Identifiers & labels

A product has two kinds of code:

• Identifiers are the codes you choose: the stock keeping unit (SKU) and the barcode numbers. They say which product this is.
• Label codes are created by Complaia when a label is printed. They say which physical box this is.

This page covers both, how to print product labels, and how they differ from the other labels in Complaia.

Where to find it: Catalog → Products → Product list, open a product, then Print labels in the page header. The identifiers are on the Basics step of the product form.

When you'll use it

• You are filling in a new product and want to know which codes must be unique and what they may contain.
• You need stickers for goods before they go on the shelf, or replacements for ones that have peeled off.
• A product ships in several boxes and the counts at goods receipt do not add up.
• The scanner has rejected a label and you want to know which kind of label you are holding.

Key concepts

The identifiers you choose

Identifier	What it is for	Rules
SKU — stock keeping unit	Your own product code.	Unique. Letters without accents, digits, dot, hyphen, underscore and slash. No spaces. At most 120 characters.
EAN — European Article Number	The standard retail barcode number.	Optional; unique if given. Digits only, 8, 13 or 14 long, and the last digit must be a valid check digit.
UPC — Universal Product Code	The North American barcode number.	Optional; unique if given. Exactly 12 digits, with a valid check digit.

Complaia fills in the SKU. Leave it empty and Complaia assigns ten random capital letters and digits, for example K7M2Q9XA4T. If you clear the SKU of an existing product, a new one is assigned when you save. A product always has an SKU.

Wrong characters are not accepted. The fields accept only what is allowed. Letters typed or pasted into EAN or UPC are dropped, and so are spaces in SKU. A barcode number of the right length with a typing mistake is caught by its last digit: The last digit of the EAN does not match the others. Check that the code was copied correctly.

Uniqueness is checked when you save. Each of the three codes can belong to only one product. Variants are products too, so every variant needs its own codes.

Codes you did not change never block saving. Some codes came from a connected shop or from older data and do not follow these rules. When you edit such a product, you can save other changes without fixing the code. A code you type or change is checked in full.

A row of zeros is not a code. Some shops send 0000000000000 when a product has no barcode. Complaia treats it as an empty EAN.

The product label code

Every product label carries one scannable code. It is printed as a QR code and, on the large label, as a barcode too. The code is the letter P followed by 22 digits, with no spaces or dashes. The digits have three parts (spaced out here only to make them visible):

P 0412345678 01 5820431977
  └ product ┘ └┘ └─ serial ─┘
            parcel

• Product — ten digits that identify the product.
• Parcel — two digits that say which of the product's parcels this box is. A product with no parcels uses 99.
• Serial — ten digits unique to this one physical sticker.

The first two parts are the same on every label of that parcel, so a scanner can tell the product and the parcel immediately. The serial is different on every sticker. Print ten copies and you get ten different codes. Each of them can be received, counted and shipped on its own.

One label is one parcel, not one piece

A unit of a multi-parcel product is complete only when one label from each of its parcels has been scanned. A product that ships in three boxes needs one label from parcel 1, one from parcel 2 and one from parcel 3 before it counts as a single unit. The parcels section of the product form says this too.

A product without parcels is received with one label per item.

Labels and the parcel layout

A label belongs to the parcel layout the product had when the label was printed. If you later add or remove parcels, labels printed before the change are no longer accepted. The form reminds you to replace unused old labels after a layout change. Changing only a parcel's name, size or weight does not affect labels. See Packaging & parcels.

A set has no labels of its own

A product set has no stock and no parcels of its own, so it has no labels either. The card of a set has no Print labels button. Print the labels of the products inside the set, each from its own card. Packing and shipping work with those products.

Other labels you will meet

Several kinds of sticker are used in Complaia. They cannot be used in place of each other:

Label	Code	What it is for	Read more
Product label	P and digits	Identifies one parcel of a product. Printed from the product card (this page). The warehouse screens for incoming goods and stocktaking surpluses use the same kind of label.	Goods receipt · External receipts · Stocktaking
Component label	The component's code, for example M6-20-SCREW	Identifies a component. Every label of the same component carries the same code. Printed from the component card.	Components
Handling unit label	HU-	Identifies a box an order was packed into. It can be printed once the box is closed.	Order packing
PRO- label	PRO-	Identifies finished goods that came off production. Scanning it moves the goods out of the workstation buffer into a regular warehouse.	Where finished goods land · Move finished output into a warehouse

From the catalog you can print product labels and component labels. The other two are printed elsewhere.

The screen

Print labels opens a window titled Print labels, where you choose what to print and download a PDF.

Two controls are always there:

• Number of copies — 1 to 100, with minus and plus buttons.
• Label size:
  • Large (A6), a full label on an A6 sheet. It carries the product name, category, attributes, SKU, EAN, dimensions, weight, the parcel, a barcode and a QR code. Its page measures 100 × 150 mm.
  • Small (~70×25 mm), for a label roll. It carries a QR code and the product name.

The rest of the window depends on the product:

Product	What you choose
A simple product with parcels	A Print range: All parcels, or Selected parcels with a list of tick boxes under Parcels to print.
A simple product with no parcels	Nothing. The window says that one label will be generated.
A product with variants	Variants to print: a list of its variants with tick boxes.

Select all and Clear selection help with long lists. A line at the bottom tells you what will be printed. Print PDF downloads the file.

The labels are printed in your company's language.

📷 Screenshot to add: the Print labels window for a product with three parcels, with Selected parcels chosen.

Common tasks

Print labels for a product

1. Open the product from Catalog → Products → Product list.
2. Click Print labels in the page header.
3. Set the Number of copies and the Label size.
4. Under Print range, keep All parcels, or choose Selected parcels and tick the ones you need.
5. Click Print PDF. The file is downloaded to your computer. Print it from there.

Every sticker in the file has its own code, including the copies.

Labels for a set

A set has no labels of its own. To label the goods of a set:

1. Open the set's card and go to Set contents.
2. Open each product in the set.
3. On each product's card, click Print labels and print as usual.

Print labels for the variants of a product

1. Open the product that has variants and click Print labels.
2. Under Variants to print, tick the variants.
3. Click Print PDF. You get one file per variant.

Change a product's SKU, EAN or UPC

1. Open the product and click Edit.
2. On Basics, change the code.
3. Click Save.

When it doesn't work

What you see	Why	What to do
A product with this SKU already exists. Enter a different SKU. (the same for EAN and UPC)	The code already belongs to another product or variant.	Use a different code.
The EAN must consist of digits only and be 8, 13 or 14 characters long.	The number has the wrong length.	Check it against the packaging.
The UPC must consist of exactly 12 digits.	Same, for UPC.	A 13-digit number is an EAN. Put it in the EAN field.
The SKU may contain only unaccented letters, digits, dot, hyphen, underscore and slash, without spaces.	The SKU contains a character that is not allowed.	Replace spaces with a hyphen or an underscore.
You cleared the SKU and a different one appeared.	A product always has an SKU. An empty one is replaced when you save.	Type the code you want instead of clearing it.
Too many labels in one print job. Reduce the number of copies or the range of packages.	One file holds at most 500 labels, and copies are multiplied by the number of parcels.	Lower the number of copies, or print in two parts.
Select at least one parcel to print labels.	Selected parcels is chosen but nothing is ticked.	Tick a parcel, or switch to All parcels.
This template product has no variants yet. Add variants first.	The product is a template for variants but has no variants.	Add a variant on the product's Variants step.
There is no Print labels button.	The product is a set.	Print labels from the cards of the products inside it.
You scanned two labels of the same product and no unit was counted.	The product ships in several parcels and both stickers were for the same parcel.	Scan one label from each parcel.
One of the scanned labels has already been received. Remove it from the receipt and scan a different package label.	Each sticker is received once.	If you really have two boxes, each needs its own sticker. Print another label.
This label belongs to an old or unknown package layout. Inspect and relabel the goods, or receive the return for inspection.	The product's parcel layout changed after the label was printed.	Print current labels from the product card and relabel the goods.
The scanned code is not a product package label. Scan a package label.	It is a different kind of label, such as HU- or PRO-.	See Other labels you will meet.

Permissions

To do this	You need
See a product's identifiers and print its labels	Products: View
Set identifiers on a new product	Products: Create
Change identifiers on an existing product	Products: Edit
Print a component label	Components (materials): View, or Warehouse: View

Printing labels needs only Products: View: anyone who can see the catalog can print stickers for it.

Related

• The product record — where identifiers are entered
• Packaging & parcels — what a parcel is, and what changing the layout does to labels
• Product types & structure — why a set has no labels of its own
• Components — component labels
• Goods receipt · External receipts · Stocktaking — where product labels are scanned
• Order packing · Shop-floor execution — handling unit and PRO- labels
• Glossary — product label code, parcel, handling unit