Barcode scanner not working

A barcode scanner is just a very fast keyboard — it types the code and presses Enter. So when "the scanner doesn't work," it's almost always one of three things: focus, the code itself, or the cable.

Check in order

1. Does it scan anywhere at all?

Open Notepad and scan a barcode.

• Nothing appears → hardware/cable. Replug the USB, try another port, check the scanner's own beep/light.
• Numbers appear → the scanner is fine; the problem is in the app. Continue.

2. Is the POS search box focused?

On the POS, scanned codes land in the search field. If a dialog is open or the cursor is sitting in another input (discount, quantity), the barcode types into the wrong place.

• Click the search box and scan again.
• On the POS, the product search is focused by default — if it lost focus, just click it back.

3. Does the barcode exist in the catalog?

A clean scan that finds nothing means the code isn't on the product:

• Search the product by name in Products, open it, and check its barcode field — and on variants, the variant-level barcode.
• Re-enter it if needed, or print fresh labels and sticker the shelf.

Common gotchas

• Leading zeros lost — if barcodes were imported from Excel where the column was numeric, 00123 became 123. Fix the product's barcode field, and format the column as Text before the next import.
• Scanner adds the wrong suffix — most USB scanners send Enter after the code; if yours sends Tab (or nothing), the code types but doesn't submit. Check the scanner's own setup sheet to change its suffix.
• Wrong keyboard layout — scanners type like a keyboard; a mismatched layout can garble characters.