Feature
Stock and barcodes for clothing shops, by size and colour
How do I keep stock and use barcodes in my clothing shop?
In Tap & Bill, switch on Stock & barcodes in Settings (Growth and Pro plans, off by default). Add each design with its sizes and colours; every size and colour gets its own barcode, or uses the brand’s printed EAN. Print labels on A4 sheets, a label printer or your bill printer, and scan them at the counter with a handheld scanner or the phone camera. Stock goes down with every bill. Stock in adds goods received from a supplier, a shelf count shows missing pieces, and reports show stock value, sizes that sell and dead stock.
Most clothing shops start billing by category, and Tap & Bill works that way out of the box. But once a shop has a few hundred designs in six sizes each, the owner wants answers a bill book can’t give: which sizes sell, which designs have been lying for six months, and whether three pieces went missing from the shelf.
Stock & barcodes adds that on top of normal billing. It is one setting, off by default, so shops that don’t want it never see it. Switch it on and the billing screen gets a scan box; category tiles and the Quick bill keypad keep working for pieces without a label.
It runs on the Android app and on the computer, and it has no running cost: no per-scan or per-label charge.
What you get
- Designs with sizes and colours; one barcode per size and colour
- Your own 8-digit shop codes, or the brand’s printed EAN barcode
- Code 128 + small QR labels; MRP crossed out when it is higher than your price
- Scan to bill with a USB or Bluetooth scanner, or the phone camera (Android app)
- Scan the next customer’s piece on the “Bill saved” screen to start the next bill
- Stock in with supplier, bill / challan number and the cost of one piece
- Shelf count: each scan counts one piece, undo the last scan, see missing and extra
- Stock value at cost and at selling price; running low and out of stock
- Sizes that sell, dead stock and a clearance list
- Excel / CSV import of designs with sizes, barcodes and opening stock (web)
- Off by default; on the Growth and Pro plans and during the free trial
How it works
Add designs
Name, price, sizes and colours. Each size and colour gets a barcode. On the computer, or in the app: Settings → Stock & barcodes → Add a design.
Print labels
Code 128 barcode with a small QR, on A4 sheets, a label printer or your bill printer.
Scan to bill
A handheld scanner on the computer or phone, or the phone camera in the app. Stock goes down with each bill.
Stock in
When goods arrive, scan or type the pieces per size, add the supplier and challan number, and print one label per piece.
Count and check
Shelf count: scan every piece on a shelf to see what is missing or extra. Reports show stock value, sizes that sell and dead stock.
Example: 24 jeans from a supplier, one month later
A shop adds Slim Fit Jeans, price ₹1,199, in sizes 30 to 36. The supplier’s parcel comes with challan no. 418. On Stock in the owner types the pieces per size and the cost of one piece, ₹620:
| Size | Received | Sold in 30 days | Share of jeans sold | Left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 4 | 1 | 8% | 3 |
| 32 | 8 | 6 | 50% | 2 |
| 34 | 8 | 5 | 42% | 3 |
| 36 | 4 | 0 | 0% | 4 |
| Total | 24 | 12 | 12 |
Saving the stock in prints exactly 24 labels, one per piece. At the counter every scanned pair takes one piece off its size. After a month Sizes that sell shows that 32 and 34 make 92% of jeans sales and size 36 has not sold at all, so the next order has more 32 and 34 and no 36.
Then a shelf count: staff scan every pair on the jeans shelf. The app expected 3 in size 34 but only 2 are scanned, so it shows Missing: 1 before saving. Saving the count corrects the stock, and the change shows in the stock history as a count, next to every bill and stock in.
| Stock value | At cost (₹620) | At price (₹1,199) |
|---|---|---|
| After stock in: 24 pieces | ₹14,880 | ₹28,776 |
| After sales and the count: 11 pieces | ₹6,820 | ₹13,189 |
Labels: what prints where
| Printer | From | Label sizes |
|---|---|---|
| A4 sticker sheets (any normal printer) | Computer browser | 65 or 40 labels per sheet; start at any label on a half-used sheet |
| Barcode label printer (roll) | Computer browser | 50 × 25 mm, 2 across, 38 × 25 mm |
| Your 58 mm bill (receipt) printer | Computer browser, or the Android app over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi | One label after another on the receipt roll |
| TSPL label printer (TSC, TVS, Xprinter, Zebra in TSPL mode) | Android app, over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth LE | 50 × 25 mm, 2 across, 38 × 25 mm; 203 or 300 dpi |
Every label has a Code 128 barcode for scanners and a small QR code for phone cameras, with the design, size, colour and price. The shop name and a crossed-out MRP are optional. Brand pieces that already carry an EAN barcode need no new label: save the EAN on that size and scan it.
Computer or phone: where each part works
| Job | Computer (web) | Android app |
|---|---|---|
| Add a design with sizes and colours | Yes | Yes: Settings → Stock & barcodes → Add a design |
| Import designs from Excel / CSV | Yes | No |
| Scan to bill | USB or Bluetooth handheld scanner | Handheld scanner, or the phone camera (latest app from the download page) |
| Stock in (goods received) | Yes | Yes |
| Shelf count | Only what is scanned, one category, one design or the whole shop | Only what is scanned, one category or the whole shop |
| Stock reports and history | Yes; dead stock for 30 to 365 days | Yes; 30, 90 or 180 days |
How stock moves
| What happens | Stock |
|---|---|
| A bill is saved | Goes down by the pieces sold. Offline bills from the app count when they sync. |
| A piece is returned | Goes back up, unless the return is marked damaged |
| A bill is cancelled | Goes back up |
| Stock in is saved | Goes up by the pieces received; a wrong stock in can be cancelled |
| A shelf count is saved | Set to what was counted. Counting a whole category or the whole shop also sets sizes you didn’t scan to 0 |
| More sold than recorded | Stock can go below zero; the sale is never blocked, and the report lists it under “Sold more than recorded” |
Mol-Bhav Guard per design
With Mol-Bhav Guard on, a design can have its own lowest price (or cost + your margin). It wins over its category’s lowest price, so a ₹2,499 premium jeans design can have a ₹1,900 floor while ordinary jeans keep ₹850.
Who it is for
- Clothing, saree, kids wear and footwear shops that sell the same design in many sizes and want to know which sizes sell.
- Shops that get brand pieces with printed barcodes and want to scan them instead of typing.
- Owners who want to count the shelf and find missing pieces, or see the money stuck in old stock.
What it does not do
- No purchase bills tied to accounts or GST input credit. Stock in records the supplier name, bill / challan number and cost, not a purchase invoice for your books.
- No supplier ledger (what you owe each supplier).
- No godowns or multiple stores: one stock per shop.
- No batches or expiry dates, and no weights: pieces are counted in whole numbers.
- Staff can bill by scanning, but only the owner can add designs and do stock in.
- If you need these, an inventory and accounting app such as Vyapar or myBillBook fits better (see our comparisons).
Stock & barcodes: questions
Do I have to use stock and barcodes?
No. Stock & barcodes is off by default. Without it you bill by category or on the Quick bill keypad, exactly as before. Switch it on in Settings when you want it, on the Growth or Pro plan or during the free trial.
Can I scan barcodes with my phone camera?
Yes, in the Android app. Tap the camera button in the scan box on the bill screen and hold the barcode or QR inside the box. It needs the latest app from tapandbill.in/download. A USB or Bluetooth handheld scanner also works, on the phone and on the computer.
Which label printer works with Tap & Bill?
From the Android app, barcode label printers that speak TSPL, such as TSC, TVS, Xprinter, or Zebra in TSPL mode, over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth LE, at 203 or 300 dpi. From a computer, any printer through the browser: A4 sticker sheets (65 or 40 per sheet) or label rolls (50 × 25 mm, 2 across, 38 × 25 mm). Your 58 mm bill printer can also print labels. Tell us your model before you buy and we check it with you.
Can I use the barcode already printed on branded clothes?
Yes. Save the brand’s EAN barcode on that size and colour, and scanning it adds the piece to the bill. Pieces without a barcode get the shop’s own 8-digit code.
How do I add stock when new goods arrive?
Open Stock in, scan each piece or find the design and type the pieces for each size, add the supplier, the bill or challan number and the cost of one piece, and save. Stock goes up and you can print exactly one label per piece received. A wrong stock in can be cancelled.
How do I check stock on the shelf?
Open Shelf count and scan every piece on the shelf; each scan counts one, and you can undo the last scan. Count only what you scan, a whole category, or the whole shop (sizes you don’t scan in a category or shop count are set to 0). Before saving you see which pieces are missing or extra; saving corrects the stock.
Does it make purchase bills or track what I owe suppliers?
No. Stock in records goods received with the supplier name and challan number, but there are no purchase bills tied to accounts or GST input, no supplier ledger, no godowns and no batches or expiry dates.
See stock and barcodes on your own designs
We call you within one working day and show Tap & Bill on your own items and prices.
- 10-minute demo on phone or video call
- 14-day free trial, no card
- We set up your categories and prices with you
Prefer to talk now? Call +91 73838 34343 or WhatsApp us.
Know your stock by size
Switch on Stock & barcodes during the 14-day free trial. No card.