Book and Supply Hub

Managing Books and Supplies Via the Book and Supply Hub. This article is intended for Admin. (Read time: 5 minutes).

Last updated 16/07/2025

 

 

The VSware Book and Supply Hub is your go-to resource for managing books and school supplies within your school. All VSware schools now have access to this module, which is included in your VSware package at no additional cost.

While this feature was designed for tracking books, it can also be used to track school supplies, such as stationery packs, workbooks, and much more. It’s up to you to use as you wish.

 

 

User Permissions / Special Supply Hub Account

• Principal and Secretary users have full access to manage this feature.
• Teachers can see which books their students currently have access to.
• To give a teacher permission to manage this module, assign them the user permission: 'Allow Staff Access to Book Rental Administration' in Users and Groups.
• To allow parents to see the Book & Supply Hub on their accounts (desktop and mobile app), assign them the permission: 'Allow contact access to learner Book & Supply Hub' in Users and Groups.
• To allow parents to receive push notifications about books/items that have been handed over and to allow them to confirm the receipt of these books/items, assign them the permission: Allow contact access to approve/deny receipt of a book/item' in Users and Groups. This permission is either on for all parents, or off for all parents.
• Special Book and Supply Hub Account. This is an optional feature that allows you to create a standalone Book and Supply Hub manager account without granting excessive permissions. To create an account, go to Settings > Book and Supply Hub Users > Create New User. Fill in the name, username, and password, ensuring 'Account Active' is ticked for login access. This account provides basic access to view handover and return books for all students but does not allow uploading collections or making admin changes. For full access, including managing everything in the Book and Supply Hub, you must also tick 'Access to admin page'. This Special Book and Supply Hub account does not require an existing, regular VSware account to work, so anyone can be given one (for example a TY student who is managing book rentals in your school).

Accessing the Book and Supply Hub

Navigate to it under the 'School Tab'.

Preparing Your Data and collections

The first step is to prepare the data on the books you have and bring this data into VSware.

A collection refers to the number of copies of the same book.

You can upload collection by collection, or you can use our easy-to-use CSV template to upload all book collections together in one go.

Adding a New Collection 

Click on the ‘Add New Collection’ button on the top right. 

There are 3 ways to add a collection:

1. Manually by typing in all the relevant book details. 
2. Via CSV file. This is the most efficient if you're uploading many collections at once. Click here to download the CSV template and fill it in. Then upload it back to VSware. If you come across error messages, this guide can help you.
3. By scanning the ISBN, a 13-digit unique identifier for books, VSware checks an external database to pre-fill book information such as title, author, and publisher etc. You can scan the ISBN using the VSware mobile app's camera in the Book and Supply Hub section or by connecting a USB scanner to your computer. This method speeds things up if you're uploading collections individually.

Note on uploading collections: Make sure that you've specified the subject, year group and level in the case of books. This allows the system to recognise and link the books to the correct student's book lists later. 

 

Adding Books to Student Book Lists

The next step is to add books to the student’s book lists so that the books are ready to be handed over.

Once you've uploaded your collections, you can add all books to all students book lists in one go via the 'Bulk Add To Booklist' button. The books will then automatically be populated on all the relevant student’s book lists.

Understanding the Overview Screen

In the overview screen, you will see each collection. Clicking the eye button expands each collection, showing you each individual copy of each book. For additional details, please watch our tutorial video at the top of this article.

 

Unique VSware Book Code and Scanning Functionality

To track individual copies of books and link them to students, you can create a unique VSware book code.

When you create a new collection, VSware automatically generates a unique code for each copy, which you can print (via the Print all Labels button) and attach to the books for easy tracking.

You can scan these codes using a handheld scanner or the VSware mobile app to quickly link a specific copy to a student. Alternatively, you can manually enter the book code if you don't want to scan.

While using a book code is essential for tracking specific copies, it is not necessary if you don’t require that level of detail. You don't have to use any book code at all if you wish. 

If on the other hand, you want to use an existing/external book code (perhaps that's been generated by a local book provider) and not the VSware generated ones, contact support for assistance with this. Please visit this guide for the steps involved. 

Handing Over Books

The final step in the process is to hand over the book to the student and mark the task as complete. You can mark a book as handed over via the overview screen. Once you do that, the task is complete.

However, you can also do this via the individual student’s profile.

Viewing a Student’s Individual Book List

• Search for the student’s name.
• Click on 'Booklist Inventory' at the bottom left.
• If you want to hand over a book that isn’t on the booklist already, use the ‘Handover New Item’ button.

Handing Over a Book from the Booklist

Go to the book that is on the booklist and ready to be handed over.
Click the 'Handover' button next to the book.

In the pop up, select: 

• The condition of the book 
• If you don’t need to link a specific copy to the student, untick the ‘Use a Code’ button to skip this step. If using a code, find the correct one on the list and select it.
• You can also choose to 'Add Return Date' if needed.
• Click 'Handover Item' at the end. The job is done, and the student now has their book.
• You can also select the 'Scan and Handover/Return items' button if you want to scan an existing book code and hand over the item that way.
• You can also select multiple books and use the bulk handover button, which is efficient when you're handing out groups of students and want to speed up the process. 

 

Returning a book or item 

There are two main ways to return a book in VSware: via the overview screen or via the student's individual booklist.

To return via the overview screen, go to School > Book and Supply Hub. Search for the book and click the eye icon to view all borrowed copies.

Find the relevant student, or alternatively use the scan code button if using book codes,

Select the eye icon for the book you wish to return, then click the return arrow. Choose the book's condition upon return and validate.

To return via the student's individual booklist, search for the student in the search bar and select their profile. Click on booklist inventory, select the eye icon for the book to return, then click the return arrow under actions. Choose the book's condition and validate the return.

You can also select multiple books and use the bulk return button, which is efficient when a student returns all their books at once.

The video below demonstrates both return methods.

Reporting

In May 2025, we added a new reporting option. To access it, go to School > Book and Supply Hub > Reports. 

This reporting screen provides various filtering options, allowing you to narrow down results by student name, year, class group, or specific book. You can also customise the columns displayed. A convenient feature is the ability to view only overdue items. Additionally, you can notify parents about overdue books via push notifications on their mobile app or by sending an SMS, informing them that their student has books due for return. Furthermore, you have the option to download a CSV version of this report for your records.

 

 

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If you still have questions, please visit our knowledge base at support.vsware.ie. You can contact our support team via email at support@vsware.ie, via the chat bubble when you are logged into your VSware account or via phone on 01-5549628. Support hours are Mon - Fri, 08:30 - 18:00.