📦 Counter Page

What is the Counter Page?

This is the central page of the system, where the actual counting work takes place. Here employees scan, add and update items – and the system takes care of saving everything securely, intelligently and accurately. Whether scanning with the phone camera, a wireless barcode scanner, or manual entry – every action is recorded in real time and appears in the count list.

🎯 Purpose of the Page

• To ensure fast and efficient inventory counting.
• To reduce human errors through warnings and validations.
• To enable parallel work by multiple employees, without data overwriting.
• Full customization – ability to configure counting behavior according to business needs.
• To provide full transparency – every manager can see who counted, when and in which location.

🧭 Page Structure

🔄 Status Bar (Sync Status)

• "Just a moment, syncing data with server" – when loading data.
• "All counts saved successfully" – when everything is up to date.
• "Show Warning" – if a problem or duplicate was detected.
• "Transmitting count data…" – when uploading to server.

🔝 Data Entry Area

• Name of the store where the count is being performed.
• ⚙️ "Personalization Settings" button (top left, a gear icon on a blue background – opens the count settings dialog).

📋 Input Fields

1. Location 📍 (if the setting is enabled) – allows entering a precise location in the warehouse/store.
2. Item Prefix 🔗 (if enabled) – adds a fixed prefix to every item scanned.
3. Item Identifier 🏷️ – barcode/item code/product name.

📷 Camera Scanner

• Live camera view – when activated, a frame will appear that identifies barcodes and QR codes in real time.

• Large button: "Enable Camera"/"Disable Camera" – immediate on/off toggle.

• Floating control buttons (to the right of the camera field)

  1. 🟢/🚫 Enable/Disable Camera – useful when you need to pause scanning momentarily.
  2. 📷 Camera/Lens Selection – opens a menu of available lenses: Back Triple / Dual Wide / Ultra Wide / Dual / Back (list varies by device). Always select a rear lens appropriate for your working distance.
  3. ↔️ Toggle Display Mode – flip/rotate display (on supported devices), in case the video appears "mirrored" or alignment needs to be changed.

• Quick Zoom ("1X") – clicking the circle in the center of the display toggles between available zoom modes (e.g. 0.5×/1×/2×), making it easier to scan small/distant barcodes.

• You can choose whether to scan a location or item by clicking on the location field or clicking on the item identifier field. Alternatively when the camera is open, below the camera a toggle button appears with 2 options:

  • Scan Item Identifier
  • Scan Location (after the user scans a location, this field changes to: "Finish This Location" which returns the camera to scanning a new location mode and also marks the previous location as completed)

✍️ Manual Entry

• You can type an item code or product name – wait 2 seconds and then receive an autocomplete suggestion.
• You can use the automatic search to find similar products.

📑 List of Counted Items

• Initial state: If no item has been counted yet – the message "No items counted in this store yet, shall we start counting?" appears.
• Item card includes (you can choose which fields to show or hide from this list):
  • Scan time
  • Item name
  • Item code and barcode
  • Category
  • Supplier
  • Cost price and selling price (if set)
  • Quantity by ERP system (if entered)
  • Location (if entered)
  • New: The item card includes a small arrow – clicking it opens a list of all scans performed by the same user or by other users in the same store for the same item. This helps verify that no duplicate scans were performed and prevents errors.

Possible Actions on an Item

• ✏️ Change quantity (including a large, convenient virtual keypad).
• 🗑️ Delete item from count.
• ⚠️ View warnings (duplicates, missing location, etc.).

🔄 Workflow on the Counter Page

Starting a Count and Entering Items

When starting a new count, the user can choose the input method:

• 📡 Scan with wireless barcode scanner – connects via Bluetooth, scans are sent directly to the search field.
• 📷 Scan with smartphone camera – suitable for those without an external scanner.
• ✍️ Manual entry – typing item code or product name in the search field.

After each scan or entry, the system checks whether the item exists in the business catalog.

What happens when the item is found in the catalog?

• The item is added immediately to the recent counts list.
• All existing details are shown: name, category, barcode, item code, initial quantity and other data we chose to display.
• If the user has already counted this item before in the same store – the total quantity updates automatically, without creating a duplicate.

What happens when the item is not found in the local catalog?

• The system performs a server check to verify the item isn't in the central catalog.
• If not found – an identifier correction attempt is made (for example, removing leading zeros).
• If still not found – the message "This item does not exist in the items database" is displayed.
• If items with similar identifiers exist – they will be shown as alternative suggestions for selection (helpful in cases where barcodes were saved in the ERP in a shortened format; searching the barcode as-is won't find an exact match but the system will provide a list of the most similar items).

User options in this case:

• Choose an item from the similar list.
• Add a new item to the catalog: enter name, category, supplier and additional details, and save for future use.

Managing and Updating Quantities During Counting

• Each user sees only the counts they performed themselves.
• Rescanning the same item → the system updates the total quantity, rather than creating a new record.
• Quantity can be changed directly from the page, or through the Recent Inventory Counts management page.
• Made an entry error? Simply delete the count and scan again.

📸 Tips for Optimal Scanning with the Phone Camera

To ensure fast and accurate scans, follow a few simple guidelines:

• Clean the lens – a dirty lens or one with fingerprints causes the barcode to appear blurry and can slow down scan recognition. Wipe with a dry cloth before starting work.
• Choose the appropriate lens – most modern smartphones have several lenses (wide, regular, telephoto). By clicking the camera button with the right/left arrow on the side of the camera window, you can switch between lenses. Usually the regular (1x) lens is most suitable for scanning barcodes, while a too-wide lens can distort the code, and a too-close lens makes it difficult to focus.
• Use flash – in dark areas or when labels are shiny, turning on the flash improves image quality and prevents light reflections that interfere with recognition.

💡 Following these tips will ensure faster scanning, with fewer retries, and allow continuous work even in challenging environments.

☁️ Data Saving & Server Sync

Smart Sync Mechanism

To ensure no data is ever lost, OpticCount saves data both in the cloud and locally on the device:

• Real-time cloud saving – every count is sent to the server immediately.
• Local saving – if there is no internet or the connection is slow, data is saved on the device. When the connection returns – everything syncs automatically.
• Exiting the system mid-count – data is not deleted. When the user reconnects, it is sent to the server.

Sync Statuses (as displayed on screen)

• 🟡 "Just a moment, syncing data with server" – the system is checking and updating.
• 🔄 "Transmitting count data…" – data is on the way to the server but not yet finally saved.
• ✅ "All counts saved successfully" – everything is updated and secured.
• 🟠 "All counts saved successfully" (in orange) – data was saved, but there are warnings about duplicate counts that should be checked.

⚙️ Personalization Settings

Clicking the ⚙️ gear button opens the settings dialog, where you can configure how the page behaves:

• 📷 Scan with smartphone camera – enable/disable.
• 🚨 Warning on duplicate count – to prevent errors.
• 🔢 Show quantity window after scan – convenient when items come in large quantities.
• 📍 Use locations – manage internal positions.
• ➕➖ Choose whether counting adds or subtracts from inventory.
• 🔗 Add a fixed prefix to item identifier.
• 🔍 Search for similar items if identifier is not found.
• 🧹 Automatically remove spaces from item code.
• 🔄 Barcode Transformation Rules – define rules to modify the barcode before search (see details in the next section).
• 📊 UPC-A Normalization – automatically convert EAN-13 barcodes to UPC-A to resolve mismatches.
• 📦 Loan/Return Mode – for managing equipment movements (see Borrowers guide).
• 🎯 Count Goal (Count Scope) – track counting against a predefined item list.

💡 The system manager can also save settings for all employees to ensure consistency.

For more information on personalization settings – see the ⚙️ Personalization Settings page.

🔄 Barcode Transformation Rules

This feature is found in the count settings and allows modifying the scanned barcode before the system searches for it in the catalog.

When to use this?

• When the barcode on the product is longer than the barcode saved in the ERP (e.g. ERP saves 6 digits, the real barcode is 13 digits).
• When there is a prefix/suffix that needs to be removed.
• When the ERP generates barcodes with a different structure from the actual labels.

Available Rules

• Remove characters from end – deletes the last N digits from the barcode.
• Remove characters from beginning – deletes the first N digits.
• Add prefix – adds text before the barcode.
• Add suffix – adds text after the barcode.

You can set multiple rules in sequence (they are executed in order). A preview of the barcode after transformation is shown to verify the result is correct before saving.

Example: Barcode 8690526015374 with rule "Remove 1 character from end" → will search for 869052601537.

🎯 Count Goal (Count Scope)

A Count Goal allows counting based on a predefined item list, instead of free counting. Suitable for sample counts, counting a specific category, or verifying that a focused item list has been counted.

Activation

The progress card appears automatically at the top of the counter page as soon as goals are defined for the store. Select a goal from the dropdown in the card – tracking begins immediately.

Goal management (create, edit, delete) is done from: Branch Management → click "🎯 Count Goals" button in the branch row.

Progress Card

The card shows in real time:

• Total items in goal – how many items are in the list.
• Counted – how many have already been scanned.
• Completion percentage – with a progress bar and animation.
• Missing items – a list of items not yet scanned, with the ability to scroll and identify them.
• Clicking on a missing item – brings it to the search field.

📋 Orders & Collection Mode

Orders mode connects the counter page to an existing order and allows performing focused collection – collecting exactly the items in the order.

⚠️ Important: Entering collection mode and selecting the order always starts from the Orders Management page – not from count settings.

Activation

1. Go to the Orders Management page (☰ → Orders).
2. Find the desired order and click "Start Picking".
3. The system will automatically open the counter page in collection mode for that order.
4. The order name and number are displayed at the top of the screen.

During Collection

• Scan items normally – the system automatically marks which items are in the order and the quantity collected.
• Items scanned above the required quantity are flagged with a warning.
• You can see what hasn't been collected yet directly on screen.

Finishing Collection

• Click Finish Picking – a picking summary dialog opens with:
  • How many items were collected from the order.
  • Items that are missing or in the wrong quantity.
  • Option to mark the order as completed and send an update to ERP/Wix.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Working with Multiple Users in Parallel

• Each employee sees only the counts they performed themselves.
• If multiple employees count the same item – the system automatically merges the quantities.
• A manager can see in real time who counted what and how much, through the management pages.

📶 Working Without Internet

• Even if the connection is weak or disconnected – the system continues saving data locally.
• When the connection returns – all counts sync automatically to the server.
• A warning message appears if the internet is particularly slow.

🔋 Battery Life

In OpticCount we make great efforts to maintain efficiency and save resources, so that even during long counts – you can rely on your phone and get the work done with peace of mind.

With an External Barcode Scanner

When using an external barcode scanner (which comes with its own internal battery), most of the load is taken off the phone itself. In this case, smartphone battery consumption is relatively low, and work is performed comfortably over time.

Using the Phone Camera

When choosing to use the smartphone camera for scanning, bear in mind that the camera is a component that consumes a bit more energy. As with any regular phone use, the screen stays on for extended periods – which adds additional battery consumption. However, even on relatively older phones, in most cases the battery lasts several continuous hours of counting without issue.

📝 Recommendations for Extending Work Time

To ensure you can work continuously, it is recommended to:

• 🔋 Start counting day with battery fully charged (100%).
• 🔌 Bring a charger and charge during breaks, especially for long counts.
• ⚡ On supported devices – enable battery saver mode.
• 🌙 Reduce screen brightness to a comfortable but not maximum level.

✅ Summary

The Counter Page is the heart of the OpticCount system, enabling fast, accurate and efficient counting. ✅ Fast item entry – via barcode scanning or manual typing. ✅ Smart data management – including updating quantities and deleting incorrect counts. ✅ Parallel work by multiple users – with separation of count data between them. ✅ Advanced sync mechanism – dual saving in cloud and on device to prevent data loss. ✅ Full customization – the page behavior can be tailored to business needs.