Scan the box. The stock list keeps up.
ItemTally turns the EAN and UPC barcodes on your packaging, and its own QR labels, into a shared stock list. Scan with a phone camera in the browser or a USB or Bluetooth scanner gun. Every scan is a dated line with a name, so the count explains itself.
The jobKeep a stock list that's right, by scanning things as they come in and go out.
| Item | Location | Qty | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrile gloves, size M, box of 100 IT-000061 | Storeroom / Shelf 1 | 12 boxes | In stock |
| Printer toner, HP 59A IT-000075 | Office / Supply cupboard | 1 pcs | Low · min 2 |
| Cable ties 300 mm, bag of 100 IT-000009 | Van 1 | 4 bags | Low · min 5 |
How it works
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Bring in your list
Import the spreadsheet you have. Columns are matched and previewed, and nothing is saved until you've checked it. Re-import later and matching items update instead of duplicating.
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Teach it the barcodes
Scan the EAN on a box once and attach it to the item, or create a new item from an unknown barcode on the spot. From then on that barcode opens the item.
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Stock in when deliveries land
Scan, tap Add stock, type the number. The line reads "+12 boxes, Nitrile gloves M, Shelf 1, by Jonas".
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Stock out when people take it
Scan, tap Take some, or give it to someone by name. Consumables leave with attribution, so the burn report knows who used what.
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Get told before you run out
Set a minimum per item, per location if you like. Below it the item turns amber and the reorder sheet lists it with how many to buy.
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Count by scanning a shelf
Scan the shelf label, count what's there, review only the differences, and post. Each difference becomes a ledger line.
The details
- Phone camera or scanner gun
- The camera works anywhere with a browser. A scanner gun types into the search box and is faster at a goods-in bench.
- Barcode or QR, both work
- Use the manufacturer's barcode for boxed stock and an ItemTally QR for things you track one by one. Both open the same register.
- Units that match the shelf
- Count in pieces, boxes, rolls or metres. Each item has its own unit.
- Stock per location
- The same item can live in the storeroom, two vans and a site container, each with its own minimum and maximum.
- The reorder sheet
- Everything below minimum across every location, grouped into one shopping list with a CSV for whoever buys. No purchase orders, on purpose.
- Reports from the ledger
- Stock value, movements, burn per month and days of stock left, all exportable to CSV on every plan.
Who this is for
Teams that keep stock to use themselves: a facilities storeroom, a workshop’s consumables rack, a school’s supply cupboard, an AV store’s cables and batteries, a lab’s gloves and pipette tips. If you sell online and need stock synced to a shop, a retail inventory tool fits better.
How teams do it today, and where it breaks
The usual setup is a spreadsheet on a shared drive, sometimes with a USB scanner plugged into the one computer near the shelves.
- The sheet is only right on count day. Between counts, people take things without writing it down, and the number drifts.
- Nobody knows who used it. A sheet shows a quantity. It can’t say who took the last six boxes.
- “Low” is discovered at the empty shelf. Conditional formatting turns a cell red, but only for whoever happens to open the file.
- Two people, one file. Someone’s edit overwrites someone else’s, and there’s no history to settle it.
- The scanner lives at one desk. Stock moves on the van and in the store, far from the PC.
How a scan becomes a number you can trust
In ItemTally the quantity on screen is the sum of every line in the logbook. Scanning in 10 boxes writes a +10 line; taking 2 writes a −2 line with a name. When a count finds 11 where 12 were expected, the difference is written as its own line, and you can open the history to see where it went.
What it costs
Every feature, every plan, items never counted. A storeroom run by one person is free on Shelf. A team of up to five editors with fifty people taking stock themselves is Stockroom at €19/mo. Unlimited is Warehouse at €49/mo.
Who uses it
Facilities teams scan spares in plant rooms, labs scan gloves and tips in the prep room, makerspaces scan filament and sheet stock, and trades scan fixings onto the van.
Questions people ask
Can I use my phone as a barcode scanner for inventory?
Yes. Open ItemTally in the phone's browser and tap Scan. It reads QR codes and common barcodes such as EAN, UPC and Code 128. There's nothing to install.
Do I need a barcode scanner gun?
No, but it helps at a busy desk. Any USB or Bluetooth scanner that acts as a keyboard works, because it types the code into the search box.
Is there a free barcode inventory system?
The Shelf plan is free forever with every feature and unlimited items, for one editor and ten borrowers. Paid plans add people, never items.
Why not Excel and a USB scanner?
Excel can hold the list, but a scan in Excel only types a code into a cell. It doesn't subtract stock, record who took it, warn when you're low or stop two people saving over each other. That's the part a barcode inventory system does.
Can I sell from it or create purchase orders?
No. There are no sales orders, invoices or purchase orders. ItemTally tracks stock you use and lend; the reorder sheet is a list for whoever does the buying.
Does scanning work offline?
Not yet. Browser scanning needs a connection. The phone apps with offline scanning are in testing, not released.
Scan the first delivery into it.
Free forever for one editor and ten borrowers. No card.
Free for one editor and ten borrowers, with unlimited items. No card needed.