Activate the Barcode of Weights for Products.
Many businesses, such as retail stores and supermarkets, need to calculate the weight of sold products and include this weight in the product’s barcode. This facilitates the invoicing process either separately or through a Point of Sale (POS) system provided by Daftra. Therefore, we have added the feature of weight-inclusive barcodes, allowing you to automatically retrieve the weight information from the barcode.
What is a Weight-Embedded Barcode?
The barcode, in its simple form, consists of a set of contrasting black lines and white spaces of varying sizes, which are read by a barcode reader device and converted into a set of numbers, each of which represents specific information about the product.
It comes in the form:
XXXXXXXWWWWWN
In case the weight is included as part of the barcode.
The number of W digits representing the weight is controlled based on how we want to express it on the invoice. For example, if you write four digits for weight WWWW, it might represent the weight as 0250 to indicate 250 grams. If there are five digits for weight WWWWW, you will find 250 grams represented as 00250. This is often based on the quantities you deal with and the convenient way to print them in barcodes and invoices. The same applies to the number of digits for the price in the weight-inclusive barcode.
The format is typically:
XXXXXXXPPPPN
In case the price is included as part of the barcode.
Where it is customary that:
X: Represents the original barcode numbers that distinguish the product itself, and the number (x) depends on the number of barcode digits.
W: Represents the weight of the product.
P: Represents the price.
N: A check digit is used to verify that the barcode number has been read correctly.
What is the importance of the price in calculating the weight?
It is obvious that including the weight in the barcode will automatically display the weight on the invoice when the code is read. However, why might the price be used for the same purpose?
Sometimes, it is preferable for the price to appear in the barcode for accounting operations, customer convenience, or other reasons. In such cases, it is not necessary to include both the weight and the price in the barcode. The system can suffice by reading the product’s price and knowing the price per kilogram, as specified in the product data in your inventory, to determine the weight based on the appropriate price for that quantity. For example, if the price per kilogram of butter is 120 pounds, and the displayed price for a barcode of a piece of butter is 60 pounds, the system would naturally define the weight as half a kilogram. This information is then automatically reflected in the invoices.
Enabling Weight-Embedded Barcode in Daftra
- Go to the inventory from the main menu.
- Click on product settings.
- Then select barcode settings.
4. Make sure to check the box ✅ next to “Enable Weight-Embedded Barcode” to display the barcode format, unit of weight, and currency.
Control the Weight Unit from the Barcode Settings
You can control whether the weight unit displayed in the barcode is in grams or kilograms from the barcode settings branching from the product settings.
Enter 1 in the weight unit field if you want the weight to appear in grams in the barcode.
Divide by 1000 in the weight unit field to convert the weight to kilograms instead of grams in the barcode.
Controlling the Currency Unit from Barcode Settings
In addition, as mentioned, the currency serves as an indicator for weight on the invoice if the barcode includes currency. The currency unit can vary, including pounds, riyals, dirhams, dollars, or piasters, fils, or cents, depending on the currency of the country activated in your application.
If you wish the included currency to be the official currency, such as the pound, divide by 100 in the currency field:
If your transactions are facilitated in smaller currency units, such as piasters, you can simply compensate for the division value in the currency field by 1, as follows:
Adding a Barcode to the Product and Activating a Weight-Embedded Barcode
As usual, adding the barcode is done from the inventory by clicking on the “Add New Product” button at the top right of the screen, and it will be as follows:
Then, in the box for product details, we add only the primary barcode represented by (x), according to the number assigned to it in the barcode settings.
So, the primary barcode will be as follows:
Complete the product info then save it.
Displaying the Weight on the Invoice when Scanning the Weight Barcode
Once you scan the product with the barcode reader, the system understands the weight’s location and automatically fills in the weight field. It also recognizes the price based on the unit price entered in the product data.
For example:
The previously mentioned base barcode 5987450 represents “Unsalted Cheese” as entered in the products. If we examine a product with the barcode 5987450015008, which is a barcode including the weight, the system will recognize the weight.
It is recognized by Daftra through the base barcode, and the weight and price fields are automatically filled in the invoice.
Similarly, when using a point-of-sale program, it becomes easy, through scanning the barcode, for the system to quickly recognize the weight and price, calculate the point of sale, which significantly speeds up the selling process and is well-suited for retail transactions.