Managing medicine expiry in a pharmacy (first expiry, first out)
Updated
Expired medicine is money on the shelf that you can no longer sell. Most of it isn’t bad luck. It comes from newer stock being sold first while older batches sit at the back. Here is a simple routine that fixes that, and how to run it without a notebook.
1. Record stock by batch, not just by product
A strip of paracetamol from batch B-101 (expiring June 2027) and one from batch B-118 (expiring March 2028) are the same product, but not the same stock. If you only count “paracetamol: 240 strips”, you can’t tell which strips are about to expire.
When a delivery arrives, write down for each medicine:
- the batch number,
- the manufacture and expiry dates printed on the pack,
- the quantity of that batch.
2. Sell the earliest expiry first (FEFO)
FEFO, “first expiry, first out”, means you always sell from the batch that expires soonest. It matters more than “first in, first out”, because a delivery that arrived later can still expire earlier.
On the shelf, keep the soonest-expiring batch in front. At the counter, sell from it first.
3. Look ahead, not back
Decide how much warning you need. Many pharmacies use 30 to 90 days, enough time to:
- move short-dated stock to the front and sell it first;
- ask the supplier about returns or exchanges, if your agreement allows it;
- stop reordering a medicine you still have plenty of.
Check the “expiring soon” list every week.
4. Take expired stock out properly
Anything past its expiry date should come off the shelf and out of your stock count on the same day, with a note of the batch and quantity. Keeping it in the count makes your stock look healthier than it is and hides the real loss.
5. Keep an eye on the printed MRP
Medicine packs carry a maximum retail price. A new batch can come with a different MRP, so check your selling price when a batch arrives, and never charge more than what’s printed.
How Sano Godam does this for you
- Receive by batch: enter the batch number, manufacture and expiry dates (and batch MRP) when stock arrives; known batch numbers fill in their dates.
- FEFO at the counter: when you bill a medicine, the batch that expires first is used automatically, and split across batches if one runs out. You can still pick a batch by hand.
- Early warning: choose how many days ahead to warn. The dashboard and the Stock screen list what’s expired and what’s expiring soon, with its value at cost.
- Expired sales: choose whether billing an expired batch shows a warning, or is blocked altogether.
- One-step write-off: write off an expired batch from the product page; the stock and the history record it.
- MRP check: the bill warns when a price with VAT goes above the printed MRP.
- On the bill: batch number and expiry date print on the receipt and the tax invoice.
See Sano Godam for pharmacies for the full list, or start free for three months.