Create items by scanning barcodes with Square for Retail
About creating items by scanning barcodes
In Square Dashboard and the Square Retail POS app, you can automatically create an item by scanning a GTIN with a compatible barcode scanner or the camera on your iOS device.
Before you begin
A Global Trade Item Number, or GTIN, is the source of truth and used to identify trade items and products throughout the supply chain, primarily within barcodes. Learn more about how to use GTINs
To create items by scanning barcodes, you need to have access to your Square Dashboard or the Retail POS app. You also need a compatible barcode scanner or an iOS device with a camera connected to the Retail POS app.
View barcode scanners compatible with Square hardware and learn how to connect a barcode scanner to Square.
Create an item by scanning a barcode
You can easily create items by scanning a UPC/GTIN from Square Dashboard and the Square Retail POS app on iOS devices, Square Terminal, or Square Register.
- Sign in to your Square Dashboard and click Items & orders > Items > Item library.
- Select an existing item or click Create item.
- Under the Details section, click Auto-create.
- Scan the GTIN associated with the item you want to create using a compatible barcode scanner or the built-in camera on your device. You can also search by name or barcode number.
- Select the item, then 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).
- Click Save.
During the item creation process in Square Dashboard, 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.
- Open the Retail POS app.
- Tap ≡ More > Items > All items.
- Tap Create item.
- Tap Auto-create and scan a barcode using a compatible barcode scanner or the built-in camera on your device. You can also tap Search for items to search by name or GTIN.
- Select the item from the Auto-create item screen, and tap Continue.
- From here, select suggested variations to apply to the item or scan the GTINs associated with the variations you’d like to apply.
- Tap Add variation(s).
- Tap Save.
During the item creation process in the Retail POS app, you may see description hints (highlighted in green) that provide suggestions for Category names, as well as words and/or phrases to add to the Item Description.