Documentation · Products & inventory
Managing products and inventory
This guide walks through building and maintaining an accurate product catalogue — from adding your first product and printing barcode labels, to knowing exactly when it is time to restock, with a picture for every step.
6 min read
Products & inventory
Recently updated
Overview of the process
Managing inventory in LuaPOS is a repeating five-step loop: add the product, enter its stock, label it with a barcode, keep an eye on stock levels, and restock when needed. Skim the diagram below before following the detailed steps.
1
Add product
2
Enter stock
3
Print barcode
4
Monitor stock
5
Restock
Before you start
Check these three things before you start building your catalogue, so you are not going back to redo work.
- You are logged in, the correct store is selected, and your account has permission to manage products.
- Have the product's basic details ready: name, unit, cost price and selling price — having them on hand makes data entry much faster.
- (Optional) If you plan to add many products at once, prepare a spreadsheet following the import template so you can use the bulk Import feature.
A full look at the products page
Below is a simplified picture of the products page with every important area numbered. Every step further down this page refers back to one of these numbers.
app.luapos.com/products
Add product
Import products
Print barcode
Product filters
Search
Inventory
In stock
Out of stock
| SKU | Product name | Unit | Retail price | Stock |
|---|
| SP0012 | Coca-Cola lon 330ml | Lon | 12.000 | 48 |
| SP0045 | Bánh Chocopie hộp 12c | Hộp | 65.000 | 20 |
| SP0003 | Nước suối Lavie 500ml | Chai | 8.000 | 0 |
1
2
3
4
Simplified illustration of the LuaPOS products page (actual layout may vary slightly by device).
- 1Toolbar — add a new product, bulk-import from a spreadsheet, or print barcode labels for several products at once.
- 2Filters — search by name/code, or quickly filter by "In stock" / "Out of stock".
- 3Product list — every product with its SKU, name, unit, and retail price.
- 4Stock column — the quantity currently on hand for each product; a zero or highlighted value means the product is out of stock.
1
Add a new product
- From the products page, click the "Add product" button in the toolbar above the list.
- Enter the Name, Unit (e.g. piece, box, bottle, kg), Cost price, and Retail price.
- The Barcode field can be left blank — LuaPOS automatically generates a unique barcode for the product if it does not already have one printed by the manufacturer.
- Enter how many units you currently have on hand in the Stock field, if you already have the product in the store.
- Click "Save all changes" to finish. To add many products at once instead of one by one, use the "Import products" button to upload a spreadsheet.
Add product
Product name
Coca-Cola lon 330ml
Barcode
Left blank — generated automatically
Save all changes
Fill in the product's basic details — the barcode can stay blank if you don't have one yet.
Tip: leaving the barcode blank is perfectly fineFor products without a manufacturer barcode (house-made items, loose goods…), just leave the barcode field empty when creating them — you can print a dedicated label for that product in Step 3 below.
The new product appears immediately in the product list and is ready to be searched and sold at the register.
2
Enter starting stock
- If you already entered the quantity while creating the product in Step 1, you can skip this step.
- For a product that already exists, open it and update the Stock field to match what you actually have on the shelf or in the storeroom.
- Count and update this figure as soon as possible after adding the product — the more accurate the starting stock, the more reliable the low-stock alerts in Step 4 will be.
Stock updates itself from this point onOnce you have an accurate starting stock, you will rarely need to edit it by hand again — every sale made at the register automatically deducts stock immediately.
The product's stock quantity now accurately reflects what is really in the store.
3
Print barcode labels
Optional
- Go to "Print barcode" from the toolbar on the products page.
- Select one or more products to label, especially any that received an auto-generated barcode in Step 1.
- Choose the label paper size that matches your printer, then print — stick the label on the product and it is ready to be scanned at the register right away.
Coca-Cola lon 330ml
▌│█║▌│█║▌║│█▌│║
8 938512 000123
12.000 đ
A barcode label includes the product name, barcode, and price — ready to stick on the product.
The product now has its own barcode label and can be scanned directly at checkout instead of being searched by name every time.
4
Monitor stock levels every day
- Open the products page and use the "Out of stock" filter to instantly see which products have sold out, without scanning every row by hand.
- For products running low, keep an eye on the "Stock" column in the list — make a habit of a quick check at the start or end of each shift.
- No extra action is needed to keep this number accurate — every sale made at the register deducts stock automatically and immediately.
Out of stock
Nước suối Lavie 500ml
SP0003 · Stock: 0
Bánh Chocopie hộp 12c
SP0045 · Stock: 2
The "Out of stock" filter surfaces exactly which products need restocking, without manual searching.
What does zero (or negative) stock mean?When stock reaches zero, the product can still be sold — LuaPOS does not automatically block the sale — so it is best to restock promptly to avoid stock numbers drifting further from reality.
You always know exactly which products need restocking without manually counting the whole store.
5
Restock when supplies run low
- Open the product that needs restocking from the product list (use the "Out of stock" filter from Step 4 to find it quickly).
- Add the quantity you just received from your supplier to the current stock figure — for example, if it shows 0 and you received 50, update it to 50.
- If the purchase price from your supplier has changed, take the opportunity to update the "Cost price" field too, so future profit reports stay accurate.
- Save — the product immediately disappears from the "Out of stock" filter and is ready to sell again.
Stock now reflects the newly received goods, and the product is available for sale again.
Frequently asked questions
Can I add hundreds of products at once using a spreadsheet?
Yes — use the "Import products" button in the toolbar, upload a spreadsheet following the template (name, barcode, unit, cost price, selling price, stock) to add many products in a single upload.
Can an auto-generated barcode be used for normal selling?
Yes — an auto-generated barcode works exactly like a manufacturer barcode. Just print a label for it (Step 3) and stick it on the product to scan it like normal at checkout.
How do I know exactly which products are about to run out?
Use the "Out of stock" filter on the products page to instantly see items at zero stock, or watch the "Stock" column directly in the list to catch items running low.
Should a discontinued product be deleted or just hidden?
Hide it instead of deleting — deleting a product can affect the data of old orders that included it, while hiding keeps that history intact without showing it when making new sales.
Troubleshooting
Situation
Common cause
How to fix it
A product you just added is missing from the list
An active filter (label, hidden status, or in/out of stock) is hiding it.
Click "Clear filters" to see the full product list again, then search by name or code.
The spreadsheet import fails or no data shows up
The column order in the file does not match the template, or the file has blank rows in the middle of the data.
Download the latest template from "Import products", double-check the column order, remove any blank rows, and try importing again.
A printed barcode label will not scan
The selected label paper size does not match the printer, or the printer's ink/ribbon is running low, making the barcode faint.
Confirm the paper size matches your printer, replace the ink/ribbon, then print and scan one test label before printing a full batch.
Stock shown in the system does not match what is really on the shelf
A recent restock was not entered yet, or a cancelled order was never restored to stock.
Check your most recent restocking and any cancelled orders, then manually correct the stock figure to match reality if needed.
Still need help?Our support team is happy to walk you through anything not covered here.
Contact support