Setting up a USB barcode scanner at your trade counter (it is easier than you think)

Scan-to-add is the single biggest speed upgrade at a physical counter — and the setup is genuinely ten minutes.

Any HID scanner works

USB barcode scanners in "HID keyboard" mode (which is nearly all of them, out of the box) just type what they scan. No drivers, no software. A reliable wired scanner costs £20–£40; buy the boring one with good reviews.

The flow that makes it fast

Scan a barcode: if there is a single match it should drop straight into the cart, and focus should return to the search box automatically so the next scan flows without touching the mouse. A dozen items go in as fast as you can pull them across the beam.

Edge cases

Multi-match barcodes (same barcode across pack sizes) should show a picker, not guess. Unknown barcodes should fail loudly, not silently. And you want a setting to toggle auto-add off for training new staff.

Trade Order POS handles all of the above by default — plug in, scan, sell. Orders land straight in Linnworks.

Questions, or want a tool we don't have yet? Email hello@grafto.co.uk — a real person replies.