Checking orders

Checking is the core Scanpacker workflow for packing an order. You scan each item to confirm it’s going in the box, then finish the order — either by creating the Shopify fulfillment in Scanpacker, or by leaving the order for Shopify or your shipping app to fulfill as usual. You choose which on the Checked screen, or skip it and always fulfill in Scanpacker. You can start from the order queue or from a Shopify admin order details page.

Check an order by scanning its items Video · 3 min

The workflow

Every order goes through two steps:

  1. Check — Scan each item to confirm it is being packed
  2. Finish — Create the fulfillment in Scanpacker, or leave the order for Shopify or your shipping app to fulfill

Step 1: Check items

Start an order from the order queue or by opening an order directly. You’ll see a list of items that need to be packed.

Scan each item’s barcode with your scanner. Each scan increments the quantity by one. When an item shows the correct quantity, move on to the next item.

Once all items are scanned, Scanpacker finishes the check and moves on automatically. To confirm each order yourself instead, turn off Auto-submit when all items are scanned in Settings > Scanning & Fulfillment.

If a customer orders a lot of one item, you don’t have to scan every unit. Set Allow manual quantity to be entered above in the same settings, and you can type the quantity instead.

If you scan the wrong item

If you scan a barcode that isn’t on the order, Scanpacker stops you with an Unrecognized barcode alert. It shows the barcode you scanned, and nothing is added to the order. Click Okay, understood!, put the item back, and carry on.

If you’d rather not stop for an alert, set When a wrong item is scanned to Play audible and visual feedback in Settings > Scanning & Fulfillment. Scanpacker then plays a warning sound and flashes red instead.

Buttons and options:

  • Reset scanning — Clears all scanned quantities so you can start over
  • Ship partial pick — Available in the dropdown menu if you need to ship only some of the items (see partial shipping)
  • Unstart — Releases the order so another team member can work on it

Step 2: Finish the order

Once the check is complete, Scanpacker shows a Checked screen with your next steps. To go straight to the fulfillment page instead, see After checking an order.

Leave the order for Shopify or another app

Click Check next order, and the order stays unfulfilled. Buy the label and create the fulfillment wherever you always have — Shopify’s own label purchase, or another shipping app. Scanpacker doesn’t change anything about that flow; the check just confirms the right items went in the box.

From the Checked screen you can also open the order in Shopify, have the next order open automatically after every check (see auto-advance), or reopen the check if something needs fixing.

Fulfill in Scanpacker

Click Fulfill in Scanpacker. The fulfillment page shows what you checked and lets you add tracking information before creating the fulfillment.

Add a tracking number if you have one, then click Create fulfillment. Scanpacker creates the fulfillment in Shopify and marks the items as shipped.

If you need to go back and re-scan items, click Reopen for checking.

Orders with multiple fulfillment groups

Some Shopify orders contain more than one fulfillment group. This happens when items in a single order are assigned to different locations, or when Shopify splits the order for other reasons.

When you open an order with multiple fulfillment groups, Scanpacker shows each group as a separate panel with its own list of items. You check and finish each group independently.

Checking a fulfillment group

  1. Open the order. You’ll see a panel for each fulfillment group showing the items it contains.
  2. Click Start checking on the group you want to check.
  3. Check and finish that group as normal.

How fulfillment groups work with teams

Each fulfillment group gets its own session. Different team members can check different groups from the same order at the same time. Each group appears as a separate row in the order queue.