Barcode Scanning for Business Central

What Is Barcode Scanning for Business Central?

Barcode scanning for Business Central is the ability to use a mobile device — smartphone, tablet, or ruggedised handheld — to scan product, bin, and pallet barcodes and have those scans automatically recorded against Business Central inventory transactions. It eliminates manual part number entry in warehouse workflows, dramatically reducing pick errors, stock count discrepancies, and receiving mistakes.

Dynamics Mobile provides a fully integrated barcode scanning layer for Business Central, supporting all common barcode symbologies and all major BC warehouse workflows — with no additional BC configuration required beyond the standard item and bin setup your team already uses.

Supported Barcode Formats

• GS1-128 / EAN-128 — full parsing of Application Identifiers (AI): item number, lot number, serial number, quantity, expiry date, and more from a single scan

• EAN-13 / EAN-8 — standard retail product codes

• ITF-14 — outer case codes for carton-level receiving

• Code 128 / Code 39 — industrial barcodes on internal labels

• QR Code / Data Matrix — 2D codes used on pharmaceutical and electronics packaging

• SSCC / NVE — pallet-level codes from GS1 serialised shipping container codes

Barcode-Enabled Workflows in Business Central

• Warehouse picking — Scan item barcode to confirm pick line; scan bin barcode to navigate to correct location. Mispick detected immediately with audible alert.

• Stock counting — Scan items while counting — no clipboard, no paper count sheet. Discrepancies are flagged in real time against BC's expected quantities.

• Goods receiving — Scan inbound purchase order lines from supplier packaging. GS1-128 auto-populates lot number, expiry date, and quantity — zero manual entry for compliant supplier labels.

• Stock transfers — Scan from-bin and to-bin barcodes for bin transfer confirmation. Zero keyboard entry required.

• Serial and lot tracking — Scan serial number or lot barcode to auto-assign tracking. Full GS1 AI parsing means lot + expiry date captured in a single scan on compliant labels.

• Delivery loading — Scan sales order lines to van stock at load time. Discrepancies between BC pick order and physical load flagged before the driver leaves depot.

Hardware Options

Smartphone camera (no extra hardware)

Dynamics Mobile uses the device camera for barcode scanning via an integrated software decoder. This works on any modern iOS or Android smartphone and covers the majority of warehouse and field use cases. For high-volume scanning (hundreds of lines per hour), a dedicated scanner is recommended.

Ruggedised handhelds

Dynamics Mobile is certified for and actively used on:

• Zebra — TC2X, TC5X, TC7X, TC2X series; MC3300, MC9300 series

• Honeywell — CT40, CT45, CT60, EDA52, EDA61K

• Datalogic — Memor 20, Falcon X4, Skorpio X5

Ruggedised devices offer faster decode speeds (important for GS1-128 parsing), longer battery life, and resistance to drops and dust — essential in high-throughput warehouse environments.

Bluetooth scanners

Standard Bluetooth barcode scanners (e.g., Zebra CS4070, Socket Mobile) can be paired with any iOS or Android device running Dynamics Mobile. Scans are received as keyboard input — no driver or integration required.

Lot and Serial Number Compliance

For companies in food, pharmaceutical, or electronics distribution, lot and serial tracking is a regulatory requirement. Dynamics Mobile's GS1-128 parser extracts all required fields — item, lot, serial, quantity, expiry, and pack date — from a single scan on compliant supplier labels. This dramatically speeds up goods receiving while ensuring the data in Business Central exactly matches the physical label.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need special hardware to use barcode scanning with Business Central?

No. Dynamics Mobile works with the built-in camera on any modern iOS or Android smartphone or tablet for barcode scanning. Dedicated ruggedised scanners (Zebra, Honeywell, Datalogic) are supported for high-volume environments where faster decode speeds and device durability are required — but they are optional, not mandatory.

What barcode formats does Dynamics Mobile support for Business Central?

Dynamics Mobile supports all common linear and 2D barcode formats including GS1-128, EAN-13, EAN-8, ITF-14, Code 128, Code 39, QR Code, and Data Matrix. GS1-128 barcodes are fully parsed to extract multiple Application Identifiers (item, lot, expiry, quantity) from a single scan.

Can barcode scanning capture lot numbers and expiry dates automatically?

Yes. For suppliers using GS1-128 compliant barcode labels, a single scan of the label will automatically populate the item number, lot number, expiry date, and quantity in the Business Central receiving transaction — no manual entry required for any of these fields.

How does scan-to-pick work in Business Central warehouse management?

The picker is directed to a bin location on their device screen. They scan the bin barcode to confirm they are at the correct location, then scan the item barcode to confirm the pick. If the wrong item is scanned, the app alerts immediately — preventing the pick error before the item leaves the bin. The pick line is marked as complete in Business Central in real time.

Does barcode scanning work offline?

Yes. All barcode-scanned transactions are queued locally when the device is offline and synced to Business Central automatically when connectivity is restored. This is essential for warehouse environments with patchy Wi-Fi coverage or dead zones in racking aisles.