Manage RFID

A barcode gives a whole product type one shared code. RFID gives every single item its own code, called an EPC, and a reader does not need to see the tag, so a closed box of items scans in one pass. Those two facts unlock three things barcodes cannot do: counting an entire warehouse in one session, tracing the history of one specific shirt, and a security gate that sounds when an unpaid item walks out.

In return, RFID takes investment: a tag on every item, readers at the scanning points, and a messaging link between readers and the software. This page covers daily operation. A technical team wiring readers into its own software should read the RFID integration reference.

What an RFID setup consists of

Readers do not call the application directly. Each tag read travels through a relay called an MQTT broker, set up by the technical team at installation, see Settings and integrations. When that relay stops, every scanning screen goes quiet at once, which makes it suspect number one whenever RFID "dies everywhere".

The screens that use a reader: Stock In with auto-scan, the Tags menu group (inspection, location mapping, removal), the sales counter, and stock count sessions.

The life of a tag

The most important point on this page: registering and attaching are different things. Create Tag and Bulk Import on Tags → Tag List only register EPC codes with the system; they attach no product and create no stock. The EPC-to-product link is created only on a stock-in entry, never spontaneously from a scan. That rule is why a stray tag drifting into the read zone can never turn itself into inventory.

Every tag also carries a status that says where its unit is in that life:

Status	Meaning
Active, Found, Missing, Allocated	The unit is in the warehouse. Found, Missing and Allocated are set only by hand.
Transferred	The unit is on a stock transfer. It moves only with that transfer.
On loan	The unit was lent out. It comes back only through a Borrowed goods returned stock-in.
Sold, Stock Out	The unit has left. It can be removed or deleted.
Retired	Final. Used for goods reported lost on a loan.
Removed	The tag is detached and waits to be reused or purged.

A status change never writes a stock entry. Because of that, people cannot set Transferred by hand, cannot move a tag that has left stock back into the warehouse by hand, and cannot restore a removed tag that still has a product. Such a tag must be received again through Stock In.

Connect a reader

1. Go to Settings → RFID Readers.

2. Click Add Reader, or open an existing reader. Check its name, status, and installed location.

   

3. Test-read a known tag at the real installation spot, not at your desk.

4. Start power low and raise it only until the read zone covers what it must. More power means a wider zone, and a wider zone means catching the neighboring shelf's tags by mistake.

If the reader receives no scans at all, check the MQTT broker before touching power.

Operational guidance

Keep loose tags and unrelated goods out of the read zone. Metal, liquids, folded tags, and tags stacked on top of each other all make reads flaky.

Register tags

Use this when you only need the EPCs known to the system, for example before a delivery arrives. It adds no stock.

1. Go to Tags → Tag List and press Create Tag.

2. Type or scan the EPC, choose the Type (Products, Location or Other) and the product or location, then save.

3. For many EPCs, press Bulk Import, paste the EPCs one per line or separated by commas, then press Import. The message reports how many were created, skipped or failed.

   

An EPC that already exists is refused with "A tag with this EPC already exists". EPCs are trimmed and upper-cased before comparison, so e200… and E200… are the same tag. If your plan has a tag limit, creating a tag past it is refused.

Attach tags to products

Attachment happens during receiving, on the stock-in entry; the full procedure is in Purchase and receive:

1. The product or variant must exist first, see Catalog and warehouses.
2. Go to Operations → Stock In (Stock Operations → Stock In on the classic layout) and select the exact product or variant on the line.
3. Turn on Auto scan RFID and bring a uniform batch of goods into the read zone. Every EPC read becomes one unit of stock.
4. Review the EPC list and remove strange or duplicate codes before confirming. Readers also pick up the neighboring pallet's tags, so switch auto-scan off before moving to a different product.
5. Complete the entry. From then on, each EPC is bound to one specific item and follows it through every operation.

For each EPC, the entry decides as follows:

• A new EPC is created as an active tag in the receiving warehouse.
• An EPC that was stocked out, returned or removed is revived for the new product, unless Receive stocked-out EPCs again is off in Settings → Inventory settings. Then only new EPCs and tags removed with Scan to Remove are accepted.
• An EPC already in stock is refused: "EPC … is already in stock and was skipped. Use Stock Out when this item leaves the warehouse."
• An EPC that is Sold or Retired is refused, because those statuses are final.
• An EPC that is on loan is refused unless the entry is the Borrowed goods returned stock-in for that loan.
• With Strict UID / tag pairing on, every EPC also needs a UID, and a UID already used by another in-stock EPC is refused.

Inspect a tag

When something about a tag seems off, open this screen first:

1. Go to Tags → Check Item. Press Add USB reader or Add Bluetooth reader, then Start scanning and hold the item near the reader. Or type the EPC or UID into Enter EPC or UID and press Check.

   

2. Choose a warehouse to see the stock there. The result shows the product, price, tag status and payment status. If your workspace does not know the EPC, the look-up tries a linked workspace's shared tags, then matches the GTIN inside an SGTIN-96 code against product barcodes.

3. Press View details for the Traceability passport: batch, date in and out, movement history, the order and the status timeline.

The Near-field threshold keeps only the nearest tag, so use it when several tags sit close together. In the mobile app, Check Item needs a Bluetooth reader and reads at low power, so it only sees tags close by. Find Item works like a hot-or-cold hunt: the reader lowers its power as you get closer to one EPC or a whole product.

Map tags to locations

Locations are identified by location tags fixed to each bin, not picked from a selector on screen. Create tags of the Location type in Tags → Tag List first, with a warehouse and bin or a free-text label such as "Shelf A1", and stick one on every bin.

1. Go to Tags → Map locations, press Connect reader, then Start scanning.

2. Sweep the bin's location tag until Current location locks. Until a location tag is read, the screen reports no location, which is by design, not a fault.

3. Sweep the product tags sitting in that bin. Check Products to record, remove wrong rows with Remove from queue, then press Save {count} location(s). Scanning a tag later at a different location moves it there, replacing the old link rather than keeping two.

   

See the results under More actions → Locations on the tag list, with the tag count and last seen time per location.

Operational guidance

If a shelf never locks on the handheld, first check that its location tag exists and is registered. Then lower Location lock: reads or Location lock: RSSI (dBm) under Settings → RFID settings.

Locations mapped here appear on pick lists, sending the picker straight to the right shelf, see Pick, check, and ship.

Remove tags

Removal is the bookkeeping step after goods have already left the warehouse, not a way to issue stock: a tag on an item still in stock cannot be removed.

Only tags that are Stock Out or Sold can be removed.

1. Go to Tags → Scan to Remove. Press Add reader and Start all, or use Paste EPC list.

   

2. Review the list (Ready, Needs review, Duplicates), add optional Notes, press Remove {count} tags and confirm.

3. Read the result: removed, already removed, still in stock (skipped) and not found.

A removed EPC stays in the system with its full history; only the product, batch, and location links are cleared so the physical tag can be reused. Removed tags are listed under Tags → Removed Tags, where you can Restore a tag that has no product, Purge selected or Purge all removed. Removed tags are also purged automatically after a retention period, 30 days by default, set by your provider. Before reusing an EPC, read its history.

To erase a Stock Out or Sold tag and its history at once, use Delete from the row menu instead. A tag whose unit is still in stock cannot be deleted: "This tag can't be deleted until its unit is stocked out or sold".

Build a carton

A carton is one RFID label that stands for the units packed inside it. Scanning the carton label at stock-out, sale or transfer moves every unit inside.

1. On the tag list, open More actions → Cartons and press New carton. Or print empty labels first with Print carton labels, from 1 to 200.

2. Scan the carton label, then sweep the units. Add stock that has only a QR code under Untagged contents.

3. Press Build carton with {count} unit(s). On the carton page, use Close carton to fix the contents, Reopen carton to change them, or Break up carton to free the label.

   

Only active, found or allocated units can be packed, a carton never spans two warehouses, and a carton cannot go inside another carton. A label already used by another carton reopens that carton. A stock-out that sees only part of a closed carton is refused: "Carton … is missing some of its contents: scan the whole carton again." A single unit taken out on its own leaves its carton, and the carton stays open.

Counting with RFID

Counting is where RFID pays back most clearly. Instead of tallying shelf by shelf, you walk the warehouse with a reader and the system compares scanned tags against recorded stock. The full procedure, including how differences are handled, lives in Count and reconcile inventory.

When something goes wrong

Symptom	Likely cause	What to do
Tags missing from reads	Tags blocked, goods packed too densely	Reorient products, reduce how much sits in the zone per pass
Extra unknown tags in reads	The zone reaches the next shelf or pallet	Lower power or separate the scanning area
No scans arrive at all	MQTT broker connection lost	Check the broker and device configuration, see Settings and integrations
An EPC returns a different product	The tag was attached to other goods before	Stop the operation, open Check Item, and read the history before fixing the link
A scan shows an unidentified tag	EPC unregistered, or registered but never attached	Register it or receive the item properly through its lifecycle
A tag will not remove	The item still has stock in the warehouse	Issue or sell it first, then remove
Tags were created but stock did not change	Create Tag and Bulk Import only register EPCs	Receive the goods with Stock In
A removed tag will not restore	It still belongs to a product	Receive it again through Stock In
"A tag is still on loan"	The EPC was lent out	Receive it with a Borrowed goods returned stock-in
Location mapping reports no location tags	No Location type tags created yet	Create them in Tag List and fix them to the bins

Read next

• Count and reconcile inventory: put the reader to its most valuable use.
• Purchase and receive: where EPCs get attached to products.
• Settings and integrations: declaring readers and the MQTT broker.
• RFID integration reference: documentation for teams wiring readers themselves.

Do this on mobile

The Sense Inventory app can do this job on a phone or handheld, and counting works offline. See Use the mobile app and Connect a reader to the app.