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Print random weight barcodes
Print random weight barcodes

How to print barcodes for your weighted products

Rebecca avatar
Written by Rebecca
Updated over a week ago

Using a label printer, you can print out "random weight barcodes" for your products. This means that - for example - if you sell cheese by the kilo, you can weigh it and then print out a barcode. When you scan this barcode at the POS, it'll recognise the product and its price, based on its weight.

You can also set up "random weight barcodes" for existing barcodes that your suppliers may have provided you, given they are to the EAN 8 and EAN 13 industry standard. When you save these settings, it means that Abacus POS can recognise what the barcode means when you scan it. These instructions will refer to barcode settings as though you are creating barcodes yourself, but the same logic applies for barcodes created by your supplier.

This is how you set it up!

Create Label Printer location

  1. Go to Print Settings > Printer Locations

  2. Click New Printer Location

  3. Call it "Label Printer"

Set up product details

  1. Go to Products > Products, and assign the label printer to all of your products that you wish to print labels for. (See Printer Locations.)

2. Go to the Product Details, scroll down, and tick Weight Required
​3. (OPTIONAL) If you want to deduct any packaging weight, enter it under Preset Weight (kg). e.g. You may sell frozen yoghurt by weight and want to deduct the weight of the tub.
​

4. (OPTIONAL) If you want to include an expiry/best before date, go to the Advanced tab. Under Additional Options, enter either a dynamic expiry date (Expires After) or a static expiry date (Expiry Date).
​

Create barcode settings

  1. Go to Print Settings > Printing Templates > Random Weight Barcode Settings

2. On the right are the Settings for your barcode.

Here's what generally makes up a random weight barcode:

You will need to input the Settings for your type of random weight barcode.

3. Fill in the Trigger Code Length. The "length" is the number of digits for the Matching Code (which you will set in the next step). A Trigger Code tells the scanner, "This is a random weight barcode! It's not a normal product! Keep reading!"
To meet the Australian EAN-13 barcode standard, the Trigger Code Length should be "2". 

4. Under Matching Code, click Add then enter the value of your Matching Code.
Make sure that your Trigger Code Length and your Matching Codes match, e.g. if your Matching Code is "2", your Trigger Code Length should be "1" (1 digit), whereas if your Matching Code is "02", your Trigger Code Length should be "2" (2 digits).
​To meet the Australian EAN-13 barcode standard, the Matching Code should be "02".

5. Fill in the Product Code Length. This should match the number of digits of your Product Codes, e.g. if your Product Code is "A001", your Product Code Length should be 4, because there are 4 characters.
​If you are creating barcode settings for a supplier's product, ensure that their product code matches your own.

6. Fill in the Check Code Length next to Product Code Length. This tells the scanner, "That's the end of the product code! Move on!" 

If you are creating barcode settings for a supplier's product, check with your supplier what their Check Code Length is, as it can differ.
If you are creating barcode settings just to print your own barcodes, set it to "1".

7. Fill in one of the three Code Lengths: 

  • Price: in most scenarios, you'll choose to have the price within the barcode, which will be contingent on the weight itself. The price is based on the product's base price × quantity. Your Price Code Length should be 4 if your product, weighed, is less than $100 (e.g. $99.99, 4 digits). Your Price Code Length should be 5 if product, weighed, equals or exceeds $100 (e.g. $100.00, 5 digits).

  • Weight manually entered: if all of your weighed goods have the same price (e.g. you do frozen yoghurt), you may set the price within your scanner, then choose to have the weight in the barcode. The Weight Manually Entered Length is capped at 1.

  • Quantity: if your supplier bundles together products, you may choose to have the quantity in the barcode. The price will be based on the product's base price × quantity.

8. Fill in the Check Code Length next to whichever field you have filled in step 7. This tells the scanner, "That's the end of the barcode!"

If you are creating barcode settings for a supplier's product, check with your supplier what their Check Code Length is, as it can differ.

If you are creating barcode settings just to print your own barcodes, set it to "1".
​To meet the Australian EAN-13 barcode standard, the sum of the "Lengths" that you fill in should equal 13 digits. This e.g. 2 (Trigger Code Length) + 4 (Product Code Length) + 1 (Check Code Length) + 5 (Price Length) + 1 (Check Code Length) = 13.

Here's another way to look how the product code and price are included in the label:

9. Click Save. 

10. (OPTIONAL) You've just created your Random Weight Barcode Settings to suit one type of barcode, which you can think of as a "barcode profile". If you want to support another type of barcode (or "barcode profile"), click Add under Setting List and repeat steps 3-9 for your second type of barcode.

For Australian businesses, we recommend you create a second EAN-13 profile in the case that your scanner removes leading zeros:

  • One with a Trigger Code Length of "2" and a Matching Code of "02" (as instructed above), totalling 13 digits

  • One with a Trigger Code Length of "1" and a Matching Code of "2"

To see your different "barcode profiles", or Settings, click the different numbers under the Setting List.

Update barcode printing template

  1. Go to Print Settings > Printing Templates

  2. Click Add New Templates

3. Set the Subject as "Item Label", the Printer Location as "Label printer", and copy and paste the text below into the Template.

This will show:

  • Weight (detected by scales)

  • Best before date (set in Product Details > Advanced)

  • Price per kg (set in Product Details)

[label_offset(x:70,y:10)][label_size(width:150,height:110)]<font-small>#[order_number] [current_time] ([item_docket_number]/[total_docket_number])</font-small>
<font-small><bold><line>Net weight<line-separator>$/kg</line></bold></font-small>
<font-small><line>[item_quantity]<line-separator>[item_unit_price]</line></font-small>
<font-small><bold><line>TOTAL PRICE<line-separator>[item_total_price]</line></bold></font-small>
<font-small><center-align>Best Before: [expiry_date]</font-small>
<font-small>[barcode][barcode_size(width:0,height:70)]</font-small>

4. Click Save. 

This template will create this label:

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