Barcodes

Whether selling online or in-store, barcodes identify your products throughout the supply chain and checkout.

What is a barcode?

A barcode is a method of representing product data in a machine-readable visual format. Linear barcodes, such as UPC (Universal Product Code) and EAN (European Article Number), use vertical lines of varying thickness and spaces to encode data - including the GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) for product identification.

Supported barcodes

Evance supports the following barcode standards:

  • GTIN-12
    Universal Product Code (UPC), also called UPC-A is a 12-digit number widely used in the United States and Canada. UPC data structures are a component of GTINs and follow the global GS1 specification - an international standard.
  • GTIN-13
    European Article Number (EAN) is a 13-digit number, a superset of the original 12-digit Universal Product Code (UPC-A) standard.
  • GTIN-14
    Also known as ITF-14, a 14-digit number usually used for multipacks.
  • ISBN
    International Standard Book Number. If you have ISBN-10 numbers, we recommend converting to ISBN-13.

Where to find barcodes

Having correct barcodes is important for product identification at POS and fulfilment where barcode scanners are used. Make sure that the barcode in Evance math the barcode on your physical products. If you do not have any barcodes for your products, you can try the following:

  • Ask your supplier/manufacturer if they provide barcodes.
  • If you manufacture your own products and/or wish to sell products through retailers requiring a GTIN, you can buy a GTIN with GS1 Standards.
  • You can create your own barcodes if you do not require a GTIN. For example, if  you're only selling through your own store.

Uniqueness

Although optional, barcodes are unique identifiers. They must be unique to a Product or Variant - you can't use the same barcode on different variants.

Importing barcodes

You can import barcodes for Products via CSV, but you should be careful to ensure your spreadsheet software doesn't alter your barcode format. For example, removing leading zeros.