SKU Generator

A SKU generator turns what a product is into a short, consistent code. Enter a category, a brand or supplier and up to three attributes, and each one becomes a short uppercase part, vowels dropped first, joined by your separator and finished with a zero-padded number. T-Shirt, Northwind, Black and sequence 1 give TSH-NRT-BLC-001. The tool then checks the code against four rules: 8 to 16 characters, a leading letter, and no O/0 or I/1 lookalikes.

A free tool to build SKUs from what a product actually is, so every code in your catalog follows the same pattern.

Most SKU problems start small. Someone makes up a code for the first product, someone else invents a different style for the next one, and a year later the catalog holds TSHIRT-BLACK-L, TS002 and BLK-TEE-LG for three products that should obviously sit together. Nobody can tell what a code means by reading it, and a spreadsheet sort scatters related items across the list.

The fix is to build every code the same way from the same ingredients. The generator below does that mechanically, and checks each result against the rules our guide to what an SKU is and why it matters recommends. Use it for one product now, or to settle the pattern before you code a whole catalog.

SKU generator

How does the SKU generator build a code?

The generator builds a SKU from left to right, one part per input, in this order:

• Category: what the product is, such as T-Shirt, Mug or Candle. It goes first, which is what makes related products sort together.
• Brand or supplier: whose product it is, useful when you stock the same kind of item from several makers.
• Attributes 1 to 3: what makes this variant different from its siblings, such as color, size or material. All three are optional.
• Sequence number: a running number at the end, padded to three digits so 1 becomes 001.
• Separator: a hyphen (ABC-DEF-001), an underscore (ABC_DEF_001) or none at all (ABCDEF001).
• Letters per part: 2, 3 or 4 letters for each text part.

Empty inputs are skipped rather than leaving a gap, so a code needs at least a category or a brand to start from, and anything you leave blank simply is not in the SKU.

How each part is shortened

Each input is uppercased and stripped of anything that is not a letter or a digit, so T-Shirt becomes TSHIRT. Then the vowels (A, E, I, O, U) are dropped and the result is cut to your chosen length. With three letters per part, TSHIRT becomes TSHRT and then TSH, Northwind becomes NRT, Black becomes BLC and Large becomes LRG.

Dropping vowels first does two jobs. Consonants carry most of a word, so the short code still reads as the word it came from. And because the code always ends in a zero-padded number, keeping the letter O out of the text parts avoids an O sitting next to a 0.

There is one exception. If dropping the vowels would leave fewer letters than the part needs, the word keeps them. Red becomes RED rather than RD, Blue becomes BLU, Tee stays TEE and Aqua becomes AQU. A short word stays readable instead of shrinking to one or two letters.

The four checks, and why they are warnings

Under every SKU the generator shows a checks card, scored out of four. The rules come from the best practices in our SKU guide:

• Length of 8 to 16 characters, separators included. Long enough to carry meaning, short enough to read and key in without mistakes.
• Starts with a letter, so a spreadsheet cannot mistake the code for a number and drop a leading zero.
• No O and 0 in the same code, because the letter and the digit look alike on a label and on a screen.
• No I and 1 in the same code, for the same reason.

A failed check is a warning, not an error. The SKU still works as a unique code; it just breaks a rule that makes codes easier for people to live with. When one fails, shorten a part, change the separator, or reword an input. The vowel exception is the most common way a lookalike sneaks in: Oil keeps its vowels as OIL, so a code like OIL-001 carries both an O next to a 0 and an I next to a 1, and the checks catch it.

Worked example, step by step

The generator opens on this example, so you can follow along with the calculator above:

• Category: T-Shirt
• Brand or supplier: Northwind
• Attribute 1: Black
• Sequence number: 1
• Separator: hyphen
• Letters per part: 3

Take each part in turn. T-Shirt is cleaned to TSHIRT, loses its I to become TSHRT, and is cut to TSH. Northwind loses its O and I to become NRTHWND, cut to NRT. Black loses its A to become BLCK, cut to BLC. The sequence number 1 is padded to 001. Joined with hyphens:

SKU = TSH-NRT-BLC-001

Now the checks. The code is 15 characters, three letters in each of three parts, three digits, and three hyphens, which is inside the 8 to 16 range. It starts with T, a letter. It contains a 0 but no letter O, and a 1 but no letter I. That is 4 of 4 checks passed.

Adding a size: why TSH-NRT-BLC-LRG-001 fails

Attributes are where a scheme usually outgrows its rules. Say the same shirt comes in sizes, so you type Large into Attribute 2. It becomes LRG, and the SKU grows to:

SKU = TSH-NRT-BLC-LRG-001

That is 19 characters, three over the limit, so the length check fails and the card drops to 3 of 4. Every part you add costs four characters with a separator and three-letter parts, and a 16-character ceiling fits only three text parts plus the sequence number.

You have three honest ways to fit the size in. Drop the separator and the same five parts become TSHNRTBLCLRG001, 15 characters. Switch to two letters per part and you get TS-NR-BL-LR-001, also 15. Or drop a part that is not earning its place: if you only ever buy T-shirts from Northwind, the brand segment tells nobody anything, and TSH-BLC-LRG-001 carries the size in 15 characters. The third option is often the best one, because it keeps the codes readable. Four letters per part goes the other way: TSHR-NRTH-BLCK-001 is 18 characters with only three text parts.

What makes a good SKU scheme?

The generator handles the mechanics of one code. A scheme is the set of decisions that make every code agree with the next one, and the SKU guide sets out the principles:

• One SKU per variant. A red medium and a blue large are different items on the shelf, so each needs its own code. Two products must never share a SKU.
• Most important attribute first. Lead with whatever you most often sort or search by, usually category, sometimes supplier or brand.
• One abbreviation per value, used everywhere. The generator shortens Black to BLC; the guide's own example list uses BLK. Either is fine. What matters is that black is written the same way on every product, so if your team already uses BLK, keep it.
• Room to grow. Leave space in the numbering for new variants and categories, so you never have to redo the whole structure later. A three-digit sequence gives 999 codes under each combination of parts.
• Test on a small sample. Before coding the whole catalog, try the pattern on a handful of products and check that the people who pick and count stock can read it.

For the step-by-step version, see 4 simple steps to create effective SKU numbers, and for keeping a catalog of codes tidy over time, SKU management best practices.

When is a generator enough, and when do you need more?

For a small catalog, a generator and a shared list of abbreviations are genuinely all you need. Decide the pattern once, write down the code for each color and size, and build new SKUs as products arrive. Plenty of businesses run like this for years.

The generator does not know what codes you already have. It builds a SKU from the inputs in front of it, so two products with the same category, brand, attributes and sequence number will get the same code. Keeping every SKU unique is your job, and it gets harder as the catalog grows, as more than one person creates products, and as the same items are listed on more than one sales channel. That is the point where a code list in a spreadsheet starts to drift and a single product record starts to earn its place.

How Qoblex handles SKUs

The generator above helps you design the code. Qoblex is where the code lives once the product is in stock.

In Qoblex one product carries its own variants, each with its own SKU, barcode, price and stock. That means sizes and colors without duplicate SKUs: you stop keeping nine near-identical products that have to be edited nine times, and reports group variants the way a customer thinks about them. You can search and filter the product list on SKU, barcode, supplier code, brand, tag or location, which is where a consistent scheme pays off every day.

Getting started does not mean retyping your catalog. Products, variants, prices and opening stock come in from a spreadsheet, or straight from a connected store, so a list of SKUs you build with this tool can go into the spreadsheet you import. Shopify and WooCommerce connect to one master inventory that adjusts as orders come in. For current plans, see qoblex.com/pricing.

FAQ

What is a SKU generator? A SKU generator turns a product's details into a short, consistent stock code. You enter what the product is, such as its category, brand or supplier, and attributes like color or size, and it shortens each one to an uppercase code, joins them with a separator and adds a running number. The point is that every product in your catalog gets a code built the same way.

How long should a SKU be? Aim for 8 to 16 characters. That is long enough to carry a few meaningful parts and short enough to read, type and scan without mistakes. The generator counts the characters, separators included, and flags anything outside that range. TSH-NRT-BLC-001 is 15 characters; add a size segment and it becomes 19, which is too long.

Why does the generator drop vowels? Consonants carry most of a word, so dropping vowels keeps a part short and still recognizable: Northwind becomes NRT and Large becomes LRG. It also keeps the letter O out of a code that ends in a zero-padded number. A word without enough consonants keeps its vowels instead, so Red stays RED rather than shrinking to RD.

Should a SKU start with a letter or a number? Start with a letter. Spreadsheets treat a code that starts with digits as a number and quietly drop any leading zeros, so 00123 becomes 123 and no longer matches anything. Leading with a category code avoids that, and the generator flags any code that does not start with a letter.

Do I need a separate SKU for every size and color? Yes. Every variant you stock and sell separately needs its own SKU, because a red medium and a blue large are different items on the shelf and in your stock count. Use a size or color attribute to tell them apart, and watch the length: each extra part adds characters.

Can I use these SKUs in Qoblex? Yes. In Qoblex one product carries its own variants, each with its own SKU, barcode, price and stock, and products, variants, prices and opening stock can come in from a spreadsheet or straight from a connected store. You can search and filter the product list by SKU, so a consistent scheme pays off every time you look something up.