How to scan WooCommerce shipping labels to find and update orders

Plan
Free
For
Stores that send out enough parcels to want a scanner
Free download

The short answer

Print your labels from Shop Manager, then click Scan above the order list. Choose whether a scan should just find the order or change its status, then scan each label with a USB barcode scanner. The screen lists every result, and the box stays ready for the next parcel. This is free.

Noor's story

Runs the packing room for a toy store. Noor is a made-up example.

Noor runs the packing room for a small toy store. At five o'clock a trolley of parcels waits by the door.

Before they leave, each order has to be marked Completed. So she reads a number off a label and types it into the search box. She opens the order, changes the status and saves.

Forty parcels later, she is not sure she did them all. Did she do the blue box? She walks back to the trolley and checks.

Then a parcel comes back from the courier with no reason given. Whose is it? She starts typing again.

Sound familiar?

  • You type order numbers from labels by hand.
  • You change order status one order at a time.
  • At the end of the day you are not sure every parcel was done.

Here is how to do it

  1. Print labels with a barcode

    Print your shipping labels from Shop Manager. Each one has a barcode. Until an order has tracking, the barcode is the order number. Once it has tracking, the barcode is the tracking number. The scanner works with both.

    A shipping label with a barcode of the tracking number, the delivery address and the contents
    A label from our test store, with a demo store address. Nothing to click here, the barcode is the part you scan.

  2. Open the scan window

    Plug in a USB barcode scanner. It works like a keyboard: it types the code and presses Enter. Then click Scan above your order list. The cursor is already in the marked box. You can also type an order number there and press Enter.

    The buttons above the order list with the Scan button marked The Scan Parcels window with the scan box marked, listing two orders found and one code with no match
    First click Scan. Then scan into the marked box. Each scan adds a line.

  3. Choose what a scan does

    Leave it on Just find the order to look orders up and change nothing. Or choose Change order status to and pick a status, and every order you scan moves to it.

    Noor picks Completed before she starts on the trolley.

    The Scan Parcels window with both lists marked: When I scan set to change the order status, and the status set to Completed
    Pick from the two marked lists. Every scan now moves that order to Completed.

  4. Scan the whole trolley

    Scan one label after another. You do not need the mouse. Each scan adds a line, so you can see what worked and what failed. An order that is not found is listed, and the next scan still works. The list clears when you close the window.

    At the end, Noor checks the count on the screen. She does not have to walk back to the trolley.

  5. Use your own steps, with Pro

    Most stores can stop here. If you want steps like Ready to Ship, Shop Manager Pro lets you add your own order statuses. In the Shop Manager settings, open Orders and click Add New under Custom Statuses. They then show up in the scan window as well.

    The order status settings with the Add New button marked, above the default statuses and two custom statuses, Ready to Ship and Pre Assembly
    Click the marked Add New button. Custom statuses need Pro. Everything else on this page is free.

Which setting to use

What you are doing Choose this What happens
A parcel came back Just find the order The order is listed, with a link to open it
Parcels are leaving today Change order status to Completed Each order moves to Completed
A customer reads you a number Just find the order You type the number instead of scanning

How Noor's day ends

At five o'clock Noor picks up the scanner and goes down the trolley. Beep, beep, beep. One label will not match, and the screen shows her which one. She fixes that one by hand and goes home on time.

Clear your next trolley with a scanner

Shop Manager is free on WordPress.org. If you already have a USB scanner, you can try this on your next batch.

Free download See all features

What you need

Plan
Free (your own statuses need Pro)
Scanner
A USB barcode scanner, or type the numbers
Barcode
Code 128, on Shop Manager labels
Permission
Shipping & Tracking

Features used on this page

Checked against the plugin in .

Questions people ask

Which barcode scanner do I need?

A USB scanner that types what it reads, as most do, and that reads Code 128. The window needs nothing else from the scanner.

Can I scan with my phone camera?

No. There is no camera scanner. On a phone you can type the order number into the same box.

Will customers get an email when I scan?

If a scan changes the status, WooCommerce treats it like any other status change and sends the email you have set up for that status.

What if I scan the same parcel twice?

It is listed as already done and nothing goes wrong, so you can carry on with the next parcel.

Can staff use the scanner?

Yes. The ready-made Fulfillment Staff role has the Shipping & Tracking permission this needs.

Can I search for a tracking number without the scan window?

Yes. The search box for orders also finds tracking numbers.

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