail app on iOS devices. To do so:

  1. From the navigation menu, tap **Items**.

  2. Under All Items, tap **Create Item**.

  3. Tap **Auto create**, and scan the GTIN associated with the item you want to create using a compatible barcode scanner or the built-in camera on your device.

  4. Tap the radio button next to the item when it appears under ‘Top results’.

  5. To create the item, click Select.

  6. If you want to create related variations, click Add variations. Select any suggested variations you want to apply to the item, or scan the GTINs associated with the variations you want to apply. Then, click **Add variation(s)**.

  7. Click Save.

During the item creation process, you may see suggestions (highlighted in purple) for Category, Description, Price and other fields. These suggestions are based on information typically found online that is associated with the GTIN. Click a suggestion to apply it to an item. 

To prevent duplication, you’ll also receive a notification during the item creation process if the GTIN already exists in your Item Library.

Add to Cart Using a GTIN

You can also easily add items to your cart by using a GTIN. Simply follow the instructions above to associate a GTIN and/or SKU to an item variation and click Save. Once the item is updated, you can scan the barcode to add to your customer’s cart during checkout.

Note: You can associate both a GTIN and SKU with a single item variation.

Reporting with GTINs

The following sections of your online Square Dashboard will have the option to show GTIN(s) in the on-screen details:

  • History: This section of your Item Library will provide visibility into what stock actions were taken on items or variations for a given time frame.

  • Pending restocks: This section of your Item Library provides you with visibility into what items have been returned and need to be restocked.

  • Item Sales Report: This report shows the sales associated with items and item variations for a given time frame.

  • COGS Report: This report helps you keep an eye on your profit margin by keeping your topline metrics – cost of goods, total revenue, profit and profit margin – front and centre.

  • Projected Profit Report: This report shows you the potential profit of your business inventory.

To view GTIN information while visiting one of the above sections, simply click the “+” icon in the upper right corner of the screen and check off GTIN. Once selected, a new column specific to the GTIN will be displayed.

Print Labels with GTIN Barcodes

You’ll also have the option to print labels with GTIN barcodes for any items that have a GTIN associated with them in your Item Library.

To print labels:

  1. Visit Items & Orders > Items tab in your online Square Dashboard.

  2. Click the Actions dropdown menu and select Print Labels.

  3. From the Create Labels screen, select the appropriate label type and location.

  4. Under the Barcode Format drop-down menu, select GTIN.

  5. Choose to Select Multiple Items or Select from Purchase Order and check off all applicable items > click Select Items.

  6. Click Create Labels.

Note: At this time, you can only print one type of barcode per product label. For example, you can’t print a SKU and a GTIN barcode on one single label, you would need to choose one or the other.

Learn more about printing barcode labels from your online Square Dashboard.

Can't find what you need?