Scanning on a phone

Warehouse App

Give warehouse staff a phone app for scanning purchase order deliveries and stock take counts - without a full TrueSKU login, and without using up one of your paid seats.

Not the same as multiple warehouses. This page is about the phone app. Keeping a separate stock count for each of several physical locations is a different feature - see Multiple Warehouses.

What it's for

The warehouse app is a scan-first version of TrueSKU that runs as an installed app on a phone. It covers three jobs today: receiving purchase order deliveries, counting stock takes, and (if you use multiple warehouses) moving stock from one warehouse to another. It does not give access to pricing, customers, settings or channel credentials - a warehouse login can only reach those scanning screens, nothing else in your account. It also cannot change how much stock you have: receiving adds a delivery against a purchase order, counts are only entered (an office user reconciles them), and a move only changes where stock is.

You don't have to use a separate warehouse login. Any normal TrueSKU user (you, or a colleague with their own account login) can also use the same scan-to-receive and scan-to-count screens from their own phone, from the normal Purchase Orders and Stock Takes screens. The warehouse app below is specifically for staff who shouldn't have a full TrueSKU login at all.

Setting it up

Generate the access link.

Go to Settings > Overview and click Warehouse Access, then generate a link and QR code. This is shared by everyone on your team - each person still gets their own name and PIN once they join.

Share the QR code or link.

Print the QR code and stick it up in the warehouse, or send the link directly. Anyone who scans it can join.

Each worker picks a name and PIN.

The first time someone opens the link, they choose their name and a 4-6 digit PIN. Next time, they just tap their name and enter their PIN - no need to scan the QR code again unless they're on a new phone.

Install it as an app.

After joining, the app prompts to install itself to the home screen. On Android with Chrome this creates a real app with its own icon; on iPhone use Share > Add to Home Screen in Safari. Skipping this is fine too - the scan screens still work in a normal browser tab.

Receiving deliveries

Tap Receive deliveries to see purchase orders waiting to be received. Scan a barcode, or type a code or item name, to find the right line. Enter the quantity received and save - it's added to a draft delivery. Review the whole delivery before tapping Book in delivery, which is the step that actually updates stock. Items received that weren't on the original order can be added with Item not on PO. If a line arrives with more than was ordered, just enter the real number: the screen shows an amber over-delivery notice, and the surplus is booked in too and flagged on the order (lower the number if you don't want it).

On the review screen you can add a delivery reference and a photo of the delivery note - tap Take or choose a photo to use the camera or pick one from the phone. Wait for the upload to finish (the Book in button is held until it does). The photo is kept with that delivery on the purchase order, where office staff can open it from the Deliveries section. Photos can be up to 10 MB.

Counting stock takes

Tap Stock take to see stock takes that are open for counting (started on desktop first - see Stock Takes). Before you count, set aside the goods for any orders placed before the stock take started (the time is shown at the top of the count screen), then count only what is left - see Orders placed before the count starts. Scan or tap a line to enter a count; it saves immediately. The screen deliberately does not show the expected quantity while counting, so the count reflects what's really on the shelf. Accepting counted lines and reconciling them into stock happens back on desktop - the warehouse app only enters counts.

A count can be entered from a phone while someone else has the stock take open on desktop. The desktop screen shows who last counted something and when, and warns before reconciling if someone else has counted recently - but it's still worth checking with your team before finalising.

Moving stock between warehouses

If your account has multiple warehouses switched on and at least two active, a Move stock button appears on the menu (it is hidden otherwise). Choose the warehouse the stock is From and To (the swap button flips them), then scan an item, or type a SKU or name, and enter how many. The screen shows how many are at the source and will not let you move more than that. Add as many items as you need, review the list, and tap Move stock.

A move is instant and happens all at once, or not at all. The total stock does not change, only where it is, and each move is recorded under the person's name in the movement history with a reference like Transfer #12. You can add a reference such as "putaway". Items that don't hold their own stock (bundles, supplier-driven or untracked SKUs) can't be moved. If you use one warehouse per area, for example "Goods in" and "Main", this is how you do putaway.

A normal TrueSKU user can use the same screen from their phone via the phone version link on the Transfers page.

Flagging an item that looks wrong

If something in the warehouse doesn't look right - a quantity that seems off, something you can't find, or a product that always sells but is still sitting on the shelf - tap Flag an item on the menu. Scan the item, or type a SKU or name, choose what looks wrong, and tap Add to list. You can optionally enter how many you can see and a short note.

This never changes any stock and doesn't ask you to count anything. It just puts the item on a shared list for the office. If someone else has already flagged the same item, your report is added to theirs rather than creating a second entry. Flagged by mistake? Tap Take off next to your own report. The number you enter is only a note for the office: they decide whether a count is needed and when to start it, because the right moment depends on whether orders already in the system have been picked. See Stock takes for what the office does with the list.

Managing access

From Settings > Overview > Warehouse Access you can regenerate the link at any time - this immediately signs out everyone currently using the old one, useful if a phone is lost. You can also deactivate an individual person's login without affecting anyone else, the same way you'd deactivate a normal secondary user.

A 4-6 digit PIN is intentionally simpler than a full login. This is a deliberate trade-off: warehouse access can only ever reach the scanning screens above, nothing else, so a weaker PIN there doesn't put the rest of your account at risk.