Setting up, and the questions we get asked most.

How orders and units fit together

SerialTrack records units against the order they shipped on, so every scan is one of two things. An order number opens an order. Everything scanned after it is a unit going into that order, until you open the next one.

So we have to be able to tell them apart, and we do that from the shape of your order numbers. Send us one real order number, or just scan one, and we set that up on your account. After that, scanning an order number opens it automatically and your packers never touch the keyboard.

We do this for you rather than making you write it yourself, because getting it slightly wrong is worse than not having it. It usually happens the same working day. Send us an example and we will take care of it.

Before your order format is set up

Until then, only the first scan of a session opens an order. Everything after it goes into that same order, which is not what you want once you are packing a second one. Start each order with the New Order button on the scan page, or with the barcode below, and it all behaves correctly.

This is also the fallback for anything that has no scannable order number at all, such as an emailed purchase order or an EDI portal.

The "New Order" barcode

Rather than clicking the New Order button on the page, you can scan a barcode that does the same thing. That way the whole workflow stays on the scanner, with no reaching for the keyboard or mouse.

Download it as a Google Doc or a PDF, and tape it next to the scanner.

Suggested workflow

We recommend running SerialTrack on a separate computer that stays logged in and does nothing else. It will run on the same machine as your shipping software, but then someone has to switch back and forth between programs, which is tedious enough that it eventually stops happening.

The usual place for it is at the point where items go into the shipping box, just before the box is sealed, weighed and labeled.

What barcode scanners work?

Almost any of them. SerialTrack takes simple keyboard input and needs no special hardware. A plain USB barcode scanner from Amazon or similar in the $15 to $30 range is fine. These act like a keyboard, so scanning a barcode does the same thing as typing the digits and pressing Enter.

Battery-powered wireless scanners work the same way, through a small USB receiver, and run around $60 to $80. Remember that they need charging or new batteries.

Adding a scannable barcode to ShipStation packing slips

SerialTrack reads the barcode ShipStation prints on its own packing slips, so if your slips carry one, scanning it opens the order with nothing to set up. Not every template prints a barcode. If yours does not, add the order number to it:

1. In ShipStation, go to Settings (the gear icon, top right), then Templates, then Packing Slips.
2. Click Copy next to the packing slip you want to use, then Confirm.
3. Change the Template Name to something you will recognize later. "SerialTrack.io compatible packing slip" does the job.
4. The body of the screen is the HTML that gets printed. Find the part that says [Order #] in the Order Header section, and immediately after it add <br /> and then, on the next line, <barcode size="small">.
5. Click Download Sample to check it looks right.
6. Click Save.
7. Still in Settings, go to Selling Channels, then Store Setup.
8. For each store, click Edit, then the Packing Slips tab.
9. Choose your new template from the Packing Slip Template dropdown and click Save.

Packing slips printed from then on carry a barcode SerialTrack can read. If you use Shopify instead, there are separate instructions.

You do not have to do this part yourself. Book a time and we will walk through it together on a call, or email support@serialtrack.io and we will send you the steps for inviting us into your ShipStation account so we can set it up for you.

Do I need to change my ShipStation packing slip?

No. SerialTrack reads the barcode ShipStation already prints on its own packing slips, so a slip straight off the printer scans as it is. If your template prints no barcode at all, the steps above add one.

Do you store our customers' names and addresses?

No, and that is deliberate. Our record is the order number and what was scanned against it. Names, addresses and email addresses stay in ShipStation or Shopify, and we read them when you open an order or run a report. Your customers' personal data stays in the system that already holds it rather than spreading to another vendor you have to account for.

What if an order is deleted from ShipStation, or we move off it?

Orders stay in ShipStation for years. We have checked orders more than two years old and they still come back with the buyer's full details. Your scan records live here permanently either way, so the serial numbers and the orders they shipped on are never at risk.

What needs the live connection is the customer's identity, since we do not keep it. If you are moving off ShipStation, run a report including the customer columns first and keep the CSV.

Our lot number and expiry ran together into one value

The scanner is not sending the FNC1 separator that divides one field from the next, so SerialTrack has to guess where the lot ends. Usually it guesses right. When the lot is followed by a date it sometimes cannot.

On Zebra and Symbol scanners there are two settings. Turn off Emulate Keypad, which sends characters as Alt and numeric keypad codes that a browser cannot interpret, and set FN1 Substitution to 1029. The simplest fix of all is to ask whoever prints your labels to put the variable-length fields, lot and serial, last - then no separator is needed.

Two of our stores use the same order number

Order numbers come from the selling channel, so two connected stores can both issue order 1234. Searching by number alone can open the wrong one. Scanning ShipStation's own packing slip barcode avoids this completely, because that barcode identifies the exact order rather than searching for a number.

Our order numbers changed format and scans stopped matching

Scans still record, and nothing is lost. What stops is the order lookup, because the new format does not match the patterns set up for your account, and orders from a store that is not connected cannot be found at all. Send us an example of the new format and we will add it.

Can you attach the serial number to a line item in ShipStation?

Not reliably, and we have tried. To pick the right line item we would need to know the SKU each serial number belongs to, and often even that is not enough to tell them apart. What most people actually need is to tie the serial number to the customer, and the customer is at the order level. The order's notes field does that.

If you really do need line-item matching, it can be done. We need an API, a database, or a dependable pattern in your serial numbers to work from. Tell us what you have and we will look at it.