How Do I Use the Smart Scanner?

💡 What You Need to Know

The Smart Scanner replaces the barcode scanner and its four modes: “Scanner”, “Assigning”, “Assign to me” and “Inventory Scanner”. It is the scanner you use in Timly to assign many items at once. You no longer choose a mode before scanning. You scan, and Timly recognises what the barcode belongs to and offers the matching actions.
 

📘 This guide presents the Smart Scanner, explains everything you can do with it, and shows you how, step by step.
 

- What changes for you -
 

• No more choosing a mode. Your first scan sets the direction of the workflow:
        · Item: you assign it to yourself, or open its page.
        · Person or place: you assign items to it, or open its page.
        · Container item: you assign items to it, or assign it to yourself.
        · Unknown barcode: you can create a new item with it.
   
• To assign items to someone or somewhere, start with the destination. Scan the person, place or container item first, then the items.
• Assign up to 50 items in one session. Scanned items are collected in a cart. You review them in an overview, then finalize all assignments at once.
• Nothing is booked until you finalize. A scan alone assigns nothing, so a mistake is corrected by removing a line, not by reversing a booking.
• Your cart is saved automatically. It stays available for 12 hours after your last change, even if you are interrupted and the Smart Scanner closes.

🎥 Interactive Demo 
 

⚙️ The Steps
 

- Step 1: Open the Smart Scanner -

 

• Log in to Timly on your computer, phone or tablet. 
• Click the QR code icon in the left sidebar. The "Scan your barcode" window opens with the camera view. 
• If your browser or device asks for permission to use the camera, allow it. 
• Using a handheld scanner? Switch off the camera toggle for a better view. You can then use a wired or Bluetooth handheld scanner, also on a desktop computer.

- Step 2: Scan your starting point -
 

Your first scan (an item, a container item, a person or a place) sets the direction of the workflow:

• Holding an item? Start from the item and assign it to yourself.
• Standing in front of a colleague, a vehicle or a shelf? Scan that person or place first, then assign items to it.
• Packing a toolbox, a case or a kit that is itself an item? Scan that container item first, then assign items to it.

👉🏼 The Smart Scanner recognises what you scanned, shows it with its name and barcode, and offers the matching actions.

If you scan an item 

The Smart Scanner displays the item with its name and barcode.  

Two buttons are available:

• "Assign to me": assigns this item to you.
• "View page": opens the item page, without starting an assignment.

When you click "Assign to me":

• The same rules apply as for any assignment:
  · a stock item needs a quantity, which cannot exceed the free stock (see "- Focus: Stock items – Set quantities -")
  · a schedulable item needs a start date and a return date (see "Focus: Schedulable items – Set dates")
• If the item was assigned to someone else, it is transferred to you.
• The item is then assigned to you and recorded in its history.

If you scan a container item

A container item is an item that holds other items, for example a toolbox, a first-aid case or a laptop bag. The Smart Scanner displays it like any item, with an info line such as "Container item with 4 items inside." Click "View" on that line to open the container item's page.

Two buttons are available:
• "Assign to me": assigns the container item itself to you, as for any item.
• "Assign to item": starts an assignment into this container item. Continue with Step 3.
What you need:

Note:

• The item must already be a container item. An item becomes one the first time something is assigned to it from its item page.
• Your role needs the permission "Show assignments on container item" to see the info line, and the right to assign this item to see "Assign to item". Without them, the item is handled like any other item.
• Assigning to a container item never takes dates. Schedules only exist for persons and places, so date fields don't appear, and schedulable items are assigned without a time period.

If you scan a person or a place 

The Smart Scanner displays a card titled "Resource". It shows the name and barcode of the person or place. For a person, the card also shows their person type, as defined in your account. 

Two buttons are available:

• "Assign to resource": starts an assignment to this person or place. Continue with Step 3.
• "View": opens the page of this person or place, without starting an assignment.

If the barcode is unknown 

If the scanned barcode does not belong to any item, person or place in your account, two buttons are available:

• "Scan again": scan another barcode.
• "Create new": creates a new item with this barcode.

💡 Only want to check items? Keep scanning without selecting an action. The last scanned item stays on screen until you scan the next one. Every scan is logged with its date and, when available, its location. 

- Step 3: Scan one or several items -  

The window now shows "Assigning item(s) to" followed by the destination's name. Check that it is correct before you continue.

• Scan the items one after another.
  · Each scanned item is checked and added to the cart with its name and barcode.
  · The counter at the top shows how many items you have scanned (for example "3 scanned").
  · A green check mark next to an item means it is ready to be assigned.
• Stock items: each additional scan of the same stock item raises the quantity by one, up to the free stock. See "Focus: Stock items – Set quantities".
• Schedulable items: date fields appear on the item card when the destination is a person or a place. See "Focus: Schedulable items – Set dates". When the destination is a container item, no date fields appear.
• Container items scanned during a session are added to the cart like any other item, so you can put one container item into another, or hand a whole toolbox to a person.
• Circular assignments are blocked. Scanning the destination container item itself, or a container item that already holds it, shows "Circular assignment". Remove that line to continue.
• Individual items scanned twice: Timly shows "Item already in cart" and doesn't add the item a second time.
• Items already assigned to someone else:
  · If the alert "Item is already assigned" is enabled in your account, Timly warns you when you scan the item.
  · When you finalize, the item is transferred from its current holder to your destination. It does not need to be returned first.
• Scanning another person or place mid-session: Timly shows "Assignments not finalized".
• Click "Stay and finalize assignment" to keep your current cart.
• Click "Switch to [name]" to discard it and start a new session for the newly scanned person or place.
• Reaching 50 items: Timly shows "Maximum assignments reached" and accepts no more items. Finalize the current session, then start a new one to carry on. 
  
  
   

- Step 4: Proceed to the overview -

• When you have scanned all items, click "Proceed".

You don't need to complete every field while scanning. Missing information, such as a return date, can still be added in the overview. 

- Step 5: Review the overview -  
 

The overview lists every scanned item.  

Here you can:

• adjust quantities for stock items with − and +
• set or correct dates for schedulable items (persons and places only)
• remove an item from the assignment with the trash icon
• go back to scanning with "Back"

The "Finalize assignment" button stays inactive as long as required information is missing, for example a return date, or while a line shows a blocking message such as "Circular assignment". Items with missing information are marked in red.

- Step 6: Finalize the assignment -  

• Click "Finalize assignment". 

What happens next:

• The assignment is processed in the background.
• The Smart Scanner shows a status such as "Assigning 3 items", so you can see whether the assignment was successful.
• When processing is complete, a notification confirms it, for example "Your background job finished — 3 steps succeeded."
• The Smart Scanner is immediately ready for the next scan ("Scan a barcode – Get started by scanning a barcode").
• The items are now assigned to the destination and recorded in each item's history. For schedulable items assigned to a person or place, the planned period appears in the "TIME PERIOD" column of the Inventory Overview and in the "Scheduling view". Items assigned to a container item have no planned period.

💡 Important to note:

• Scanning alone books nothing. Items are only assigned when you click "Finalize assignment". Until then, correcting a mistake means removing a line, not reversing a booking.
• Every scan is recorded, whether or not you assign anything. When a code is recognised, Timly updates the object's last scanned date. If your device provides a position, Timly also saves the GPS location. To document what is where, simply walk around and scan.
• A session holds up to 50 items.
• Your cart is saved with every scan. It stays available for 12 hours after your last change. 

- Focus: Stock items – Set quantities -

For each stock item, the Smart Scanner shows how much stock is available, for example "126 free / 126 total stock":

• free is the quantity that is not assigned to anyone and can be handed out now
• total stock is the free stock plus the quantities currently held by persons, places or container items

Set the quantity with the − and + buttons, scan the item again, or type the quantity into the field. You can do this while scanning or in the overview. The quantity cannot be higher than the free stock. When you reach it, Timly shows "Maximum available amount assigned".

💡 Moving stock from one holder to another: an assignment always takes stock from the free stock, never from another person, place or container item. To move stock, it must first be returned from its current holder, then assigned to the new one.

💡 Automatic consumption: some stock items are set to be consumed automatically when they are assigned. For these, the quantity is used up in the same step and cannot be returned later. 

- Focus: Schedulable items – Set dates -

Whether the scanner asks for dates is not a scanner setting. It depends on the settings of the item's top-level category and on the destination. Stock items never need dates, and nothing assigned to a container item needs dates.

When the destination is a person or a place, schedulable items show two required fields, marked with an asterisk. You can fill them in while scanning or in the overview:

• Start date: already filled in with today's date. It can be changed to a date in the past, for example to record a handover from yesterday, but not to a future date.
• Return date: the day the item is expected back. Choose it with the calendar icon. It must be after the start date.
   

Timly checks the whole period between the two dates, not just today:

• Missing return date: Timly shows "Return date required – Add a return date for this scheduled item."
• Return date before the start date: the dates are flagged red ("Invalid date range").

Overlap with an existing reservation:

• If "Enable Overbook" is off in the item's category, the dates are flagged red ("Reservation overlap") and the assignment cannot be finalized for that period.
• If "Enable Overbook" is on, overlapping dates are accepted.
   

💡 The Smart Scanner records handovers that start today or earlier. To plan a future reservation, use the scheduler. Container items cannot be scheduled as a destination, neither in the Smart Scanner nor in the scheduler.

- If you're interrupted - 

A locked phone, a dropped connection, a closed tab or a restarted device won't cost you the cart.

• Every scan is saved immediately, so you don't need to save anything yourself.
• An unfinished session stays available for 12 hours after your last change. Every scan or edit restarts the 12 hours.
   

When you reopen the scanner with an unfinished cart, Timly asks "Continue session?".

• Click "Continue session" to pick up where you left off.
• Click "Start new session" to discard the cart.
   

If you close the scanner while items are still in the cart, Timly shows "Assignments not finalized".

• Click "Finalize and close" to assign them now.
• Click "Close anyway" to discard the cart.

This works the same way with the camera and with a handheld scanner. 

- Error messages you may see - 

🔎 FAQ

• What happened to the four modes of the barcode scanner? 
  The Smart Scanner replaces the separate modes of the previous barcode scanner with a single workflow.  
  You no longer need to select a mode before scanning.  
  
  The first barcode you scan determines the workflow:
     - Person or place: you can assign items to that person or place ("Assign to resource") or open its page ("View").
     - Item: you can assign the item to yourself ("Assign to me") or open its page ("View page").
     - Container item: you can assign items to it ("Assign to item") or assign it to yourself ("Assign to me").
     - Unknown barcode: you can scan again ("Scan again") or create a new item with this barcode ("Create new"). 
  
   
• Why doesn't the Smart Scanner offer "Assign to item" for my toolbox?
  Either the item is not a container item yet, or your role lacks the rights. Make it a container item by assigning a first item to it from its item page. Then check with your administrator that your role may see and assign items on container items.
   
• Why can't I set dates when assigning to a container item?
  Schedules and reservations only exist for persons and places. Items placed in a container item stay there until they are removed, without a return date.
  
   
• Why don't I see a warning when I scan an item that is already assigned? 
  The "Item is already assigned" checkbox under "Settings" → "Notifications" → "Alerts on assignment" is switched off. With it off, the scanner shows nothing and reassigns the item when you finalize. 
   
• Can a colleague see or continue my cart?  
  No. The cart belongs to you and to the account you are working in. 
   
• Why can't I assign items to another person or to a place?  
  Your user role defines where you can assign items. Depending on your role, you can assign items:
     - only to yourself
     - to yourself and to places, but not to other people
     - to anyone
  If your account uses custom roles, your administrator defines these rights. Ask your administrator which role you have.

📖 Timly Glossary

Container item: An item that holds other items, such as a toolbox, a case or a kit. Items assigned to it move with it.

Item: A resource—physical or digital—that is managed and tracked in Timly. This can include IT equipment, tools, vehicles, office supplies, medical devices, software, and more.  

Person: An individual recorded in Timly (whether a user or employee or not) to whom items can be assigned. Admins can organise persons by defining person types.

Place: A digital workspace for organising and tracking items, such as "Warehouse" or "Project XYZ". Previously called "Container".

Stock Item: Similar items managed and assigned in specific quantities. Stock items can be consumed, in which case they are considered consumables.

Scheduler: An interactive calendar that allows you to plan and reserve items for any given period.
 

📖 Find all the definitions in the Timly Glossary.

✅ Required Features & Functions

Inventory module; Scheduler (optional); Stock Management (optional); container items (optional, needs the permission "Show assignments on container item" and "Assign / Transfer on container items")
 

🔗 More Resources

• Help Center: Timly Glossary
   

📩 Do you have more questions? Schedule a free and non-binding demo with one of our experts, or ask us at [email protected].