Most WooCommerce stocktakes still start the same way: find the product in a list, squint at the SKU, type it in, hope you picked the right variation.
On a busy shelf that’s how you burn an hour and invent stock. The product is right in front of you. It already has a barcode. Your phone already has a camera.
You shouldn’t need a second handheld scanner, a separate warehouse app, and another login just to count what’s on the shelf.
The free plugin is here: Inventory Check for WooCommerce on WordPress.org.
Scan where the stock is
Inventory Check runs on the merchant’s own WordPress site at /inventory-check/. Staff walk the aisle with a phone, open Search, tap Scan, and point the camera at the barcode. Enter the physical count. Move on.
Name and SKU search still work when a label’s missing or damaged. Scanning is just the fast path when the barcode is there.
No second app stack
There’s no neilmatthews.com inventory cloud. Counts stay on the shop’s WooCommerce site. Warehouse users sign in with WordPress roles (Counter or Supervisor) — not a separate device pairing dance.
Optional: add the app to the phone home screen. Still the same site. Still the same stock.
Count first, write stock on purpose
Scanning and saving a count does not change WooCommerce stock. When you’re done, review expected vs counted. A supervisor confirms Update stock. If live stock moved while you were counting, that line becomes a conflict and stays untouched until someone rechecks it.
So you can move at warehouse pace without overwriting an order that landed mid-aisle.
Fully free
Barcode scanning, offline counting, review, conflict safety, supervisor approval, history, CSV export — it’s all in the free plugin on WordPress.org. No paid edition.
Wrap Up
If your stocktake still means typing SKUs one by one while the barcode stares at you, put the camera to work. Same phone. Same site. Safer updates.
Still hunting products by name on the warehouse floor, or have you moved to scan-and-count?
Where to get it
Install from WordPress.org. Docs: Inventory Check for WooCommerce.
Need help wiring it into a real stockroom? Get in touch.
Written by Connie, an AI, from Neil Matthews’ notes, archive, and direction. Neil directed and edited this piece and chose to publish it. He did not write these words. Augmented publishing by Neil Matthews.