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Barcode scanners — they’re such a simple device. Yet, they can be invaluable for business owners. They provide invaluable information about a business’s assets, inventory and other investments at the different stages in the supply chain.

When you combine this with the fact that almost everyone has a smartphone, it’s easier than it ever was before for business owners to take advantage of an item scanner app without paying a lot upfront. There are several benefits of having barcode scanner for Android and a barcode scanner for iPhone, and we’re going to outline them below.

Understanding Barcodes

Having and using a barcode scanner online isn’t useful unless you understand how to use these barcodes to increase your business’s efficiency and reduce your costs. Simply put, a barcode is a pattern that represents encoded information for a product. Traditional barcodes are the black and white spaces and lines that have been popular since the 1970s.

2D barcodes have become more popular in recent years. They’re able to contain more information than a traditional barcode. A traditional barcode usually has a serial number that directly corresponds with information stored in a central database. This information typically includes how many you have left in your inventory and the price. 2D codes provide you this information as well, but they can also provide pictures of the items for your reference.

You can’t tell these patterns apart with the human eye, and you need an item scanner to correctly read them and translate them into something that makes sense to you. One of the biggest benefits of the inventory scanner app is that it significantly reduces the time you need to manually input each item’s unique serial number. Also, the margin for error is extremely small with barcode scanners when you compare it to manual input.

How to Use Your Smartphone as a Barcode and QR Code Scanner

The first thing you have to do is download Billdu’s item scanner app to your iPhone or Android device. You have to understand that it’s not the smartphone’s operating system that lets you integrate it into your business’s barcode system, but it’s the smartphone’s wireless capabilities and Bluetooth.

The original barcode scanning systems required that you had a wired connection that went from the computer system to the scanner itself. Today, a smartphone that uses an inventory scanner app can simply use Bluetooth to connect to their computer and transmit the relevant data from a reasonable distance. Billdu app does not use Bluetooth nor transfers the data directly to your computer, they are safely saved in your device and synced to your online account.

Billdu barcode and QR code scanner saves you time when adding items to your invoice. If you have the products physically with you and you are creating the invoice while packing them to be dispatched, you can easily scan their barcodes to add them to your invoice in seconds. To be able to do that, your products need to be in your inventory first. To add new product into the inventory, go to your Billdu app and click the ‘+’ icon to add new item. There you can add all relevant information about your product like the name, unit price and quantity. One of the parameters is the ‘Item code’. Here you enter the number from the barcode/QR code. From now on, while adding new product to your invoice, you can simply tap on the barcode icon. This opens the inbuilt Barcode and QR Code Scanner feature – you aim your phone at the barcode/QR Code on your product, and it’ll seamlessly scan it in. Based on the code read, it selects the matching product from your inventory and adds it to the invoice. You can always manually change the parameters of this product on the invoice and/or look up another item (Btw – have you already read the article about creating invoices on the go with Billdu?).

Billdu Barcode and QR code scanner app for inventory management and invoicing

Why Use an Inventory Scanner App

Barcode scanners with online cameras are popular with businesses of all sizes because they provide accurate, fast, cost-effective, and easy to implement tracking methods. Every step of the supply chain can benefit from an inventory scanner app, and we’ve rounded up the top reasons why you want to implement this technology into your own business. They include:

1. Removes the Bulky Equipment

Traditional barcode scanners were larger and bulkier pieces of equipment. You had to attach them to your belt or sling them over your shoulder in a special harness. Today, this equipment is quickly becoming obsolete. Instead, you can download a barcode scanner for iPhone or a barcode scanner for Android. Sticking your smartphone into your pocket and pulling it out when you need a barcode scanner with an online camera is much easier than using the more traditional equipment.

2. Turns Any Smartphone Into a Scanner

Before, you had to invest in expensive scanning equipment that increased your upfront costs, and you had to spend more to train your employees to use it. Inventory scanner apps allow you to quickly and easily turn any smartphone into a handheld scanner that can read barcodes. You can either supply your employees company-issued devices to do this, or they can simply download the app and use it on their own smartphone.

3. Eliminates Expensive Repair Costs

If your traditional scanning equipment breaks down, you have to send it away and spend money to repair it. Since there is no equipment with an app, it eliminates these repair costs. This is especially important if you’re a larger business who had several of these scanning devices on-hand because the repair costs can quickly add up, and it also costs you because you had fewer scanners for your employees to use.

4. Integrates with Existing Software

You most likely already use software to track your inventory and keep count of everything you have in stock. An inventory scanner app can seamlessly integrate with your existing software, and this helps you ensure that your numbers stay current and accurate. This provides a seamless transition from the traditional barcode scanning units to your new barcode scanning app.

5. Stores Everything in a Secured Server

When you use the Billdu item scanner app, all of your business’s data goes to a secure server. This secured server makes it more difficult for any outside sources to get into your sensitive data. Additionally, you have one centralized location for all of your data to store to, and this location gives all of your different item scanners quick and easy access to it. This also allows for more consistent monitoring across the server while ensuring that everything you have is accurate.

6. Allows for Electronic Signatures

Sometimes, you want someone to sign off on an inventory transaction. This could be an employee or a customer. Billdu’s item scanner app lets you capture their signature right on your smartphone. You can then generate an invoice with said signature right away and email it to the relevant parties. This can help you streamline your transactions, and it can also save you time.

7. Optimizes Workflows

You never want to be short on items, and you never want to have a huge excess sitting around and taking up valuable space. An item scanner helps you keep an accurate count of your inventory products to optimize your workflows. You won’t have to worry about having errors or misplaced inventory with a barcode scanner. Instead, you’ll get accurate numbers that let you know exactly when you need to order more, and this can optimize how you do business.

Code scanning apps for inventory management and invoice generation

Advantages of Using a Barcode/QR Code Scanner

There are several reasons why you’d want to use a barcode/QR code scanner for your business. We’ve rounded up the top ones for you if you’re not sure whether or not this is a good investment for your business. They include but are not limited to:

Saves Time

Before, inventory used to involve a lot of hands-on work combined with a lot of number crunching. This didn’t take into account the facts that it had a high margin for error and it was tedious.

Using barcode and/or QR code scanners require a fraction of your employees, and it makes the entire inventory process fast and easy. Instead of having to input everything by hand, your barcode/QR code has all of the relevant information. You scan the barcode or the QR code and the computer reads it for you.

Boosts Efficiency

Humans can make errors when they track items or record information like expenses and inventory counts. Additionally, if a person wanted to find out the history of a specific item in their inventory, they’d have to dig until they found the correct paper. An item scanner gives you everything you need to know about a particular item within seconds. All you have to do is scan the specific code, and it’ll give you a current readout.

Reduces Mistakes

So many clerical errors can be traced back to human error. Errors can cause a ripple effect for problems for your business like missed shipments, additional costs and an overabundance of inventory. In smaller businesses, clerical errors can be extremely costly to correct, and it can have lasting impacts. Barcode/QR code scanners remove a lot of the potential for human error with fewer mistakes overall.

Smooths Out Internal Operations

Every business has a system of checks and balances in place to ensure that all of their employees follow the set rules. Business owners have to account for each of their assets to the IRS. Putting barcodes or QR codes on all of these assets allow business owners to seamlessly track and keep accurate counts at all times. In turn, this allows business owners to smooth out their internal operations all year round.

Gives Better Control over Inventory 

Using barcodes and/or QR codes makes it possible for businesses to track their inventory down to precisio[dt_gap height=”10″ /]n levels. In turn, they can ensure that they don’t over-order and end up with a large excess due to a miscount. In turn, this reduces the business’s overhead.

Business owners can also use barcodes to track equipment locations, and this lowers the amount of time people spend looking for it. Additionally, it also reduces the amount of money they spend replacing items that they considered lost.

Billdu Barcode scanner app and QR code scanner app for Android and iPhone

Reduces Training for New Employees 

For most employees, it’ll take a few minutes to learn how to work an item scanner. Also, new employees won’t have to worry about learning everything there is about a business’s pricing procedure or the entire inventory.

In turn, it works to reduce the amount of money a business spends on training. Business owners won’t have to pay an employee to train the new employees, and they don’t have to get paid extra for additional training time.

Increases Versatility 

You can use product codes and barcode/QR code scanners for any type of data collection you may have. This can include more traditional uses like inventory information or pricing. However, you can also attach your product codes to any surface. This means that you can use barcodes/QR codes and your scanner system to track more than the products themselves. They’re also useful for tracking equipment and outgoing shipments.

Billdu Has a Barcode/QR Code Scanner Available

A picture tells more than a thousand words. Check out how the Billdu App manages the inventory items and their adding to the invoice thanks to the inbuilt barcode and QR code scanner functionality.

At Billdu, we take great pride in designing devices and apps for our customers, and we have a barcode/QR code scanner with an online camera available. This inventory scanner app comes designed to streamline your processes and boost your productivity.

With just the tap of a button, you can turn your smartphone into a barcode and QR code scanner. Once you open the app, you can input your product’s name, the quantity, and the unit price. When you input all of this data, you can tap the barcode icon and go to a screen that looks like your smartphone’s camera screen. It’ll capture your item’s code and automatically populate it. Billdu’s inbuilt code scanner also works with both barcodes and QR codes. If your item code is encoded into a QR code, Billdu will easily read it.

The code number is automatically saved to your product, and you can quickly and easily add it to your invoice. To do this, you go to your Documents screen and pick out the client you want to invoice. Next, you fill in the date range, currency, discounts, and payment methods. You can now tap the barcode icon to quickly and easily populate the items for your invoice. On top of using Billdu’s barcode/QR code scanner to add items to your invoices, you can use it in your quote maker, too. Adding an item to your new quote/estimate in Billdu works just as adding an invoice item. When you create new quote, you click on ‘Add item’ and then you either manually look up the item in your inventory or click the code scanner icon to scan the item code.

You’ll be able to create professional quotes and send out custom invoices in just a few minutes, and this helps you quickly and easily streamline your operations. Each invoice will have a notification for when your customer opens it and reads it, along with who reads it. You can also add an instant “Pay Now” button right on your invoice for fast and easy payments. Finally, the user-friendly dashboard allows you to get an instant overview of both paid an unpaid invoices.

Use Billdu invoice maker with inbuilt code scanner

Try Billdu today to start creating professional invoices and manage your inventory easier than ever before thanks to the built-in item scanner app. Register for a free trial below.

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Looking for Downloadable Invoice Templates?

We have them ready for you, select your format and get your invoice template now
Blank InvoiceSample InvoiceGoogle Docs Invoice
PDF Invoice TemplateWord Invoice TemplateExcel Invoice Template

Many individuals and businesses use a receipt scanner app to keep track of all of their documents to keep their finances in order. Storing paper receipts can quickly get disorganized and overwhelming. Even worse, trying to find one specific receipt can be an extremely time-consuming and frustrating process.

This is why many businesses are turning to storing receipts in a digital format. You can easily organize and store these receipts in your computer or in cloud software, and then you can recall them any time you need in a fast and efficient manner.

Whether you choose to buy the best receipt scanner possible, make receipts through an app, or get a bill organizer app, converting your paper receipts to a digital format for storage can streamline your processes. This will help you avoid a lot of hassle going forward.

The Top Six Advantages of a Receipt Organizer

While there are arguably hundreds of benefits of using a receipt scanner, we’ve picked out the more important ones and summarized them below. If you’re on the fence about converting to smart receipts, the following advantages can help you make an informed decision.

Purchase Tracking

When a customer purchases one of your products or services, they usually hang on to the receipt as proof that they purchased the item. It can also help them be sure of the warranty on your item. If the person bought your services or items and they didn’t fill out the warranty information at the time of purchase, they would need to show a receipt to prove the exact date they purchased your product or service.

Holding onto a receipt for a few months can be a challenge, let alone for an extended warranty period of a few years. However, having a digital record of the purchase stored in your computer or cloud software makes locating the receipt much faster. If a vendor you worked with claimed that you never paid for products from them, pulling up a digital receipt can save you time and money.

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Be smart with your mobile receipt scanner app

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Business Expense Tracking

Businesses who have staff that do a lot of traveling must keep track and record every single expense they incur in order for a company to reimburse them. If you have a lot of staff who travel, trying to keep multiple receipts for different people in order can be almost impossible. This is especially true every trip brings multiple receipts. If your staff gives you the receipt and you misplace it, you could have incorrect numbers in accounting.

When you scan receipts, you can quickly and easily organize them by employee, trip, date, or expense type. You can even give your employees an app to scan receipts in iPhones or Android devices. This way, they can scan the receipts as soon as they have them, and it can go to your documents. It reduces the risk for losing receipts as they travel, and it helps to ensure accuracy in accounting.

Being Prepared for Annual Taxes

No matter how small or large your business is, you have to keep track of all of your receipts so you can do your annual taxes. This is critically important for anyone who runs their own business or who is self-employed. Your receipts are what you use to track your expenses, and these expenses can go toward your deductions to help reduce your tax bill. If you have paper receipts and wait until taxes are due to organize them, you can quickly get overwhelmed.

A receipt scanner app allows you to scan your receipts as soon as you get them all year round. You can also organize them whenever you like during the year, and this can make tax time a little less painful for you. Also, you’re supposed to hang onto everything for at least seven years in the event that you get audited. This can result in thousands of paper receipts, but a digital format is much easier to store and track over the years.

Create Expense Reports

Your expense reports allow you to monitor the money you have going out and coming into your business. They’re also something your business’s board or investors can look at to see how healthy your business is doing throughout the year. Expense reports are vital for any business, and trying to create them by having hundreds of receipts floating around can be almost impossible.

Scanning receipts into Android or iPhone devices let you use Billdu’s dashboard to create expense reports with a few simple clicks once you scan your receipts. Creating on-demand expense reports is great if you have a last-minute meeting or request for them, or if you’re busy and you need to create an annual expense report with limited time to dedicate to it.

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Bill scanner and organizer app

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Reduce Costs

As a business owner, any way you can cut your costs and reduce your business’s overhead is something to check into. Printing receipts requires you to have hardware, software, paper products, toner or ink, and more. Additionally, there are maintenance fees that come with ensuring that these things keep running well. These can quickly add up if you have repeated issues with either your hardware or software.

A receipt scanner app reduces the need to have any of these items on-hand. In turn, you can take this money that you save and reinvest it into your business in areas where you could use it. Whether this is new products, services, supplies, or staff training expenses, you have dozens of ways to use the money this receipt scan app frees up for you.

Opens Email Opportunities

A receipt organizer allows you to send digital copies of your receipts to your customers, and this opens up a whole new marketing opportunity. Because your customer is expecting the receipt and it’s important to them, you know that they won’t ignore it like they might if you sent them anything else.

You can take a few minutes to use the email with the receipt to express your gratitude that the customer chose your products or services. Emails are a great way to inform customers of any new developments on the horizon, attach promotions or coupons, or just make them feel appreciated. In turn, they’re more apt to remember your brand and utilize your services or products the next time they shop.

Why Billdu Offers the Best Receipt Scanner

Billdu offers a bill organizer app that allows you to scan receipts to Android or iPhones quickly and easily. They’ve spent years creating and streamlining their app to offer their clients several exclusive features all in one convenient place. You can scan receipts and store receipts with the app, and a few other features include but are not limited to:

  1. Dashboard – Billdu’s receipt scanner gives you immediate access to a user-friendly dashboard that is easy to use and understand. You’ll be able to get an instantaneous overview of your business’s finances including expenses, any unpaid invoices, and your company’s current balances.
  2. Inventory Tracker – Keeping enough of your items in stock and being able to scale back your ordering in slower seasons can go a long way to ensuring your business’s financial health. The app allows you to keep an eye on your inventory in real time, stock, manage, and order items, and add them to your receipts.
  3. Client Signature – Getting your clients to sign for all of their orders ensures that you don’t have the hassle of chargebacks. You can use Billdu to have your client use their finger and sign directly on the receipt on your phone. This also eliminates the need to carry around a signature pad with you everywhere you go.
  4. Direct Link to Your Accountant– Accounting errors can cost a business thousands of dollars, and there is an increased risk for error if you don’t have a direct link to your accountant. Billdu gives you and your accountant a constant link to share all of your business’s receipts. This decreases your risk for lost paperwork and other errors.
  5. Purchase Orders – Each time you purchase an item, you’ll get a receipt for your purchase. You’re able to organize and file these purchase orders in your app, and it also helps you track all of the purchases your business receives. This will keep you organized come tax time each year.
  6. Quick Payments– You want to give your clients quick ways to get their payments and get their receipts. Billdu offers the ability to add a “Pay Now” button on each invoice you send to your clients. In turn, they can instantly make payments and you both get a copy of the receipts for your records.
  7. Record Keeping– Keeping precise and accurate records is one thing every business owner needs to measure their financial health, balance their revenue and expenses, and manage their spending. The receipt scanner gives you exact measurements of all of your expenses, and you can compile them into a comprehensive report.

Easy receipt scanning through mobile phone

On top of that, your Billdu app will get you many more features including an invoice maker with a variety of modern invoice templates to choose from. You get an invoice maker app that runs on iPhone and Android, as well as online in your web browser. Billdu is also a professional quote maker – you can quickly generate grea looking proposal and send them to your prospective and existing clients. Everything in the Billdu app which is extremely easy to use.

Frequently Asked Questions About Billdu’s Smart Receipts

Our customers frequently ask several questions, and we wanted to round them up and put them all in one spot so you had an easy time finding them. This way, you don’t have to wait for one of our representatives to get back to you to get all of your most frequently asked questions answered.

1. Is Billdu’s receipt scanner difficult to use?

No! We made the entire app and dashboard a very user-friendly tool that can benefit business owners of all ages. You just snap a picture of your receipt, and your receipt goes to your dashboard. You can then organize this receipt any way you’d like quickly and easily. Also, we made the recall process easier too.

2. Are there different pricing packages available?

Yes! We understand that one size may not fit all, and this is why we have several pricing packages available. They start at just $1.99 per month for a single user and go up to $14.99 a month for our Premium package. No matter what size your business is, you can tailor a pricing package to suit your needs.

3. Do you need an internet connection to print your receipt?

With Billdu, you’re able to send receipts, send invoices, orders, and estimates without an internet connection. This is helpful when you’re working during an outage or somewhere where you don’t have reliable internet but still need to get your work finished.

4. Can you put receipts into categories when you scan them?

Not only can you make receipts with this app, but you can easily categorize all of them as soon as you snap a picture of them. You can create clear categories for all of your receipts, and this helps you keep everything organized. In turn, it’s easy to have everything you need when you create reports and file your taxes.

5. Does the app generate invoices?

Yes! As soon as your customer places an order for your business, the app will automatically generate an invoice. You can look this over and send it with a tap of a button. You can use these invoices and your receipts to help create your expense reports. Use your invoices on the go with Billdu iPhone and Android apps.

6. Do you get access to Billdu anytime you need it?

Since you can scan receipts on iPhone and scan receipts on Android, you can get access to your Billdu account any time you have your smartphone on hand. All you have to do is register your account, download the app, and log in. You’ll get your dashboard and everything that comes with it. Also, it also gives you direct access to your accountant, and you can have more than one business on a single app.

Start Using Billdu Receipt Scanner App Today!

Are you ready to get the best receipt scanner for your business? Get started today – register for a free trial below and start scanning your bills with our app straight away.

Start for free

Looking for Downloadable Invoice Templates?

We have them ready for you, select your format and get your invoice template now
Blank InvoiceSample InvoiceGoogle Docs Invoice
PDF Invoice TemplateWord Invoice TemplateExcel Invoice Template


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