Label and add your units

Categories, Product types, and Units

TrackDME has three catalog levels. A Product category is a family such as "Wheelchairs". A Product is an interchangeable type inside it, like "Standard wheelchair". A Unit is one physical, barcoded instance of that Product, the actual wheelchair sitting on your shelf. You set up Product types once (see Set up your product catalog), then add a Unit for every physical item you own. Each Unit is an instance of exactly one Product type.

This is what makes serialized asset tracking work: every piece of gear gets its own scannable identity and its own history.

Label your gear

Before a Unit can be scanned, it needs a barcode label. The barcode is just the value printed on the label, for example "000123456".

1. Print a durable barcode or asset-tag label for each physical item.
2. Attach one label per Unit, somewhere easy to scan but out of the way of patient contact.
3. Use the same barcode value when you add the Unit in TrackDME.

For medical gear that gets cleaned, soaked, and handled, paper stickers do not last. We recommend durable metal asset labels. See Recommended equipment for the labels and scanner we suggest, and barcode scanning for how scanning fits into your daily flow.

Add a unit

1. Go to Units and open /assets/new.
2. In Barcode (required), enter the value on the label you just attached.
3. In Product (required), use the ProductPicker to search for the matching type, or create a new one on the spot.
4. Optionally enter a Serial number (the manufacturer serial, separate from your barcode).
5. Optionally set a Location, or leave it as "Unassigned".
6. Save the Unit.

Add a unit straight from a scan

If you scan a barcode TrackDME does not recognize, the scan screen shows "No Unit found with barcode X" along with an Add this Unit button. Tapping it opens the add-unit form with the barcode already filled in, so you can label and add gear as you go.

Adding a lot of units at once

If you already have a list of your inventory, do not type each Unit by hand. You can load everything from a spreadsheet instead. See Import your data.

Next steps

Ready to bulk load? Head to Import your data, or first finish Set up your product catalog.