CaoLiao QR Code

What it is

Cli.im, branded in Chinese as 草料二维码 and on its English pages as CaoLiao QR Code, is a QR code generator and 活码 (live code) management platform. Its home page heading reads "用二维码展示信息、收集数据、持续管理业务", that is, using QR codes to display information, collect data and keep managing the business, with no development needed because "业务人员自己搭建" (business staff build it themselves). It is aimed at operations teams, facilities and field-service staff, schools, property managers and small and medium companies who want a working system on top of a printed code instead of a custom app. The main site and its pricing are in Chinese and in yuan, and an English section carries articles and templates.

For this directory the relevant part is the form tool: you build a form, attach it to a code, and anyone who scans the code fills it in and the answers pile up as records you can export.

What you build and how

The core object is a live code. You generate a QR code from text, a URL, a file, an image, audio or video, or a form, and the content behind the printed code can be changed later. The page says that changes to display content take effect in real time without regenerating the code, and the company's own comparison article adds that uploaded files such as PDFs and videos can be swapped and that the system counts how often a code was viewed. The generator itself exposes the usual QR options on the home page: error correction (30% in the default view), size (400x400px by default), margin, a logo upload, styling, A4 layout and download in several formats. Batch generation and label making are listed as separate features, along with prefabricated live-code labels and a printing service.

Forms are the data-collection layer. The home page lists 40+ form components, fill rules, actions after submission, and two AI helpers: image recognition that fills in a form automatically, and voice entry. Its information-collection scenario says you create a form, share the code with one click, and "所有数据实时汇总可导出" (all data is summarized in real time and can be exported). The company's English article on no-code platforms describes the form feature as one that "allows users to create forms and link them to QR codes", with components such as single choice, check items and text boxes. Template suggestions for this scenario include feedback, material collection, satisfaction surveys, exam answering, complaint reports and personnel information registration, and the site says 32 templates sit in that group.

Beyond plain forms, the site presents ready-made solution areas, 33 categories in all, built from the same pieces:

• Equipment inspection (34 templates): on-site photos, location and watermarks as proof, automatic reminders for overdue checks and abnormal records, data that can be printed or exported.
• Sign-in and registration (14 templates): online registration and sign-in, a credential after submission, and statistics.
• Area patrol (20 templates): one code per checkpoint, scan to report a hazard, and a record of the fix.
• Information display (25 templates) and product introduction (28 templates).
• Asset management, personnel management, visitor and vehicle registration, fire-equipment checks, signage and tour guides.
• Three compliance schemes: agricultural product commitment certificates, cosmetics electronic labels, and prepackaged-food digital labels.

The site counts 200+ templates in total and groups them by industry, including manufacturing, construction, education, culture and tourism, government, property management, medical and energy.

For logic and ongoing records the home page names a second tier of features. Recording item history (记录物品履历) gives each device or asset its own code with dynamic archives, status functions, periodic tasks, AI filling from a photo, and PDF archiving of records. A team layer covers member functions, permission management, data approval and partitions. A data-trust layer lists traceability, content protection, version tracing and operation logs. Message reminders can push to administrators and maintenance staff with custom rules, and members can be grouped by department or identity with different permissions per QR code, according to the company's article.

AI features are listed as AI interpretation of a code's content, AI smart form filling, AI form components and AI image review. Support resources include a help center, a community, an update log, a beginner guide, API documentation and an industrial knowledge base. The end user needs nothing installed: the site says the code works by scanning inside WeChat, with no other app needed (微信扫码即用 无需其他App).

What the pages say about plans and scale

Pricing is split into a free version and a paid one. The free version is shown at RMB 0 with four stated limits lifted: codes stay valid long term, code generation and scans are unlimited, storage for images and files is unlimited, and a form can collect unlimited records. The paid version is shown at ¥780 a year and up (¥ 780 /年起), in four editions with add-on capacity packs. The paid features named are removing the Cli.im logo so your own brand shows, a more professional branded display page, precise permission control for members, and advanced data capabilities such as free export and system integration. The company's own article puts its recommended Flagship edition at about 2,680 RMB a year, and notes you can build several systems for free, such as product catalogs, equipment inspection, fixed-asset management and personnel management.

The company states several figures about itself, all of which are its own claims:

• 14 years of continuous operation, with a site copyright that starts in 2011.
• 16 million registered website users, 830 million mini-program users and 4.3 billion codes generated in total.
• Technical support for the Beijing Winter Olympics, handling scan registration and credentials with daily scans above 100,000.
• A Level 3 information-security classified protection certification from the Ministry of Public Security, which the site links to a certificate.
• An invitation to help draft two national QR code standards, one for product codes and one for business-card codes.
• Its WeChat mini-program ranks 34th nationally by user scale and first among tool mini-programs.

Who it suits and who it does not

It suits small and medium organizations that need codes on real objects: a facilities lead who wants inspection rounds on phones, a school tracking fixed assets, a property manager logging visitors, an event organizer running registration. The free version carries a lot, since the form side has no stated record cap, and the paid editions mostly buy branding, permissions and export or integration.

There are real limits. The company's own article says it does not support private deployment and does not allow custom feature development; the same article recommends it to cost-sensitive small and medium enterprises that want simplicity and rapid deployment. The product is built around scan-and-fill workflows on printed codes rather than general app building. And the main interface, support and pricing are in Chinese, with only an English article and template section, so an English-only team will work through translation.