Add Products to Inventory with Your Phone Camera

Every stock keeper knows the job. A delivery arrives with thirty new lines, and none of them are in the system. Typing each product by hand takes a long time and invites mistakes. The AIFFICIENTO mobile app lets you add products with your phone camera. Take a photo or a short video, check what Geto filled in, and save. This guide walks through the routine step by step.

What you need before you start

• The AIFFICIENTO Android app, connected to your shop's server. An iOS version is planned but not available yet.
• A user account whose role allows mobile access. The admin decides which roles may use mobile and how many simultaneous logins each one gets.
• A connection on the phone, either on the shop Wi-Fi where the server is reachable, or through the secure remote link.
• AI allowance for product scanning. The Growth plan includes a larger allowance for product scanning. Check pricing for the details.

Connecting takes a moment. Open the app, scan the QR code for your shop or enter the server address, then sign in with your user and PIN.

The photo method, step by step

1. Open Products in the mobile app and choose the camera option to add a product.
2. Hold the phone steady so the front of the pack fills the frame.
3. Make sure the product name, brand and weight or size are easy to read. Include the barcode if it is on the pack.
4. Take the photo. Geto reads the pack and fills in what it can see: name, brand, category, unit, barcode when visible, printed price, expiry date when printed and a second-language name.
5. Review every field before you save. Correct the spelling of the name, check the category and confirm the unit.
6. Save, then move to the next product.

Photograph the back of the pack too when the expiry date or the barcode is printed there. The camera can only read what it can see.

Or record a short video

When a pack has several sides, or a label is too wide for one frame, record a short video of up to 10 seconds. Turn the pack slowly so the front, the name and the barcode pass through the frame. Keep the phone steady, and keep the video short. Videos longer than 10 seconds are not part of this feature, so split a long turn into two clips if you need to.

Walk the shelves with a purpose

The phone method works best as a routine, not a random task. Walk one aisle at a time, and for each product do three things:

• Check stock lookup first. If the item is already in the system, move on.
• If it is missing, photograph it and review it.
• If the shelf label price differs from the system price, note it for a price update.

Doing one aisle per session keeps the list short. It also makes it easy to see when you are finished.

Check the details that matter

Geto reads what is printed. It cannot know what you paid or what you want to charge. Always check these fields:

• Cost and sale prices. A printed price is not your cost. Set your own sale price, and enter the purchase cost when you receive the stock.
• Unit. A 500 g pack and a 1 kg pack are different products. Check the size before you save.
• Expiry. Enter it if it is printed. When the batch is received, the expiry date goes on the batch, so expiry watch can warn you before stock goes off.
• Category and brand. Keep them consistent with your existing products, so your reports stay clean.
• Variants. Two flavours of the same brand need two records. Photograph each one and check the flavour name.

When the product is already in the system

Not every item on the shelf is new. Before you photograph a product, search for it by name or brand. If you find it, do not create a second record. Open the existing product and compare the photo with what is saved. Update the price, the unit or the expiry only when the pack has actually changed.

Two records for one product split the stock count and the sales history. That is the most common reason a report looks wrong later, and it is easy to avoid with one search before each new photo.

Second-language names

Many shops sell with names in two languages. Geto can suggest a second-language name in Urdu, Arabic, Hindi and other scripts. Read it back carefully, or ask a team member who reads the script to check it. Second-language names can appear on receipts, so a wrong spelling will be seen by customers.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

• Blurry or dark photos. Retake them. Good light and a plain background help a lot.
• Glare on shiny packs. Tilt the pack slightly away from the light, then take the photo again.
• Skipping review. The review screen is where mistakes are caught. Read every line before you save.
• Duplicate products. Search first, using smart search or stock lookup, so the same item is not added twice under two names.

A worked example

Picture a stock keeper in a clothing shop with 30 new items from a supplier visit. She walks the new section with the phone. For each item she takes one photo of the label, checks the name and the size in the review step, and sets the sale price. Typing thirty products from scratch would take far longer. With the camera, each product is one photo and one review.

She finishes the session with the new products in the system. The purchase cost comes next, when the supplier bill is scanned into a purchase. The bill scanning guide explains that step.

Where the record goes next

Once a product is saved, it appears in the desktop point of sale for billing, in stock lookup on the phone and in your reports. On the desktop, press Ctrl K to find it again later with smart search.

To learn more about the phone app, see the mobile app page. When you are ready to try the camera on your own shelves, start the 30-day free trial. It has no credit card requirement and gives you full access to the features described here. Download the apps from the download page.