Get the labels
Get the labels

How to use SmartPacks QR code labels

Stick a label, scan it, fill in what’s inside, find it later. Here is each step in detail, and what else the app can do once your boxes are in.

Four steps from sticker to search

  1. 1

    Stick a label on the box

    Use one label per box. Press it onto a flat, clean side that you’ll see when boxes are stacked, and keep packing tape off the QR code.

    A hand holding a green QR code label, with its number printed under the code, just above a cardboard box
  2. 2

    Scan it with the free app

    Open SmartPacks and tap the scan button. An unused label becomes a new box: choose a location, add a name if you like, and set it to private or public. Scanning a label you already use opens that box.

    A hand holding a phone with a green QR label on the camera screen, with the same label on the box below
  3. 3

    Fill in what’s inside

    Add each item with photos, a quantity and at least one keyword, because keywords are what search looks for. With AI suggestions on, SmartPacks proposes keywords from your photos. Come back and add more any time.

    Hands holding a phone over an open bin to photograph what’s inside: a sleeping bag, a camping lantern and a stuff sack
  4. 4

    Find it later

    Scan a label to see what’s in that box without opening it. Or open the Item List and search a keyword: every match shows its box and location. With Pro, Smart Search finds items by meaning.

    The SmartPacks Item List searched for “Tent”: the Camping Tent, in the Tools & Equipment box in the Garage, quantity 1

Photos first, then video and voice

Photos do most of the work: snap the open box or each item, and you’ll recognize things faster than you can read a list. Turn on AI keyword suggestions and SmartPacks proposes keywords from your photos, so you type less.

When a photo isn’t enough, SmartPacks Pro lets you add a short video or record a voice note, like “Grandma’s plates, wrapped in the blue towels”.

The SmartPacks Add Item screen: a photo of keepsakes in a box, with AI keyword suggestions such as baby shoes, child’s drawing and family photos

Share a space with family or a team

A shared profile is one inventory that several people use. The owner adds people by email as Editors, who can add and change things, or Viewers, who can only look. Your personal boxes stay separate, and you switch between them at the top of the home screen.

Creating a profile is a SmartPacks Pro feature. The people you add use it with the free app.

Let someone peek inside

Set a box to public and anyone signed in to the SmartPacks app can scan its label and see a read-only list of what’s inside. It is handy for a box you lend out or keep at someone else’s place. Private boxes show nothing to anyone else.

Labeling tips

  • One label per box

    Every label is unique, so every box gets its own.

  • Sides beat lids

    A label on the side stays visible, and scannable, when boxes are stacked.

  • Clean, dry and flat

    Pick a smooth spot away from seams and keep packing tape off the code.

  • Fill as you pack

    Add items while the box is still open. It is quicker than reopening it later.

Black storage bins with yellow lids on a garage shelf, each with a QR label on its front, where it stays visible when the bins are stacked

Set it up for your situation

The four steps are the same for a move, a storage unit, a small business or a busy home. Pick the guide that matches yours.

Ready to label your boxes?

Pick a pack of 48 white or 64 colored labels. The app is free, with no limit on boxes.

Get the labelsCompare the packs