Android app to take orders during exhibition, with barcodes based on CSV list of products

Question

I have a CSV list of products:

Code   Product
00001  Spoon
00002  Knife

During a trade fair, these products are exposed, with barcodes on stickers. Each customer tells me what products they want. I write down the customer's details (name & address) and what they want (product code & quantity).

I would like an Android app to do the same thing:

1. For each product the customer wants:
   1. I scan the barcode of the product.
   2. The app shows the product's name, for instance Spoon. The name is taken from the CSV file. It is important because mislabeling sometimes happens.
   3. I enter a quantity, for instance 500.
2. I take a picture of the customer's business card, or I write their name & address manually.
3. The app saves the customer's details and their orders.
4. In the evening I can export all of the data as CSV file(s).

Requirements:

• Must work offline. Internet is mostly unavailable in such fairs because of the crowd and infrastructure uncertainties.
• Must be able to export the whole data as CSV or Excel.
• Other workflows might be acceptable, but it must allow entering all of the information above within a minute, so there is no much time to waste with extra information entry or extra steps.
• The cheaper the better, ideally open source.

Answer 1

There are a couple of ways to achieve this.

1. The first option is to use an Android mobile POS called TabShop.

   • The basic version is free but not open source. But the Pro version is required for Import/Export of CSV [costs EUR5]. It can work offline.

   • You can set-up the products by scanning either QR or Barcode, then enter product's name, etc, Cost & price will be set to 0. You can alternatively actually import all the products from a CSV file.

   • When customer comes along, POS is run as if doing a purchase. You can take the customer's name, address, and email at the checkout by typing it in fields provided. [You can not take picture of business card],

   • It saves the customer's details and their orders, and can be exported to a CSV file.

   • It can export the whole data as CSV, which can be loaded by Excel.

   • Once you get the hang of how to use it, you can enter informaton in a minute or so. You will have to try it yourself to verify.

   • In the Pro version, you can sync orders with a googlespreadsheet when the app comes online. I have also used it for syncing with an ecommerce installation - had to write something using its API.

2. The other option is to use a Bar Code Scanner. See Previous Answer for an example.