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Table of Contents

• What is Barcode Software?
• The benefits of Barcode Software
• Typical features of Barcode Software
• The cost of Barcode Software
• Considerations when purchasing Barcode Software
• Relevant Barcode Software trends

What is Barcode Software?

Barcode Software is a software solution that helps businesses design, generate, print, and scan product barcodes, which contain information such as product category, type, size, and color. It speeds up the process of collecting product information and aids in tracking real-time inventory levels.

Barcoding solutions are used along with hardware tools such as handheld scanners and mobile computers. These hardware components read product barcodes and transmit the gathered information to the software for storage or further use.

The benefits of Barcode Software

The benefits of using a barcode solution vary per business requirements, but the following ones are worth noticing:

• Fewer inventory errors: Manual inventory tracking is prone to human errors and can lead to incorrect product details. Barcoding software helps reduce the chances of errors by automating the inventory tracking process. There’s minimal human intervention, as barcode scanners automatically read and transfer product information to the software.
• Improved efficiency: A centralized repository ensures companies have access to updated product information at all times. It also helps reduce the billing time, as product details are readily available, thus improving the overall operational efficiency.
• Better decision-making: With the help of barcoding software, inventory changes can be tracked by all authorized users in real time. This makes it easier for businesses to take timely and data-backed decisions related to procurement, maintenance, and budgeting.

Typical features of Barcode Software

• Barcode generation: Create unique product barcodes to track inventory.
• Barcode scanning: Read and scan barcodes for product information such as type of product, size, manufacturer, and identification number.
• Barcoding/RFID: Identify items using barcode tags or radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags that contain electronically stored data.
• Custom labels: Create customized labels that contain product information such as size, type, and category.
• Label templates: Use prebuilt label templates to enter and store product information.
• Serial number tracking: Assign unique serial numbers to products for easy tracking.

The cost of Barcode Software

Most products in the market are priced on a “per user, per month” basis and can be divided into three pricing tiers based on their starting price.

Price ranges*:

• $17 - $30
• $30 - $53
• $53+

*The pricing included is for the entry-level/lowest-priced offering found on vendor websites on Jan. 05, 2021. These ranges correspond to the 25th, 75th, and 100th percentiles of pricing information gathered from vendor websites of sample products.

The above list summarizes pricing for the base plans of most products. An enterprise or premium product that is priced higher may include additional features such as mobile access, shipping labels, and inventory management.

Considerations when purchasing Barcode Software

• Integration with other applications: Barcoding software works alongside solutions such as inventory management, warehouse management, accounting, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools. Thus, ensure the solution you’re planning to purchase integrates well with your existing business systems. Integration functionality will facilitate seamless exchange of product data across applications, saving you from the trouble of duplicate or incorrect data entry.
• Cost of ownership: You can buy barcoding software as a stand-alone product or part of a suite, and its price will vary accordingly. Also, there can be hidden costs for maintenance, employee training, or post-purchase customer service. Therefore, be sure to confirm with the vendor the total expenses you’ll incur for software purchase, training, and support.

Relevant Barcode Software trends

• Barcode scanning technology is evolving with 2D barcodes: Image and photo recognition technologies have introduced 2D barcodes, such as QR codes, that are replacing traditional 1D barcodes. 1D barcodes can store a maximum of 85 characters, whereas a 2D barcode can store as many as 7,000 characters. Some software tools already support 2D codes, and in the near future, more vendors are expected to introduce this capability in their products.