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Printing and Managing Barcodes

Nothing slows down a line like punching in item names manually. Getting your barcodes set up properly is one of those investments that pays off every single day — faster transactions, fewer errors, happier customers. Let's walk through how TORO handles them.

Two Types of Barcodes

Manufacturer barcodes (UPC) are the ones already printed on the product packaging. Most boxed cigars, accessories, lighters, and beverages come with a UPC. You just need to tell TORO which barcode belongs to which item.

Store barcodes are ones TORO generates for you. These are for products that don't come with a UPC — house blends, lounge passes, custom bundles, loose cigars, that kind of thing. You print a label and stick it on.

Adding a Manufacturer Barcode

  1. Open the item's details (double-click the item from any item list, or search for it).

  2. Each SKU has its own little barcode list — one for the box (Master SKU) and one for the single (Transaction SKU). Click the + button next to the barcode list for the SKU you're labeling.

  3. In the Input Barcode box, type in the UPC number from the product packaging — it's usually 13 or 14 digits, printed below the barcode lines.

  4. The barcode links to the specific SKU, meaning a box and a single of the same cigar can have different barcodes pointing to the right packaging size.

  5. Save, and you're done. Every future scan of that barcode instantly adds the item to a transaction.

You only have to do this once per product. After that, scanning just works.

Creating Store Barcodes

For items without a manufacturer barcode:

  1. In the item's details, click Generate New Barcode next to the SKU's barcode list.

  2. TORO generates a unique barcode number automatically — no need to come up with one yourself.

  3. Print the barcode label and stick it on the product or the shelf.

  4. Now it scans just like any manufacturer barcode would.

This is especially handy for things unique to your store. House-rolled cigars, membership cards, event tickets — anything you sell that didn't come in a box with a UPC.

Linking Barcodes on the Fly

This one saves a ton of time during setup. Say you're at the register and you scan a product that TORO doesn't recognize yet. Instead of stopping everything to go into item management:

  1. Scan the unknown barcode — TORO tells you "No Item with this barcode!"

  2. If you have the right permission (AC_ITEM_BARCODE_ADD_MANUFACTURER), TORO immediately offers to link it.

  3. Search for the item, select it, and the barcode is saved permanently.

  4. Every future scan of that barcode works instantly.

This is great during your first few weeks on TORO, or whenever a new shipment arrives with products you haven't barcoded yet. Your cashiers can build out your barcode database right from the register without ever leaving the POS screen.

Finding the Items That Still Need a Store Barcode

Doing this item by item is fine when a single new product comes in. When you want to catch everything at once, use the Barcode Tool:

  1. Open the Dashboard.
  2. Click the Items tab in the list down the left side.
  3. Click the Barcode Tool card.

At the top left is a Barcode dropdown that decides which item SKUs the list shows you:

  • With Barcodes — everything that already has one.
  • Without Any Barcode — SKUs with nothing at all.
  • Without a 13-Digit Barcode — SKUs with no store barcode, including ones that only carry a manufacturer UPC.
  • All — everything, with or without.

"Without a 13-Digit Barcode" is usually the one you want. Store barcodes TORO generates are 13 digits long, and that's what a printed label needs. An item that came in with a manufacturer UPC scans perfectly well at the register, but it has no TORO barcode to print — so it never showed up under "Without Any Barcode" even though it still needed one. The new option catches both cases. Any UPC the item does have still shows in the Barcode column, so you can see at a glance why each row is on the list.

Narrow things down further with the Product Type, Brand, and Tag buttons next to it — handy for working through one brand at a time.

Then click Create 13-Digit Barcodes at the bottom. TORO asks whether you want them on the Transaction Sku Only (the single), the Master Sku Only (the box), or All Skus, and generates a barcode for every SKU on the list that doesn't already have one. Nothing is overwritten — items that already have a store barcode are left alone.

Printing Barcode Labels

When you need physical labels — for shelf tags, price stickers, or items without barcodes:

  1. Select the items you want labels for.

  2. Choose your label format and size.

  3. Print to your label printer.

This is useful for pricing displays too. Print a label with the barcode and price, stick it on the shelf, and customers know exactly what something costs before they bring it to the register.

The brand name on a label

Medium labels print the brand's short name rather than its full name. A shelf tag is only so wide, and "Arturo Fuente Don Carlos" wrapping onto three lines helps nobody — your receipts have always worked this way, and now your labels match.

You control what that short name is:

  1. Open the Dashboard.
  2. Click the Items tab in the list down the left side.
  3. Click the Manage Brands card.
  4. Open the brand you want to change.
  5. Edit the Short Name box.
  6. Click Save.

The short name can be up to 18 characters — the same limit your receipts use. If you leave it blank, labels fall back to the full brand name.

A couple of things worth knowing:

  • Small labels don't print the brand at all, so this only affects medium labels.
  • Label Design Studio still uses the full brand name, on purpose — you're laying that label out yourself and choosing how much room to give it.

Importing Barcodes in Bulk

If you're setting up a new store or bringing on a new vendor with a big catalog, you don't have to enter barcodes one by one. TORO lets you import them from a spreadsheet — map the barcode numbers to your items and load them all at once.

A Few Things to Keep in Mind

Each barcode links to a specific SKU, not just the item. This matters when you carry the same cigar in both a box and a single — each packaging size gets its own barcode pointing to the right SKU. TORO handles the distinction automatically.

Barcodes have to be unique. One barcode can't point to two different items — TORO will flag this if you try.

Investing a weekend in getting all your barcodes scanned and linked is one of the highest-return things you can do for your store's efficiency. Once everything scans, transactions fly.