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Tracking Transparency Codes: Spreadsheet vs Software

By Todd Welch, founder of T-Code Manager. Published October 13, 2026.

A spreadsheet can track Transparency codes. For a while, it's the right tool. Amazon gives you codes as files, a spreadsheet opens files, and it costs nothing.

It stops being the right tool at a fairly predictable point. I know because I ran our warehouse's codes out of CSV files and spreadsheets for years before I built software to replace them. Here's an honest look at both, and how to tell which one you need.

When a spreadsheet is enough

A spreadsheet works fine when most of these are true:

• You have a handful of enrolled products.
• One person handles all the codes.
• You print labels in batches, not all day long.
• Most of your volume is FBA, or your factory applies the codes.
• You rarely ship FBM orders of enrolled products.

In that world, one person opens one file, marks a block of codes used, prints and moves on. Mistakes are rare because there's only one set of hands.

How to set up a spreadsheet that holds up

If you're going the spreadsheet route, set it up so it can answer the questions you'll get later.

1. One tab per product. Never mix products in one list.
2. These columns at minimum: code, status (available, used, void), date used, order or shipment ID, who used it.
3. Keep the original files from Amazon or the brand untouched. Work from a copy. If the working file gets damaged, you can rebuild it.
4. Mark codes used before you print, not after. If you print first and mark later, you'll eventually forget, and the next person will print the same codes.
5. Use codes in order from the top. Don't skip around.
6. One file, one place. A shared drive, not emailed copies. The moment there are two versions, one of them is wrong.
7. A count at the top of each tab. Available codes remaining, so you know when to reorder.
8. Reconcile monthly. Codes received should equal codes used plus available plus void. Here's how to reconcile Transparency codes.

Where spreadsheets break

Two people at once

This is the big one. Two packers open the file, both take the next 50 codes and both print them. Now 50 codes are on 100 units. Each code is supposed to go on one unit, and duplicates are exactly what Transparency is built to catch.

Shared online spreadsheets help a little, but nothing stops two people from grabbing the same rows a few seconds apart.

Forgetting to mark codes used

Someone prints a batch, gets pulled away and never marks the rows. The next batch reuses them. You won't know until something fails a check.

FBM orders

Every unit on every FBM order needs its own code at confirmation. In a spreadsheet, that's: find the product tab, find the next unused code, copy it, paste it into Seller Central or ShipStation, go back and mark it used, then type the order ID next to it. Every order, every unit. It's slow, and every step is a chance to slip.

No warning before you run out

A spreadsheet doesn't email you when a product is getting low. You find out when a packer opens the tab and the codes are gone.

Getting codes onto labels

Most label software can't read "the next 50 unused rows of tab 7." So someone copies codes into another program, and now the codes live in two places.

No real history

When Amazon, a brand or a customer asks which code went on which unit, a spreadsheet only knows what someone remembered to type. It can't tell you who printed what, or when, unless every person filled in every column every time.

Size

Codes add up fast. Thousands of rows per product across dozens of products makes a slow file that's easy to sort wrong. One bad sort that scrambles the status column can undo months of tracking.

What software adds

Good Transparency software does the things a spreadsheet relies on people to remember:

• Marks codes used at the moment they go out, so no two people can get the same code.
• Keeps a count per product, with an alert before you run out.
• Prints labels straight from the code inventory, so codes never get copied between programs.
• Hands you codes for an FBM order and logs them with the order ID.
• Logs every job with who, when, which product and which order or shipment.
• Gives every packer their own login, so you know who did what.

How to decide

Count how many of these are true for you:

1. More than one person prints labels or handles FBM codes.
2. You have more than a handful of enrolled products.
3. You ship FBM orders of enrolled products every week.
4. You've run out of codes for a product without warning.
5. You've found, or suspect, a duplicate code.
6. You apply codes for more than one brand.
7. Someone has asked you which code went on a unit and you couldn't answer quickly.

Zero or one: a well-kept spreadsheet is probably fine for now. Two or more: you're past the point where a spreadsheet saves you money.

Why I built T-Code Manager

Our FBM orders used to mean digging through CSV files for an unused code, and we had every problem on the list above. So I built T-Code Manager for our own warehouse at Welch Products. It now manages more than 55,000 Transparency codes across 454 products for us every day.

You upload your code files once. Your team scans a product by ASIN, UPC, SKU or FNSKU and prints labels, or dispenses codes for an FBM order. Each code is marked used the moment it goes out. The dashboard shows codes left per product, low-stock emails warn you before you run out and every print job and dispense is in the history.

Plans start at $29 a month with unlimited users and no per-label fees. Our first 10 paying customers get 50% off for life plus a free setup call where we import your code files with you. Sign up with code FOUNDING50.

Claim the founding offer or start a free 14-day trial, no credit card required. Compare plans and pricing, or read about managing codes across multiple brands.