Barcodes are often looked as a method for cutting costs and saving time. A valuable and viable choice for businesses looking to improve efficiency and reduce overhead, barcodes are both cost-effective and reliable.

Barcodes eliminate the possibility of human error. The occurrence of errors for manually entered data is significantly higher than that of barcodes. A barcode scan is fast and reliable, and takes infinitely less time than entering data by hand. Using a barcode system reduces employee training time. It takes only minutes to master the hand-held scanner for reading barcodes. Furthermore, employees do not have to gain familiarity with an entire inventory or pricing procedure. This also makes employee training less expensive, since they do not have to be paid for extra training time, and another employee does not have to be compensated for training them.

Barcodes are inexpensive to design and print. Generally they cost mere pennies, regardless of their purpose, or where they will be affixed. They can be customized economically, in a variety of finishes and materials.

Barcodes are extremely versatile. They can be used for any kind of necessary data collection. This could include pricing or inventory information. Additionally, because barcodes can be attached to just about any surface, they can be used to track not only the products themselves, but also outgoing shipments and even equipment.

Inventory control improves. Because barcodes make it possible to track inventory so precisely, inventory levels can be reduced. This translates into a lower overheard. The location of equipment can also be tracked, reducing the time spent searching for it, and the money spent replacing equipment that is presumed lost.

Barcodes provide better data. Since one barcode can be used for inventory and pricing information, it is possible to quickly obtain data on both. Furthermore, barcodes can be customized to contain other relevant information as needed. They provide fast, reliable data for a wide variety of applications. Data obtained through barcodes is available rapidly. Since the information is scanned directly into the central computer, it is ready almost instantaneously. This quick turnaround ensures that time will not be wasted on data entry or retrieval.

Barcodes promote better decision making. Because data is obtained rapidly and accurately, it is possible to make more informed decisions. Better decision making ultimately saves both time and money.

Both inexpensive and user-friendly, barcodes provide an indispensable tool for tracking a variety of data, from pricing to inventory. The ultimate result of a comprehensive barcoding system is reduction in overhead.