Systems and methods for minimizing laser persistence are provided. In one implementation, a timing circuit for controlling a barcode reader is provided. The timing circuit comprises a shutter control circuit configured to control an electronic shutter function of an image sensor and a laser control circuit configured to control the activation of a reference laser. When activated, the reference laser directs a laser beam to an approximate position of a field of view of the image sensor. The activation of the reference laser includes a delay to minimize laser persistence on an image captured by the image sensor.