What ScanLynx does
ScanLynx is an online barcode scanner built for one job: turning a pile of shipping label photos into a single spreadsheet of tracking numbers. Instead of scanning each package with a handheld reader or typing numbers off your screen, you drop the whole batch into the page.
- Batch scanning — Drop in dozens or hundreds of label photos at once, or pick an entire folder — each one is scanned automatically.
- Tracking number extraction — Reads both 1D barcodes and QR codes, and prefers the longest 1D barcode, which is almost always the tracking number.
- One-click Excel export — Produces an .xlsx with row number, date, tracking number and the matching label image — ready to file or hand over.
- Duplicate detection — A tracking number that shows up twice is flagged in red, so the same parcel never gets logged twice.
- Manual fallback — Labels that cannot be read are highlighted with the photo kept alongside; open it, read the number, type it in — the rest of the batch keeps going.
- Editable results — Every scanned number can be corrected in the table before you export, so there is no cleanup pass in Excel afterwards.
Three steps from photos to spreadsheet
- Drop in the label photos. Drag them onto the dashed area above, or use 'Choose files' / 'Choose folder'. JPG, PNG, WebP, BMP and iPhone HEIC all work.
- Let it scan. Your browser scans each barcode on background threads and fills in the tracking numbers, showing live status for scanning, scanned and needs-review.
- Export to Excel. Once the numbers look right, click 'Create Excel' and the spreadsheet — images included — downloads straight away.
Who this is for
- Returns processing — Photograph the return labels as parcels come in, then turn the batch into a tracking number list for support or accounting to reconcile.
- Outbound verification — Photograph what you ship, scan the numbers, and diff them against the order list — missed and mis-shipped parcels stand out immediately.
- Warehouse data entry — No handheld scanner around, or the label is already taped to an awkward box: shoot the photos on a phone and scan them all at once.
- Amazon FBA and marketplace sellers — Keep an image-backed record of every FBA, eBay or Mercari return label instead of a bare list of numbers.
- Claims and disputes — The tracking number and its label photo live in the same spreadsheet row, so a lost-parcel claim has evidence attached.
Supported barcode formats and carriers
The engine reads Code 128, Code 39, Interleaved 2 of 5, EAN-13 and UPC-A one-dimensional barcodes, plus QR Code, DataMatrix and PDF417 two-dimensional codes.
Because it reads the barcode itself rather than a particular label layout, USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, Royal Mail, Canada Post, Australia Post and marketplace return labels from Amazon, eBay and Etsy all work. When a label is creased, glare-washed, rotated or small in frame, the tool automatically retries with upscaling, greyscale, contrast stretching, deskewing and region cropping. When it still cannot read a number it hands the label to you instead of guessing — a shipping label carries several numbers, and a blank cell is far better than a wrong one.
How to shoot labels that scan
Read rate depends almost entirely on how clearly the barcode itself is captured; the rest of the label barely matters. These make the biggest difference:
- Flatten the label — A crease running across the bars breaks the line pattern. Smooth it out, or shoot from an angle where the crease misses the barcode.
- Kill the glare — Labels on poly mailers wash out under a highlight. Move slightly off-axis or turn the flash off.
- Fill the frame — Shots of the whole parcel where the barcode is a small strip are the most likely to fail. Get close to the barcode itself.
- Do not pre-compress — Straight-from-the-phone photos are fine. Heavy compression smears the bars together.
- One label per photo — If several labels share a photo, only one of the numbers is picked up.
FAQ
Do I need an account or an app?
No. ScanLynx is a web page: open the URL and use it. No sign-up, no download, no browser extension, and it is free.
Which image formats work? Should I compress large photos first?
JPG, PNG, WebP and BMP all work, as does HEIC, the format iPhones shoot by default. Straight-from-the-phone photos can go in as they are — compressing them first tends to smear the bars together and lowers the read rate.
Which barcode formats are supported?
Code 128, Code 39, Interleaved 2 of 5, EAN and UPC one-dimensional barcodes, plus QR Code, DataMatrix and PDF417. When a label carries several codes, the longest one-dimensional barcode wins, which is normally the tracking number.
What if a label is creased, shiny or crooked and will not scan?
That row is highlighted as 'Needs review'. Click the thumbnail to open the full-size photo and type the number in yourself. The rest of the batch and the export are unaffected.
How many labels can I scan at once?
There is no fixed limit. Scanning runs on several background threads, so a few hundred images will not freeze the page, and each result appears as soon as it is ready.
What is in the exported Excel file?
Four columns: row number, date, tracking number and the label image. Images are compressed by default to keep the file small but stay legible when zoomed; tick the option to embed full-resolution images instead.
Will it catch duplicate tracking numbers?
Yes. A number that appears more than once is marked in red as a duplicate, so a parcel photographed or entered twice shows up right away.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes — open it in a mobile browser and pick photos from your camera roll. For batches of more than a few dozen, dragging a folder in on a computer is much quicker.