QKitBoxSKU generator
Consistent, sortable SKUs without a spreadsheet: prefix – category – date – sequence.
include date (YYMMDD)
A good SKU is boring on purpose
- Uppercase letters and digits only — no spaces or characters that break when read aloud or printed.
- Category and date make errors traceable: any warehouse person can tell what TSHIRT-BLU-S-261027-0003 is.
How to use — step by step
Consistent SKU codes in seconds: prefix for the product line, category code for the variant, date for the batch, sequence for uniqueness.
- Enter a prefix — the product family, like TSHIRT or CANDLE.
- Enter a category code for the variant — color, size, scent — like BLU-S or VANILLA.
- Set the starting number and how many SKUs you need.
- Toggle the date stamp (YYMMDD) if you want the batch identifiable at a glance.
- Copy the whole list and paste into your inventory system, spreadsheet or platform's SKU fields.
How it works
The generator composes PREFIX-CATEGORY-YYMMDD-SEQUENCE, uppercasing everything and stripping characters that cause trouble downstream (spaces, symbols). The sequence is zero-padded to the width of the largest number in the batch, so alphabetical sorting stays numeric: 01, 02 … 10 sorts correctly, while 1, 10, 2 does not.
The design rules are boring on purpose. SKUs get read aloud over a phone, printed on 6-point labels, and typed by warehouse staff — so uppercase letters and digits only, no characters that are ambiguous when spoken, and segments separated by hyphens so a human can parse TSHIRT-BLU-S-261027-0003 without a legend: product, variant, batch, unit.
Date-stamped batches also make stock rotation visible at a glance — older batches sort before newer ones, which helps with FIFO handling of perishable or seasonally-dated stock.
SKU hygiene has two rules worth institutionalizing: never reuse a SKU (retire it — history stays attachable), and never encode prices in SKUs (prices change; SKUs don't). The date segment doubles as an audit trail — when a customer references TSHIRT-BLU-S-261027-0003, you know the exact batch without opening a database.
If you sell on multiple platforms, resist the urge to generate different SKUs per channel — one SKU per real-world variant, used identically everywhere, is what lets you reconcile 'Etsy says 3 left, Shopify says 3 left, shelf says 3 left' without a translation layer. The generator's constrained format exists precisely so the same string can round-trip through labels, platforms, spreadsheets and warehouse conversations without mutation.
Frequently asked questions
Are SKUs the same as barcodes?
No — SKUs are your internal codes; barcodes (UPC/EAN) are industry-standard numbers issued through GS1. Use the Barcode Generator to render a SKU or a GS1 number as a scannable image.
Will these SKUs work on Etsy or eBay?
Most platforms accept custom SKU values in their inventory or custom-label fields, with length and character limits — uppercase letters, digits and hyphens are broadly safe.
What if I need more than 500 at once?
Generate in batches with different start numbers, or reuse the same prefix and increment the date.
Why did my lowercase input become uppercase?
Case-mixing creates visually identical SKUs that sort and match inconsistently. Uppercase-only is the warehouse convention.
Can the SKUs go straight onto barcode labels?
Yes — CODE128 renders any of these values. Generate SKUs here, then batch-render labels with the Barcode Generator.
How do I map SKUs to platform listings?
Etsy, eBay and Shopify all have a SKU/custom-label field per listing or variant — paste one per variant and your packing slips become matchable.