SKUGen - SKU Generator for Shopify

SKU is short for Stock Keeping Unit, is made up of alphanumeric characters and is designed to be unique to a single product. It’s important to note that the SKU is not the same as a product’s UPC (barcode).

If you are selling products it is important to set up your inventory correctly and one of the most important parts of this process is setting up the product SKU.

Benefits

Save the time fighting Excel sheets to generate SKUs for our products.

• Speed - Create SKUs with ease for all your products in minutes.
• Consistency - You will be sure that all the SKUs are created using the rules that you set.
• Make SKUs unique - Using the app options you can ensure that the generated SKUs are unique.
• Automatic generation - Generate SKUs automatically when a new product is created or when an existing product, without SKU is updated.
• Custom codes - Define custom abbreviations for product options (variants), product types and product vendors
• Duplicate checker - Shows you which product variants have duplicate SKUs or Barcodes
• Product label printing - Use predifined label templates or create your own and print labels for your products

Watch a short video guide. 

Installation

The application is available on Shopify App Store.

The app includes a free to use plan which lets you create simple SKUs for all your products. Try it now!

Pricing

Free plan

With the free version of the app, you can generate SKUs for up to 100 products, using a Prefix, Suffix, Auto number and '-' as delimitter.

You can also preview the SKU generated using all the other app features.

You can use the label printing feature for one product at a time, using only predefined templates.

Advanced options plan

For only $9.95 one-time fee, you can use advanced features to manually generate SKUs, as long as the app is installed on your store.
The features from the monthly fee plans are not included (Automatic generation, Custom Codes and Premium).

You can create SKUs for an unlimited number of products.

Automatic Generation

For only $2.99 monthly, the app can generate SKUs automatically. Learn how Automatic generation works.
This feature works with the free features as well as with the upgraded features. However, if you have not upgraded the feature set, it will only generate using the free set of options.

You can create SKUs for an unlimited number of products.

Custom Codes

For $5.99 monthly you will get Automatic generation and the posibility to define your own codes (abbreviations) for product options, product types and product vendors.

It also enables variant position code in Specials category.

It enables the Letter Combinations option for product name abbreviation.

Includes SKU and Barcode duplicate checker.

Premium

For $8.99 monthly you will get label printing options:

• Includes all options from the Automatic generation plan
• Includes all options from the Custom codes plan
• Predefined label templates which can be copied and customized
• Customize up to three templates using liquid templating
• Print labels for products in collections or for up to 50 selected products
• Can print barcode images for item barcode or SKUs using Code-128, EAN-13 or QR code encoding

Note: The options included in the one-time fee plan, Advanced Options, are not part of any of the monthly fee plans.

Frequently asked questions

Features

The app allows you to create SKUs by choosing a combination of codes created automatically, based on your product’s data or on the data you enter in the app.

You can combine the following elements to create SKUs:
• Prefix - It can contain only letters and numbers and is up to 7 characters long. It can be empty, if you don't want to use it
• PTA (Product title abbreviation) - It creates a product abbreviation from the product's title, taking either the first 3 letters or the initials of the first 3 words of the title. This option is available only for the paid version.
• POA (Product options abbreviation) - It creates a code from the name of the products options (product variant names). You can use one of the Coding types described below.
• PTA (Product type abbreviation) - It creates a code from the products type. You can use one of the Coding types described below.
• PVA (Product vendor abbreviation) - It creates a code from the products vendor name. You can use one of the Coding types described below.
• Auto number - It ensures that the created SKU code is unique for each run of the generator, unless you manually reset it. After each generation run it is incremented with the number of SKUs generated, so that the codes do not overlap. It also works with zero padded numbers like 001. The app does not check the unicity among all the products in your store.
• SPE (Special code) - A code can be created using a product tag or metafield
• Suffix - Same as the prefix, it can contain only letters and numbers and is up to 7 characters long. It can be empty, if you don't want to use it

Layouts

You can arrange the components of the SKU code in different ways using the Layout control. Drag and Drop components to rearrange them.

Code types

These code types are used for product options, product type and product vendor abbreviation.

• First character - Creates a 1 character code using the first character of the given name. This type of code does not ensure the unicity of the SKU. If two names start with the same letter, the same code will be generated.
• First 2 - Creates a two-character code using the first two characters of the name. It still may not be unique, since there are many words starting with the same two letter, but it's better than 1-char code
• First 3 - Creates a three-character code using the first three characters of the name.
• First 4 - Creates a four-character code using the first four characters of the name.
• Code 2 - It creates a two-digit code for each name, starting with '01'. The code is unique for each name. If you generate SKUs for two collections, one after the other, both with products with type 'Shirt', for example, they will get the same code for the type 'Shirt'. You should use this if you have less than 100 unique names in that category (options, type or vendors).
• Code 3 - It creates a three-digit code for each name, starting with '001'. The code is unique for each name and works in the same way as 'Code 2'. You should use this if you have more than 100 unique names in that category (options, type or vendors).
• Product Code 4 - Creates a 4 digit code for products - the code is unique for a product and once it is created it remains unchanged if you choose to re-generate SKUs or add variants to that product - you will always get the same code for a product.
• Letter Combinations - These options are part of the Custom Codes plan. You can use it to create abbreviations from the product title based on first chars of all or some of the words in the product title. Examples: First char from all words, First 2 chars from all words, 1 from 1st word, 3 from 2nd word, etc.
• First chars custom combination - This option allows you to select how many chars of each word will be used (up to 7 chars of first 7 words). For example, if you enter "1,1,2", the abbreviation will use the first 1 char of first two words and first 2 chars from the third word.

Special codes

• Tag - Creates a code from a product tag. The tag must start with a prefix which can be defined by the user, clicking on the Edit button which follows the Tag option.
• Metafield - Creates a code from a metafield. The metafield can be at product or variant level and can be defined clicking on the Edit button which follows the Metafield option.
• Variant position - This is a two-digit numeric code representing the order of the product variant in the list of product variants. This option is available only with the Custom Codes plan.

Custom codes

Custom codes feature allows you to define what abbreviation to use for each option (variant title), product type or vendor.

This will help you define better codes, choosing the most appropriate abbreviation for each title, which is not always possible with an automatic abbreviation.

For example, if you have color options, like GREEN and GREY you will not be able to create distinct 3-letter codes selecting the first characters, but with custom codes you can define codes like GRN for green and GRY for grey.

Each abbreviation can be up to 7 characters long.

Also, this subscription enables letter combination options for product title and calculates the check digit for EAN or UPC barcode generation.

Duplicate checker

The duplicate checker shows you which product variants have duplicated SKUs or Barcodes and helps you generate new codes (SKUs or barcodes) for the variants with duplicate values.

This option is available starting with the Custom Codes plan.

It checks the SKUs and barcodes for all the products and variants of your store, either if it's created by our app or not.

The process of verifying all store products can be time consuming especially for stores with a large number of products, therefore the app does this check in the background and the changes in Shopify admin might take a while to reflect in the Duplicate checker page.

This option does not prevent duplicate SKUs from being created. It only checks the Shopify product base and reports if duplicate SKUs or barcodes are detected.

To avoid getting duplicate SKUs or barcodes the SKU template must use a combination of components that ensure the uniqueness of generated codes. One option is to use the Auto-number field and make sure it is never reset.

Generate UPC or EAN barcodes

The UPC or EAN barcodes are sequence of numbers with a specific length and a special digit at the end, called the check digit. This digit follow specific rules and allows to check the integrity of the barcode.

In order to add the check digit to a generated code, you need to enable the "Barcode check digit" option, which is available starting with the Custom Codes plan.

Once activated, if the generated code contains only digits (0 to 9) the app will calculate and append the check digit.

So, if you want to generate a EAN-13 barcode, which is 13 digits long, you need to make sure that the generated code, according to the template rules, has 12 digits. The app will add the 13th digit, the check digit.

For example, You can set a 6-digit prefix and a 6-digit auto number (like 000001) then disable all other options. You will get a EAN-13 barcode with a correct check digit, which can be printed using the EAN-13 encoding.

Watch how to configure the template for barcode generation. 

Note:

The barcodes generated by the app are not globally unique, unless you use a prefix you previously bought from GS1. Please see gs1.org for details.

"The 020-029 GS1 Prefixes are worth a special mention. GS1 defines this as being available for retailer internal use (or internal use by other types of business)." source Wikipedia.

Also, you can find more info about barcodes on gtin.info.

Generator Target

You may create SKUs for all your products in one go or you may choose to create the SKU codes one collection at a time.

If you select to create the codes for a collection, you could use the Prefix or the Suffix to create a coding specific to that collection.

Also, you can generate SKUs for a set of products selected using the powerful search of Shopify admin. Search the products that need SKUs, select them and click Actions / Generate SKUs menu, to send the products to the SKU generator, as in the image below.

The collection and product list filters are available for the paid version of the app.

Other options

The Set only missing SKUs checkbox allows you to generate SKUs only for variants without SKU, leaving the rest of the SKUs untouched.

Remove spaces - when codes are made from the first N letters it may include spaces; if this is checked, all spaces in the generated SKU are removed.

Options first chars - This applys only if Product options uses one of the following: First character, First 2, First 3 or First 4.

Available options:
• Any - All characters in the variant option are used to create the code
• Only letters - Only letters from the variant option are used to create the code
• Only numbers - Only numbers from the variant option are used to create the code

Buttons

The Save settings button will save the current SKU template settings without generation any SKU.

The Generate button will generate SKUs, for the targeted products, using the current template settings. It also saves the settings.

The Generate button is disabled if you are using the free version and you've selected an option which is available only in the paid version.

SKU Preview

This section lists 10 products, from the selected collection if you choosed to target a collection, to provide a preview of how the generated SKU will look like.

You can see, side by side, the existing SKU of a product (variant) and the SKU which will be created by the app, in real time, as you change the generator's options.

Automatic SKU Generation

For only $2.99 per month the app will automatically generate SKUs when you create a new product or when you update it.
If this feature is activated, when a new product is created, the app will generate the SKU using the last used template.
The automatic generation is temporarily disabled when a manual generation process is running.

Settings

Using the following options you can adjust how this feature works:
• Overwrite existing SKUs, for new products - Check this if you want to overwrite SKUs of newly created products. For example, when a product is created as a duplicate of an existing product, the SKUs are copied and not overwritten by the app if this is not checked.
• Fill SKUs on product update (save) - If checked, SKUs will be generated when products are updated, only if SKU is empty.
• Overwrite 0 (zero) on product update (save) - this is for the case when Shopify requires to enter a SKU, but you need it replaced by the app.

Initially, both these options are disabled, to avoid accidental replacement of existing SKUs.

When you create a new product or update an existing product, please allow few seconds to have the SKU generated automatically. The generation is done in a background process. You have to refresh the product page to see the generated SKU.

Also, the app has the option to create SKUs automatically only if the product has a specific tag.

The app intercepts all new products created or updated, done manually in the Shopify admin or by any other application.

Product label printing

You can print retail labels for products in collections or for up to 50 selected products (from Shopify's product list, select products, then from the More actions dropdown select Print product labels)

The printing page allows you to select the label template and see a preview before printing:

The Load CSV option allows to load the products that need a label from a CSV file. The CSV file accepts the following columns: 'Barcode' and/or 'SKU', 'Variant Barcode' or 'Variant SKU' or 'product_id' or 'variant_id'. If the CSV has a column 'Print quantity' then it can be used to specify how many labels to be printed for each row in the CSV file.

Watch a short overview of this feature. 

Click on the Customize selected button to go to the template customization page were you can create your own label templates:

You can create your own label design or you can copy one of the existing templates and modify it to suit your needs. The templates are using the liquid language.

Barcodes in Code-128 and EAN-13 format can be included, as well as QR codes. You also have the option of including a special QR code which encodes the URL to the product's page on your website.

Please read the application's privacy policy here, as well as the terms and conditions for providing this service.