Scanning orders
The Scanner is TimberCloud's fastest way to move orders through production. Point your phone or tablet camera at an order's QR code, and that order jumps to the status or station you've chosen — no typing, no walking back to a computer. It's the one truly floor-first tool, and it runs equally well in the native app or in a mobile browser.
Availability: Production plan and up. The Scanner is part of the Shop floor suite. If you don't see the Scanner button, your plan doesn't include it yet — see Subscriptions & Plans.
Opening the Scanner
The Scanner opens from the Scanner button in the top bar of the dashboard — it's a primary action, deliberately kept out of the left sidebar so it's always one tap away. Tap it, allow camera access if prompted (see Installation & Setup), and you're on the Order Status Scanner page.
The controls
Before you scan anything, you set up three things at the top of the page:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Select Camera | Choose which camera to scan with. On a phone, pick the rear camera. |
| Update Type | Choose what a scan should do: Update Status or Update Station. |
| Select Status / Select Station | Pick the exact target — the status you're moving orders to, or the station you're marking them at. |
Below the controls, a Start Scanning button turns the camera on. Three live badges tell you the state at a glance:
- Camera Ready — a camera is selected and available.
- Scanner Active / Scanner Inactive — whether the camera is currently reading.
- N Stations Available — how many stations exist for your selected location.
How a scan works
- Choose your Update Type and pick the target status or station.
- Tap Start Scanning — the camera view opens.
- Point the camera at the order's QR code (printed on the build sheet or order label). TimberCloud reads the order's ID from the code.
- The order instantly moves. A confirmation appears (for example, "Status updated to Ready for QC" or "Station updated to Assembly").
- Keep scanning the next order, or tap Stop Scanning when you're done.
Tip: Set your target once and scan a whole batch. The status or station you picked stays selected until you change it, so you can run a stack of orders through the same step without touching the controls again.
Update Status vs. Update Station
The two update types do different things — pick the one that matches how you track work.
Update Status
Sets the scanned order directly to the status you chose (for example In Production, Ready for QC, or Completed). Use this when you move orders by status rather than by physical station.
The status list covers your normal production statuses. A few statuses aren't offered here because scanning them on the floor doesn't make sense — Quote, Ordered, and Canceled are left out.
Update Station
Marks the scanned order as reaching the station you chose — and, importantly, marks every earlier station complete too, then sets the order's status to Completed for that pass. This means a single scan at, say, the Finishing station records that the order cleared Cut and Assembly on the way there. Scan orders as they physically arrive at each station and their progress fills in automatically.
Stations are configured under Settings → Shop → Stations and are filtered by your selected location, so you only see the stations that belong to where you're working. If the station you expect is missing, check the location selector at the top of the page.
The 3-second cooldown
To stop a single QR code from being read several times as you hold the camera on it, the Scanner ignores the same code for about 3 seconds after it's scanned. Scan one order, then move to the next — a different order scans immediately; the same order won't double-count until the cooldown passes.
Working by location
If your shop has multiple locations, use the location selector at the top of the Scanner to choose where you're working. This filters the available stations to that location, so shop-floor staff at each site only see their own stations. Multi-location setups are part of the Production plan's multi-warehouse tools.
Tips for reliable scanning
- Print order QR codes large and clear on your build sheets or labels.
- Hold the camera steady and a few inches from the code until the confirmation appears.
- Good lighting helps — a well-lit code reads faster than one in shadow.
- Mount a tablet at each station for hands-free, repeatable scanning.
Next Steps
- Order Scanner (Shop) — the same tool, documented in the Shop section
- Production tracking — how stations and statuses move orders through the floor
- Build Sheets — the production documents that carry order QR codes
- QC on mobile — the next step after production
- Subscriptions & Plans — confirm the Scanner is included in your plan