Which one should you use?
This depends on how you took the stock in, because that decides what you are counting. Stock received as countable packs is counted in quantity; stock received in bulk is counted in weight. Manage each in the unit it arrived as.
| You received it as | You count it in | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-packed units, each already labelled with its weight | Quantity, how many packs | This tool. Each pack becomes a Shopify variant, and Shopify counts packs as ordinary units. |
| Bulk, cut or weighed to order | Weight | The rest of VahaPOS. The ledger tracks decimal weight and reconciles it with Shopify. |
What is inside a weight-embedded barcode
These are 13-digit EAN-13 barcodes reserved for variable-measure goods. They always begin with 2, which marks them for in-store use. The digits that follow identify the product, and the digits before the check digit carry the weight.
| Digits | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1st | Always 2. Marks it as a variable-measure barcode. |
| 2nd to 6th | The 5-digit SKU of your base product. |
| 7th to 12th | The weight in grams (012500 means 12.5 kg). |
| 13th | Check digit. |
Set up the base product first
The tool matches a scanned pack to a product you already have in Shopify, so two things must be true before you scan anything.
- The base variant’s SKU is the same 5 digits that appear in the barcode.
- The base variant’s price is the price per kilogram.
Worked example
A base product with SKU 12345 priced at 18.00 per kilogram. A pack scanned as 2 12345 012500 7 weighs 12.5 kg and becomes a variant priced at 225.00, named from the SKU and weight, with that barcode set on it.
Scanning packs in
Step 1: Open Barcode to Variant from the VahaPOS navigation.
The page is titled Weight Embedded Barcode to Variant.
Step 2: Choose the location the stock is arriving at.
Step 3: Scan each pack with a barcode scanner, or type the number and press Enter.
It must be 13 digits, start with 2, and pass its check digit. Anything else is rejected as not a weight barcode. Scanning the same pack twice increases its quantity instead of adding a second row.
Step 4: Check the list, then save.
For each pack the tool creates a variant of the base product, named from the SKU and weight, priced at the base rate multiplied by that weight, with the scanned barcode set on it and inventory tracked.
Step 5: Scan a pack at POS to confirm Shopify resolves it on its own.
At the till
Staff scan the pack with the normal Shopify POS scanner. Shopify finds the variant by its barcode and adds it at the pack price. No VahaPOS tile is opened. The VahaPOS manual entry tile can also read these barcodes if staff happen to be inside it.
- Selling the pack reduces the variant’s Shopify stock by one, like any other unit.
- Refunds return one pack to stock through Shopify as usual.
- Bulk goods weighed at the counter still use the weighing flow: manual entry, a connected scale, or a kiosk.