Hardware
Scanners, printers, scales, tills and readers. This page tells you what we have tested ourselves, what works because it follows a standard we support, and what we have not checked yet. Models vary more than their spec sheets suggest, so test one unit before you buy the fleet.
No sign-in needed. Nothing on this page is behind a form.
BridgeERP runs in a browser, so most hardware connects to the computer or the network rather than to us. There are only three routes, and knowing which one a device uses tells you almost everything about whether it will work.
Route 1
The device pretends to be a keyboard.
You plug in the USB lead or pair over Bluetooth, put the cursor in a barcode field, and the scan arrives as typed characters followed by Enter. BridgeERP is not involved in the connection at all, which is why most scanners on the market simply work.
Route 2
The device has its own network address and BridgeERP sends it a job.
Label printers work this way using ZPL, which we support, so a label can print automatically when a lot or a serial number is created rather than someone pressing print.
Route 3
Some devices speak serial, not keyboard and not network.
The IoT Box sits between them and your database: connect it to the same network, plug the device into it over USB or pair it over Bluetooth, and the reading appears in the app in real time. IoT boxes built on Raspberry Pi 3 and 4 are supported, and devices can connect over Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, USB or HDMI.
Already know the model you are looking at?
Check it nowCategory by category: what the device does inside BridgeERP, how it connects, and what we have actually verified. Where we have not verified anything, the row says so.
Plugs straight inWorks by standard
Most USB and Bluetooth scanners work with BridgeERP because they emulate a keyboard — the scan arrives as typed text in whatever field the cursor is in. There are three shapes worth knowing about, and the right one depends on where you stand when you scan.
Used by Inventory, Point of Sale and Purchase
You scan at a fixed counter or a receiving desk.
Plug it into the computer and start scanning. Nothing to configure in BridgeERP — the scan arrives as typed characters in whichever field the cursor is in.
Plugs straight inWorks by standard
You want to move around without buying a computer for every position.
Pairs with a phone or tablet. Good if you want to be mobile without a big investment. Bluetooth is reliable to about 10 metres, so you will still be scanning near the station rather than across the warehouse.
Plugs straight inTested by us
You scan in more than one place, all day.
A small Android computer with the scanner built in. It runs BridgeERP in Chrome, so there is no app to install and nothing to sync — the device is simply a browser with a trigger. Recent Android models generally work. Because models and configurations vary so widely, test one unit before you commit to a fleet. We recommend the Zebra TC2x and TC7x lines.
Plugs straight inWorks by standard
Over the networkTested by us
We support ZPL, so a label printer on your network can print straight from BridgeERP without anyone pressing print — when a lot or a serial number is created, the label comes out. We recommend the Zebra ZD411, and we have tested label output as PDF, PNG and ZPL.
Used by Inventory, Manufacturing and Point of Sale
Over the networkorThrough an IoT BoxNot checked
A cash drawer does not connect to the computer. It plugs into the receipt printer with an RJ-12 lead, and the printer pops it open when a receipt prints. That means the printer is the only decision you actually have to make — get the printer right and the drawer follows.
We have not published a tested receipt-printer list yet. If you already own one, send us the model and we will tell you which of the three routes above it uses.
Not checkedWe have no published result for receipt printers yet — ask us about yours.
Ask about a printerUsed by Point of Sale and Restaurant POS
Through an IoT BoxTested by us
Scales need an IoT Box between them and your database. With one in place, the weight lands in BridgeERP as it settles, so a priced-by-weight item is rung up from the scale rather than typed. The IoT Box natively supports the Mettler Toledo Ariva family. If your scale is not one of those, we can write a driver for it.
Patient scales are a different class of device from retail scales and we have not checked any. Ask us before you buy one.
Used by Point of Sale and Inventory
Not applicableNot checked
Mobile money does not need a terminal — the payment is requested from inside BridgeERP and confirmed back to the same order. There is no device on the counter to buy, maintain or reconcile.
Card terminals are a separate question and depend on your bank or acquirer. We have not published a tested terminal list. Tell us who your acquirer is and we will tell you what is possible.
Used by Point of Sale
Buildable, but project work rather than something you plug in.
Talk to us about biometricsNot applicableNot checked
We have not verified any fingerprint reader against BridgeERP. Fingerprint capture in a browser is harder than it looks: readers do not behave like keyboards, they need a small program running on the same computer, and recent browser releases have tightened what a web page may talk to on the local machine. It is buildable and we have built it elsewhere, but it is project work, not something you plug in.
If attendance or till sign-in is what you are after, BridgeERP already secures cashier accounts with badges and PINs, and that needs no extra hardware.
Through an IoT BoxWorks by standard
On a production line the IoT Box turns instruments into data entry. Digital calipers, micrometers, gauge feelers and height gauges report their reading straight onto the product, so a measurement is never transcribed. A camera captures a quality photo in one click. A foot switch moves an operator to the next step with their hands still on the work.
Used by Manufacturing, Quality and Inventory
A small computer on your network. The diagram above shows where it sits.
How the IoT Box worksThrough an IoT BoxTested by us
The IoT Box is a small computer that sits on your network and lets BridgeERP talk to devices that do not speak keyboard or network. Boxes built on Raspberry Pi 3 and 4 are supported. Devices connect to it over Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, USB or HDMI. You need one only if something on your list says “Through an IoT Box”.
Everything we have an opinion about, and how confident that opinion is. “Works by standard” means we have not run that exact unit but it uses a connection we support — which is almost always enough, and is still worth testing one before you buy several.
Three questions, all optional. The answer comes from the same list as the table below.
Tell us what you are looking at.
Pick a device type, or type a model. Nothing is stored and nothing is sent until you ask us to.
Showing 19 of 19 devices
| Device | What it is | How it connects | Our result | Used by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcode scanners | ||||
| Inateck BCST-10 | Wireless and USB laser scanner | Plugs straight in | Tested by us | Inventory, Point of Sale, Purchase |
| Honeywell Eclipse 5145 | USB handheld scanner | Plugs straight in | Tested by us | Inventory, Point of Sale, Purchase |
| Motorola DS4208-SR | USB omni-directional, rugged | Plugs straight in | Tested by us | Inventory, Point of Sale |
| Motorola CS3000 | Compact wireless pocket scanner | Plugs straight in | Tested by us | Inventory |
| Zebra TC2x series | Android mobile computer | Plugs straight in | Works by standard | Inventory, Point of Sale |
| Zebra TC7x series | Android mobile computer | Plugs straight in | Works by standard | Inventory, Point of Sale |
| Other USB and Bluetooth scanners | Keyboard-emulating handhelds | Plugs straight in | Works by standard | Inventory, Point of Sale, Purchase |
| Printers | ||||
| Zebra ZD411 | Desktop label printer, ZPL | Over the network | Tested by us | Inventory, Manufacturing, Point of Sale |
| Other ZPL label printers | Network label printers | Over the network | Works by standard | Inventory, Manufacturing |
| Receipt printers | Counter receipt printers | Over the networkorThrough an IoT Box | Not checked | Point of Sale, Restaurant POS |
| Scales and instruments | ||||
| Mettler Toledo Ariva family | Retail bench scales | Through an IoT Box | Tested by us | Point of Sale, Inventory |
| Other retail scales | Serial bench scales | Through an IoT Box | Not checked | Point of Sale, Inventory |
| Patient and medical scales | Clinical weighing | Not checked | ||
| Digital calipers and gauges | Measuring instruments | Through an IoT Box | Works by standard | Manufacturing, Quality |
| USB foot switch | Hands-free step control | Through an IoT Box | Works by standard | Manufacturing |
| USB camera | Quality photo capture | Through an IoT Box | Works by standard | Manufacturing, Quality |
| Payment and identity | ||||
| Cash drawers | Till drawer, RJ-12 | Through the receipt printer | Not checked | Point of Sale, Restaurant POS |
| Card terminals | Acquirer-supplied terminals | Not checked | Point of Sale | |
| Fingerprint readers | Biometric capture | Not checked | ||
Product names and images belong to their manufacturers. A compatibility result describes what we observed and is not a warranty.
The catalogue turned into a decision. Start with the first column, add the second when the work asks for it — and where a column is blank, that business does not need the device at all.
| Device | Shop counter | Restaurant | Warehouse | Clinic or pharmacy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcode scanner (USB) | Start here | Add later | Start here | |
| Mobile computer | Start here | |||
| Receipt printer | Start here | Start here | Start here | |
| Cash drawer | Start here | Start here | Add later | |
| Label printer | Add later | Start here | Start here | |
| Weighing scale | Add later | Add later | ask us | |
| Customer-facing screen | Add later | Add later | ||
| IoT Box | Add later | Add later | Add later | Add later |
A scanner, a receipt printer and a drawer will run a till. Everything else is an upgrade you can make later. Ask about this setup | Orders are taken on screens, so the only hardware most kitchens need is a printer at the pass and a drawer at the till. Ask about this setup | One mobile computer per picker and a label printer at receiving. Fixed scanners are for the desk, not the aisle. Ask about this setup | Dispensing runs on a scanner and a label printer. Ask us before buying any scale — patient scales are a different class of device. Ask about this setup |
Start here
Add later
A scanner, a receipt printer and a drawer will run a till. Everything else is an upgrade you can make later.
Ask about this setupStart here
Add later
Orders are taken on screens, so the only hardware most kitchens need is a printer at the pass and a drawer at the till.
Ask about this setupStart here
Add later
One mobile computer per picker and a label printer at receiving. Fixed scanners are for the desk, not the aisle.
Ask about this setupStart here
Add later
Weighing scale — ask us first.
Dispensing runs on a scanner and a label printer. Ask us before buying any scale — patient scales are a different class of device.
Ask about this setupThree routes, three short procedures. If something goes wrong, it is almost always one of the three things listed under each one.
If it goes wrong
If it goes wrong
If it goes wrong
Send us the model, we will tell you if it works.
Free, and we answer it ourselves. If we have not tested it we will say so — and if it is interesting enough we will test it and add it to the table above.
Buy it locally, we will set it up.
Barcode scanners and label printers are widely available and you will usually get a better price and a faster replacement buying near you than importing. Once it arrives we can configure it with you remotely.
You need something built.
If your scale, instrument or terminal has no driver, we write one. That is project work and it is priced by the day. Talk to a developer.
We are not a hardware dealer. We will always tell you when the cheaper answer is to buy the device somewhere else.
No. It runs in a browser on the computer, tablet or phone you already own. Hardware makes some jobs faster — scanning instead of typing, printing a label instead of writing one — but nothing on this page is required to start.
Probably. Most USB and Bluetooth scanners emulate a keyboard, and anything that types the code into a field works with BridgeERP without any configuration on our side. Send us the model if you want a straight answer before you rely on it.
About ten metres, and less through walls or shelving. If you need to scan away from the counter, a mobile computer is the right shape of device rather than a Bluetooth scanner paired to a distant machine.
A small computer that sits on your network so BridgeERP can talk to devices that speak neither keyboard nor network — scales, measuring instruments, foot switches. You need one only if something on your list says “Through an IoT Box”.
Yes for looking things up and working through the apps — BridgeERP runs in the phone’s browser. For sustained scanning, a device with a real trigger and a laser will out-run a phone by a wide margin.
Tell us the make and model. We answer these ourselves, and when a device turns out to be interesting we test it and add it to the table above with the date we checked it.
We answer these ourselves, and we will tell you when the honest answer is that we have not checked. If it turns out to be useful, it goes in the table.
