Quick Add — Ideal for New AccuArk Installations
If you're just getting started with AccuArk, Quick Add is one of the most helpful features to enable right away. Here's why.
The Challenge of a New Installation
When you first install AccuArk, your inventory database is empty. Before you can sell anything, you traditionally need to:
- Create every item in the Inventory module
- Enter names, prices, costs, barcodes, categories, and other details for each product
- Set up stock levels for every item at every location
For businesses with hundreds or thousands of products, this can take days or weeks of data entry before the system is usable.
How Quick Add Helps
With Quick Add enabled, you can start selling immediately — even with an empty inventory:
- Turn on Quick Add in Machine Settings
- Start ringing up sales normally
- When you scan an item that doesn't exist yet, the Quick Add dialog opens
- Enter the name and price (10 seconds)
- The item is created and the sale continues
- Over time, your inventory builds itself naturally through daily sales
The "Build as You Sell" Approach
Instead of entering all items upfront, let your inventory grow organically:
- Day 1: You Quick Add 50 items as customers purchase them
- Day 2: Many of those items are already in the system. You only Quick Add new ones.
- Week 2: 80% of your frequently sold items are in the system
- Month 1: Your active inventory is essentially complete
Each evening, managers review the Quick Add notifications and complete the item details (descriptions, suppliers, reorder points).
Combining Quick Add with Bulk Import
For the best results, combine Quick Add with AccuArk's data import feature:
- Import your main catalog — If you have a spreadsheet of your products, import it through the Data Import module to get most items into the system
- Use Quick Add for stragglers — Any items missed in the import will be caught by Quick Add during sales
- Review and complete — Clean up Quick Add items and imported items over time
Getting Started Checklist
- [ ] Enable Quick Add on all POS machines (Machine Settings → Payments & Accounts)
- [ ] Grant Quick Add permission to the appropriate roles
- [ ] Train staff on how the Quick Add dialog works
- [ ] Assign a manager to review Quick Add notifications daily
- [ ] Schedule time each evening to complete Quick-Added item details
- [ ] After the first month, evaluate whether to keep Quick Add enabled or switch to inventory-first workflow
When to Phase Out Quick Add
Once your inventory is fully cataloged, you may choose to:
- Keep Quick Add on — For handling occasional new products
- Turn it off — If you prefer all items to be formally entered through the Inventory module before sale
- Restrict to managers only — Remove the permission from employee roles so only managers can Quick Add