Barcode scanners speed up the checkout process by allowing you to scan products to sell them at the POS, reducing wait times and helping you serve customers more efficiently. They function like automatic keyboards, instantly entering the barcode into the POS register to look up the product from your Back Office.
This guide will walk you through assigning barcodes to your items and scanning products at your POS.
What's in this guide?
What you'll need
Assigning barcodes
Selling with barcodes
Enabling Stay on search mode
Frequently asked questions
What you'll need
- A Bluetooth barcode scanner. If you're using an iPad for your POS, we recommend the Zebra CS3070 or the SocketScan S700.
- Your product barcodes ready for scanning.
- Your products uploaded to Lightspeed Restaurant.
Assigning barcodes
Assigning barcodes to products is required to enable fast and efficient scanning, eliminating the need for manual searches on the POS. Each item must have a barcode assigned to ensure it can be properly recognized and processed during checkout.
To assign barcodes to your products:
- Log in to Back Office with your Lightspeed credentials.
- In the left-hand menu, select Products.
- Search for the product you want to assign a barcode to.
- Click the cogwheel icon next to the product name.
- Under the Product Info section, enter the barcode number into the Barcode field.
- (Optional) You can also select the field and then scan the barcode label. The number will automatically be populated.
These barcode numbers can also be added in bulk via CSV. If you choose this method, ensure that the sheet does not add extra numbers, such as leading or trailing zeros, when editing the barcode numbers.
Selling with barcodes
This section explains how to sell products with barcodes by scanning them directly from your POS register. Before using your scanner, ensure it is connected to your POS device via Bluetooth or with a USB cable.
To sell with barcodes:
- On the POS, click the search field at the top.
- Scan the barcode (you may need to press the Enter key depending on your scanner). This will add the product to the order summary.
- (Optional) To disable the need to press the Enter key, you can program your scanner to add a carriage return. The process varies per scanner, and you can find instructions in the user manual.
If you have Option Sets or Variable Quantities and Prices configured, you will be prompted to select them after choosing the product.
Enabling Stay on search mode
If you scan barcodes frequently, you have the option to enable Stay on search mode in Back Office. This allows you to quickly scan the items on the POS without needing to reselect the search field each time.
To set up barcode scanning to stay on search mode:
- In the left-hand menu, select My Site.
- Select Devices in the top section.
- Click the cogwheel icon next to the register you want to apply this setting to.
- Scroll down to Product search on POS.
- Select Stay on search.
- Click Save settings in the top-right corner.
Frequently asked questions
Barcode scanners do not pair directly with Lightspeed Restaurant, and they act mostly like an external keyboard. As long as the barcode scanner can be connected to your POS device, it should work with Lightspeed Restaurant.
Barcode scanners usually connect to devices via Bluetooth or USB, so each POS register is typically linked to one barcode scanner only.
What's next?
Ensure your printers are properly configured for customer receipts and kitchen orders to maintain a smooth and efficient workflow.
Printing customer receipts Setting up Production PrintingOrganize your menu using Option Sets and Modifiers to help staff quickly apply product customizations during checkout.
Creating and Selling with Option Sets Creating and Selling with Product Modifiers