Choose and set up a barcode scanner for loyalty cards

A barcode scanner adds a customer to the POS order with one scan of the loyalty card in their app. Choose one that reads QR codes, pair it with the POS, and decide who scans: your staff, or the customers themselves.

Available in POS version 4.4.0 and later. To see which version you have, select Manager, enter a manager's PIN and select Diagnostics. It's the App version under Build.

You don't need a scanner to take a card: staff can scan it with the tablet's camera, or type the code under it. A scanner is faster at a busy counter. See Find a customer and add them to a POS order.

What to look for

• A 2D scanner. The loyalty card is a QR code on the customer's phone, and only a 2D scanner reads QR codes. A 1D or laser scanner reads striped barcodes only, so it can't read the card.
• Keyboard mode. The scanner must work as a keyboard, often called HID or keyboard mode. Most scanners come set up that way.
• Bluetooth for a tablet. On a PC, a USB scanner works too.

We test the POS with a Netum C750, a small, low-cost handheld Bluetooth scanner.

Handheld or hands-free

• Handheld: staff pick it up, point it at the customer's phone and press the trigger. It's the cheapest kind, and it's all you need when staff do the scanning.
• Hands-free: it stands on the counter and scans by itself as soon as a code is held under it, so customers can scan their own card while you take their order. Look for hands-free, presentation mode, auto-sense or auto scan when the scanner sits in its stand or cradle.

Before you buy a hands-free scanner for a tablet, check two things:

• It's Bluetooth. Most scanners sold as "presentation scanners" connect by a USB cable only.
• It sends its scans straight to the tablet while it sits in its stand. Some Bluetooth scanners connect to their own cradle, and the cradle passes the scans on through a USB cable. With a tablet, those scans go nowhere. Check its manual has a way to pair the scanner with your tablet (often called HID Bluetooth) and to stop it reconnecting to the cradle when you put it back.

Set it up

1. Charge the scanner.

2. Scan the setup barcodes in its quick start guide to set:

   • Bluetooth keyboard mode (often called HID or HID Bluetooth);
   • an Enter after each scan (often Add Enter or CR suffix);
   • no prefix of its own.

   For a hands-free scanner, also check its hands-free mode is on, and that it stays paired with the tablet while it sits in its stand.

3. On the tablet, open Settings › Bluetooth and select the scanner. On a PC, plug a USB scanner in, or pair a Bluetooth one the same way.

4. For a hands-free scanner, plug its stand or cradle into power (a USB phone charger, if it has a USB cable), and stand the scanner in it.

5. Test it: open the POS menu, open a member's loyalty card in your app (your own account works), and scan it.

Done looks like "Added Sarah Chen", with the customer at the top of the order and their points. After a test, tap the customer, then select Remove from order.

Let customers scan their own card

• Put the scanner on the customer's side of the counter, in its stand, where they can hold their phone under it. Keep it close to the tablet: Bluetooth usually reaches about 10 metres, and less through walls or a counter.
• Put a sign by it, such as "Scan your loyalty card here", and ask for their card as you start the order.
• Keep the POS on the menu or at checkout while they scan. A scan adds the customer only there. On other screens, such as Orders, it adds nobody, and if a box has the cursor, the scan types into it.
• Have them scan before the payment. A scan while the EFTPOS payment is on screen, or while the POS is locked, adds nobody.
• One customer per order. If someone is already on the order, the POS says "Remove Sarah Chen first". Placing the order clears them, so the next customer's scan works on the next order.

For where customers find the card in your app, see Tell customers about their loyalty card.

If something is not right