Question 1

Bulk GTIN Assignment: Assign Barcodes to Your Entire Catalogue at Once

Accepted Answer

You can:

assign your full catalogue
assign a filtered group of products
assign only new or unassigned variants

Before you start

Before running Bulk Assign, confirm these two things:

1. Your prefix status is Valid

Go to the Company Prefix page.

Company Prefix page

Note: If you're using a GS1 company prefix, it should normally show Valid before you assign GTINs. Internal prefixes may not display this status.

2. Your Start of Range is correct

If you already used GTINs from this prefix before:

manually
through spreadsheets
in another system
or in a previous Shopify store

make sure your Start of Range is configured correctly.

Start of Range setting

Otherwise, duplicate GTINs may be created.

Read How to Avoid Duplicate GTIN Assignments (Setting Your Start Range) if you're not sure.

Important: Bulk Assign only fills empty barcode fields

GS1 Assistant will not overwrite existing barcode values.

If a product already contains:

a valid GTIN
an invalid GTIN
or any barcode value

the app skips it.

Only products with empty barcode fields receive new GTINs.

Seeing a warning about existing GTINs?

This usually means the selected products already contain barcode values in Shopify.

Even invalid barcode values are treated as existing barcode

Question 2

Downloading Your GTIN Export File for Retailers and Marketplaces

Accepted Answer

Most Shopify merchants do not need the export file

When you assign GTINs in GS1 Assistant, the codes are automatically written to Shopify’s Barcode field.

Marketplaces like Amazon, Google Shopping, and Walmart use GTINs available in Shopify.

For most marketplace selling, you do not need to download or upload anything else.

When you do need the export file

You only need to download if you want to load products into your member organization's portal so that they appear in Verified by GS1 database.

The export file is mainly used for two situations:

| Situation | Why you need the export | | --- | --- | | Uploading products to your GS1 member portal | Registers products in the GS1 registry | | Sharing product data with retailers or distributors | Uses product data available in Shopify |

How to download the export file

Open the dashboard and select the variants you want to export
Click Download Import File in the action bar at the top right of the variant list.

Download Import File button

It’s recommended to use the: OK / Valid filter.

From the Download box, select your GS1 Member Organization from the dropdown for example, GS1 UK, GS1 US, or GS1 Germany.

Select GS1 Member Organization

Additional setup for GS1 UK

Some GS1 memb

Question 3

How to Install, Connect, and Add Your Prefix

Accepted Answer

Before you start

You need a GS1 company prefix before you can assign GTINs.

GS1 Assistant manages prefixes you already own. It does not generate or sell GTINs.

Don’t have a prefix yet?

Read: Before You Install: Do You Have a GS1 Company Prefix?

Step 1: Install GS1 Assistant

After installation, Shopify automatically opens GS1 Assistant inside your admin.

The app will immediately scan your store and load your product variants into the dashboard.

You do not need to add a prefix before this happens.

GS1 Assistant after installation

Step 2: Add your GS1 company prefix

Adding your prefix allows GS1 Assistant to start assigning GTINs.

Without a prefix, you can view products in the dashboard, but you cannot assign barcodes.

Option A: Manual entry (all regions)

Works for all GS1 organizations, including:

GS1 US
GS1 UK
GS1 Canada
GS1 Germany
GS1 France

To add your prefix:

Visit the Company Prefix page and click Add Prefix.

Add Prefix button

Enter your company prefix and type the number without spaces, dashes, or other characters.

Enter company prefix

Or you can also add your company name instead of the prefix.

![Enter company nam

Question 4

How to Avoid Duplicate GTIN Assignments

Accepted Answer

This helps prevent duplicate assignments and ensures new GTINs are assigned only from available positions.

Configure assignment ranges and exclusions

Use assignment ranges and excluded GTINs to prevent GS1 Assistant from reusing codes that are already assigned.

GS1 Assistant uses two methods to avoid duplicate GTIN assignments:

Assignment ranges tell the app which GTIN positions it is allowed to assign.
Excluded GTINs tell the app which specific GTINs should never be assigned, even if they are not currently attached to a Shopify product.

When duplicates can happen

GS1 Assistant checks your Shopify store before assigning GTINs.

If a GTIN is already assigned to a product variant in Shopify, the app skips it automatically.

Duplicates usually occur when GTINs have been assigned outside the current Shopify store and GS1 Assistant is unaware of them.

Common examples include:

GTINs assigned manually before installing GS1 Assistant
GTINs managed in spreadsheets
GTINs assigned through your GS1 member organization's portal
GTINs used in another Shopify store
GTINs assigned in another ecommerce or inventory system

Products that were deleted from Shopify but still use GTINs elsewhere.

Using Assignment Ranges

Assignment ranges control which GTIN positions GS1 Assistant can use from your comp

Question 5

Adding and Managing Your Company Prefix

Accepted Answer

Add a new GS1 Company prefix

Go to: Company Prefix page

Here you’ll see:

your connected prefixes (if you already have one)
GTIN format
remaining GTIN count
validation status

Most merchants add their prefix manually.

Some GS1 organizations also support direct API connection. If your prefix is from a region with a supported API (such as GS1 Germany, GS1 Switzerland, GS1 Netherlands, or GS1 Brazil), you can connect with it via API.

Option A: Add your prefix manually

Step 1: Open the Add Prefix form

Go to the Company Prefix page
Click Add Prefix

Add Prefix form

Step 2: Enter your company prefix

Enter your prefix using numbers only without any spaces or dashes.

Enter company prefix

For GS1 US users:

If your prefix appears as: 614141, enter it as: 0614141

Add the leading zero for validation.

You can also add your Company name

You can also enter your company name and if it matches with the name in GS1, it will show in the list.

Enter company name

Step 3: Choose your GTIN format

The format you choose determines which format we save in the Barcode field in Shopify.

![Choose GTIN format](https://leftfootsoftware.github.io/Help-GS1-Assistant/v1/assets/en/gti

Question 6

Where Should I Buy GTINs From?

Accepted Answer

Many businesses automatically purchase GTINs from the GS1 Member Organization in their own country. However, pricing, barcode formats, eligibility requirements, and integration capabilities can vary significantly between GS1 organizations.

Here are a few factors to consider before you choose where to purchase your GTINs.

How GS1 Is Organized

GS1 is a global standards organization made up of independent national and regional Member Organizations around the world.

When you purchase GTINs, you do not purchase them directly from GS1 Global. Instead, you purchase them from a GS1 Member Organization.

Each Member Organization is responsible for managing its own:

Pricing
Membership requirements
Renewal policies
Application process
Product and data services

GS1 Member Organizations

Who Can Purchase GTINs?

Some organizations primarily serve businesses located within their geographic region.

Others may accept businesses from outside their region if they can verify the applicant's identity and business information.

One reason for these differences is that some GS1 Member Organizations integrate with local government systems and business registries. These organizations may require country-specific information such as:

Tax identification numbers
Business registration numbers
VAT numbers
Other government-issued business identifiers

Organizations with fewer

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