QR code labels for inventory and asset tags: from the asset list to the sticker

A QR code label on a laptop or a desk links to the page of that asset in the system where you already keep your records: an asset register, a published spreadsheet or an internal wiki. Staff scan the label with their phone camera, so asset tracking needs no scanner and no app.

The generator turns your asset list into sheets of labels for an office printer. Whether the labels stay useful for years depends on the link and the caption you put on them, the code size and a routine for new assets. In the examples, Northside Supply has 100 laptops, monitors and desks.

How a QR asset tag works

Every asset has a page with its own link, and the label carries a QR code with that link. An employee scans it and sees the asset record, with the person responsible for the asset and its history. During an inventory check they scan the label and mark the asset as present.

The link has to stay the same for years, because you print the code once. If you might switch asset systems later, put short links on your own domain on the labels, such as https://example.com/asset/0042, and let them redirect to the asset pages. When you switch, point the redirects to the new pages, and the labels already on the assets keep working.

The asset list: one link and one caption per row

Export the asset list from your system into a spreadsheet with two columns, the link to the asset page and the caption. For laptop 0042 at Northside Supply the row has https://example.com/asset/0042 and Laptop 0042. If you type the list into the form on the "Links" tab, put a space between the link and the caption: https://example.com/asset/0042 Laptop 0042.

To load the exported spreadsheet, import the asset list as an XLSX or CSV file. Click "Pick a file", and the generator asks which column is the link and which is the caption. One import takes up to 1,500 rows. For a list in Google Sheets, see the article on QR codes from Google Sheets.

Put the asset number into every caption, because staff find the asset by that number without scanning, even when the code is damaged. Only the first 12 characters of the caption fit under a 2 cm code, and the rest becomes an ellipsis. Laptop 0042 has 11 characters and shows in full. Asset 0042 laptop has 17 and loses its end. Under a 2.5 cm code 15 characters fit. For a long name, put the number first, so the ellipsis cuts the name and not the number.

For a new register whose asset pages do not exist yet, click the "number series" link next to the list field. Set "Prefix" to https://example.com/asset/, "From" to 0001 and "To" to 0100. The leading zeros stay, so the list runs from /asset/0001 to /asset/0100. Select "The number as the caption under the code" to print each number under its code.

Size, sheet and how many labels you get

Use a 2 cm (about 0.8 in) or 2.5 cm (about 1 in) code. A label this size goes on the edge of a laptop or a monitor, and staff scan it with a phone from 20–30 cm (about 8–12 in). Do not go below 2 cm for a code with a link, because phone cameras have trouble reading smaller ones.

In "Step 2 · Look and size", set "Sheet:" to the paper in your printer, A4 or US Letter. With captions and the default margins, you get 35 labels on an A4 sheet at 2 cm and 30 on a Letter sheet. Northside Supply's 100 assets take 3 A4 sheets or 4 Letter sheets. For a register of 1,000 assets, the sheet count changes with the size and the paper.

The preview shows the first sheet and the number of sheets and recalculates when you change the size or the paper. The article on A4 and Letter grids for QR codes in the knowledge base has the counts for other code sizes.

Open "Fine tuning" and turn on "Cut marks" to get short marks at the corners of every cell. The marks need a gap between codes of 0.5 cm or more and a margin of 0.25 cm or more, and the default gap and margin are wider.

Print, cut and stick

The preview has a loupe that reads what a code contains. Point it at a few codes, and a wrong link shows up before you print. Click "Download PDF" to get the whole print run in one file.

Print the PDF at 100% with "Fit to page" turned off and measure one code with a ruler. If it is smaller than the size you set, the print dialog is scaling the sheet. Print one sheet first and scan a few codes, as in the article on a pilot sheet before a run of 100 codes.

Print on full sheets of self-adhesive paper and cut along the marks with scissors. The generator has no templates for die-cut label sheets. For labels in a warehouse or on outdoor equipment, laminate the sheet or print on plastic film. The choice of label paper for a laser or an inkjet printer is in the article on QR code stickers on label paper.

A code depends only on its line, not on the date you made it. So a label you reprint next year matches the one on the desk, and if you lose the PDF, import the same spreadsheet again.

If you also want the code on the asset page, click "Download PNG" to get a separate PNG file for every code. The file name has the line number and up to 60 characters of the caption, such as qr-0001 Laptop 0042.png. Two codes or more come in a ZIP.

New assets and damaged labels

Stick the label on the day the asset gets its page in the system. To make that possible, keep a stock of spare asset pages with labels printed ahead, so a new laptop takes the next spare page and its label. Once a month, refill the stock with one export and one sheet.

Reprint a damaged label as soon as you notice it. When a laptop goes to another room, keep its label and edit the record, because the link stays the same. Make one person responsible for labeling new assets.

FAQ

Next step

Stick one label on an asset and ask the person who does your inventory checks to scan it with their phone. Their phone should open the page of that asset, and the asset number on the page should match the caption.

Print the first sheet of asset tags from your asset list on A4 or US Letter.