TracerPlus

TracerPlus is a mobile app builder for data collection with barcode, RFID, BLE and NFC scanning. The site's headline is "Mobile Barcode & RFID App Development Made Easy," and its main pitch is to "Create your own enterprise-class mobile barcode and RFID application to streamline your workflow." It is built for operations teams, warehouse and field staff, and the IT people who support them, who need a scanning app that fits their own workflow rather than a generic one. It is made by Portable Technology Solutions, LLC (PTS), whose copyright line on the site runs 2000-2026.

What you build and how

The home page lays the product out in 3 steps under the heading "Get Started Right Away": design, deploy, connect.

Design. "Use TracerPlus Desktop to design your mobile application. Choose from our pre-built apps or design from scratch." So the editor is a desktop program, and the starting point is either a ready-made app or a blank design. The site's menu groups the software side into Design (TracerPlus Desktop, Pre Built Apps and App Features), Connect (TracerPlus Connect, RIA API and PTS Cloud) and Downloads. The company describes the result as a "Configurable Mobile Application using RFID, Barcode, BLE and NFC Technology" and promises users "full control over customization options to fit their needs."

Deploy. "Install TracerPlus on your mobile device and deploy your app." The finished app runs inside the TracerPlus mobile app on the device. Installing TracerPlus and loading your app into it is how the site describes getting a design onto a device. One customer quote on the home page says a form made in TracerPlus Desktop "was then easily loaded onto our MC9090's and ready for use in minutes," which shows the runtime is used on dedicated handheld scanners, not only on phones.

Connect. "Sync your mobile data securely and flexibly via file import, database, RIA API, or PTS Cloud." That gives 4 routes for getting scanned data off the device. File import suits a team that works from spreadsheets or exports. A database connection suits a team with its own system of record. The RIA API is the developer interface, and PTS Cloud is the company's own cloud data service, part of what the site calls "end-to-end solutions from pre-built applications and cloud data services." One customer says the app "easily integrated with our ERP system," so the sync paths reach business systems as well as files.

What the app captures is set by the scanning technology you choose. The site says to "utilize advanced data scanning technology like RFID, barcode, BLE or NFC for efficient and accurate data collection." Its popular searches and webinar titles show the focus areas: software, inventory, RFID and asset tracking, plus a webinar on "Barcode vs. RFID vs. BLE" for capturing real-time operational data across warehouses, field teams and manufacturing. Another webinar, "How to Track Employee Productivity in Real Time," shows how to capture workforce activity with TracerPlus and extend it with ClearStream RFID for automated, hands-free tracking.

A tutorial video, "Build a Mobile Inspection App in Minutes," shows the no-code angle. It says you can "design and deploy a powerful mobile inspection app in just minutes", and calls it "Perfect for field inspections, quality control, and compliance tracking without any coding experience." That is the clearest picture of what a first project looks like: a form-driven inspection, check-in or tracking app that you assemble in the desktop designer and run on a handheld, with each record synced back to a file, a database or the cloud.

The same structure covers the typical jobs the customers describe: tracking equipment as it leaves for job sites and comes back, checking items in and out of warehouses, replacing manual data entry with scans, and running inspections in the field.

Customers, support and sales

Customers on the home page are quoted by name:

• Tom Mongold of American Piledriving Equipment says "TracerPlus has allowed us to quickly implement and adapt as our needs and processes change." He adds that the form was easy to create and modify in TracerPlus Desktop, that it helped the company "take control of our assets as they are shipped around the world to various job sites and back," and that the app "easily integrated with our ERP system, allowing us to update the status of our assets."
• Kevin Skinner, IT Manager at MCD, Inc., says what used to require manual data entry is now "a fully hands-off process" and sums it up as "just scan, sync, and let TracerPlus handle the rest." He adds, "The increase in productivity is worth the investment!"
• Pat of Budd Van Lines says "The customizable nature of TracerPlus made it the clear choice for us," and that working with the PTS team on a check-in and check-out solution let them build workflows unique to their needs. The company says PTS cloud capabilities centralized data across its warehouses, replacing manual Excel entries, so it could barcode and track everything from ladders and dollies to packing tape.

The home page also features a story about The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and TracerPlus, which it describes as "one of the world's most respected centers devoted exclusively to cancer patient care, research, education, and prevention."

Support is organized under a How To Get Started page, Resources (Events, Open Office and Forums) and Customer Support with a Create A Ticket option. The company runs webinars and open office sessions on a public calendar, and says "Can't make it? Visit our video library to view past meetings and demos for tips on how to use TracerPlus." Sales runs through a phone line and email address shown at the top of every page. The menu also lists Pricing, a Partner program, a "Finding The Right Solution" guide, a customer list and news, along with a customer login.

Who it suits and who it does not

TracerPlus suits a warehouse, asset-tracking or field-service team that wants scanning built around its own workflow. The 3-step model (design a form, install it on a handheld, sync it) fits an IT manager who can connect to a database, ERP or file import, and the pre-built apps give a team without developers somewhere to start. The quoted customers include a piledriving equipment company, a van line and a cancer center, so the product is not tied to one industry, and the company says it offers solutions "Built For Your Industry." A team that wants help can also work with the PTS staff directly, as Budd Van Lines did for its check-in and check-out app.

It is a specialist tool. If you want a consumer app, a social product or a storefront-style app builder, the focus on scanning hardware and data sync is the wrong shape. Apps run inside the TracerPlus runtime installed on each device, a model built for a fleet of company handhelds and the staff who carry them. The designer is a desktop program, so building happens on a PC rather than in a browser.