SKU Generator

A growing business is an exciting prospect, as it scales it generates more revenue. As a result, you expand your catalog in a bid to meet demand. New lines and complementary products are an excellent way to increase your average transaction, but it is also an efficient way to gain a larger market share than your competitors.

Growth is good, but with growth can come inventory issues if you aren't tracking your products well internally. The more items you stock, the greater the risk of missed picks or lost inventory. This is why inventory management is vital and where product SKU codes come in handy.

What Is A SKU? 

An SKU number is a Stock Keeping Unit. Some people would choose to use the term product code. It is not the same as a barcode. If you sell products, you can use  inventory management software to set up and track your SKUs. 

Is there a difference between SKU and UPC? A UPC is a numeric universal code established by the Global Standards Organization. An SKU is an internal code a business uses to track inventory levels and manage stock. SKUs contain a product's more critical information. It isn't a case of SKU vs UPC, businesses use both.

Read more: What is a Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) 

How SKUs Can Be Useful 

Properly coding your products will make it easier to find, reference, and search for products, whether it's on an invoice, order form, list, or otherwise. If you stock one product that comes in a variety of colors or sizes, each individual item should have its own unique identifier SKU. Think of the SKU as the product details but abbreviated for ease. 

As an example, if you sell a t-shirt that comes in two different colors, your SKUs should reflect product variants. 

T-Shirt, red = TS01-R

T-Shirt, blue = TS01-B 

Any additional color would be assigned an SKU that reflects this pattern. If you are dealing with a more complicated set of products, then your SKU can include seasons, size, color, type, and name. 

Winter 2022, Polar Tee, Small, Blue = W22T-Pol-SB

Winter 2022, Polar Tee, Medium, Blue = W22T-Pol-MB

 and so on.

How To Use the SKU Generator 

You can manually create SKUs for the various product types you stock. However, this is only suitable for small businesses with limited product lines. Creating SKUs can be tedious and there is a risk of human error. This is time that could be better spent elsewhere. A SKU number generator is a more effective way to assign article numbers. Not only will it save you time, but it also reduces the risk of errors. More importantly, it will ensure you do not create duplicate SKUs in your system. 

You can use our free SKU Generator for yourself if you need to generate SKUs. The SKU barcode generator is easy to use. Input the product name and up to three pieces of relevant information about your product. Please note that you shouldn't input unnecessary spaces or special characters in the boxes provided.

How QuickBooks can help

Good inventory management is the key to ensuring that your business knows what products are currently in stock and what products need to be reordered. With QuickBooks, you can track your inventory to get real-time stock value, low stock alerts and more. Visit our pricing page to find a plan that is right for your business or sign up to a free 30-day trial.

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