Switching pharmacy software without losing stock or udhaar (from Abuzar and others)

Switching pharmacy software is the job most medical store owners put off for years. The old program still bills, the staff know its F-keys, and nobody wants to type the whole shelf in again. Many shops in Pakistan still run a Windows program from the 2000s, such as Abuzar, on the shop PC. The fear is always the same: losing stock, losing batches and expiry dates, or losing the khata of who owes what.

It does not have to take more than a day. This guide shows what to take out of your old software, how MediPOS takes it in, and a plan that keeps your counter billing the whole time.

What you actually need to bring over

You do not need your old software's whole history. You need what the shop runs on from tomorrow:

1. Your medicines with their pack sizes and sale prices.
2. Today's stock, ideally with batch and expiry for each medicine.
3. Customer balances: who owes you how much (udhaar), and who has paid in advance.
4. Supplier balances: what you owe each distributor today.

Old bills and old reports stay in the old program. Keep that PC or a copy of its data for a few months in case you need to look something up.

Step 1: get the data out of the old program

• If it exports to Excel, export the item list with pack sizes and rates, the stock report (with batch and expiry if it has them), the customer balance list and the supplier balance list.
• If it has no export, ask whoever installed or supports it for an Excel copy of those four lists. Many older programs keep their data in a database that the vendor can export.
• If neither works, print the stock report and the customer and supplier balance reports. You will not need to type the medicine names (see step 2). You only type quantities and balances, fast movers first.

We found no published export guide for Abuzar, as for most older desktop programs, so ask your installer or vendor first.

Step 2: you may not need to import medicines at all

MediPOS comes with 45,000+ Pakistani medicines from the DRAP register, each with its generic (salt), strength, form and manufacturer. Instead of importing a medicine list, you can search by brand, salt or company and add what you stock, with box, strip and tablet units ready. Then you set your prices and enter opening stock. You can try the search on our website.

Import your own list when your old program has a clean export with your prices, or when you stock many non-medicine items such as cosmetics and baby products.

Step 3: fill the MediPOS templates

In MediPOS, open Administration → Import data. There are three imports, each with its own template to download (a CSV file that opens in Excel):

Products & opening stock:

Customers: name, mobile number, CNIC, address, the most udhaar allowed, days to pay, and what they owe you today (a negative amount is an advance).

Suppliers: name, salesman or contact, phone and WhatsApp, and what you owe them today (a negative amount means they owe you).

Copy your old software's columns into these, save each file as CSV from Excel, and keep the column headings as they are.

Step 4: import, check, then save

Upload each file. MediPOS checks every row before saving anything and shows a preview: rows that are fine, and rows that need fixing, with the reason (a price that is not a number, an expiry date that is not a date, a pack size missing). Fix those in Excel and upload again. Nothing is saved until the preview is clean and you confirm.

All the opening stock from one file becomes one opening-stock entry at your main store. Your stock, stock value and expiry dashboard are correct from the first sale. Customer and supplier balances open their ledgers, so the khata continues where the register left off.

Step 5: switch over in one day

1. Pick a quiet day, the first of the month if you can, so your books start clean.
2. Close the old program at night: print the final stock report and both balance lists.
3. Import that night or next morning, and check the ten medicines you sell most: stock, price and expiry.
4. Run both for a day if you are nervous. Bill on MediPOS, and keep the old program open to look things up.
5. Count the fast movers in the first week with a stock count, and adjust any difference. It shows up in the stock count report with its value.
6. Keep the old PC or a copy of its data for three months, then retire it.

The new counter screen is quick to learn: staff search by brand or salt, the batch is chosen for them (earliest expiry first), and the bill prints on the same thermal printer.

What changes after the switch

• Expiry stops being a memory test: the batch that expires first is sold first, expired batches are blocked, and the expiry dashboard lists what expires in 7, 30, 60 and 90 days with its value.
• Distributor schemes show in your profit: 10+1 bonuses, discounts, tax and freight go into the cost of each medicine.
• Udhaar has limits: a cashier cannot go over a customer's limit without a supervisor's PIN.
• Backups happen by themselves: every night, at every cash-shift close and before every update, with an optional hourly cloud copy.
• FBR, if you need it: Tier-1 pharmacies report every invoice from the counter.

Common questions

Can I move from Abuzar to MediPOS?

Yes. Take an Excel copy of your items, stock, customer balances and supplier balances from the old program (ask your installer if it has no export), save each as CSV and import it into MediPOS. MediPOS checks every row before saving.

Do I have to type in all my medicines again?

No. MediPOS comes with 45,000+ Pakistani medicines from the DRAP register. You pick what you stock and enter prices and opening stock, or import your own list if your old program exports it.

Will my customers' udhaar carry over?

Yes. Import each customer with what they owe today. Their ledger opens with that balance, and new sales and payments continue from there.

How long does switching take?

Usually one day: an evening to export and fill the templates, the import and checks the next morning, and a stock count of fast movers in the first week. You can do it during the 14-day free trial.

Can someone help me with the import?

Yes. If a column does not fit, send the file to MediPOS support on WhatsApp and we will help you match it.

Related reading

• MediPOS vs Tejarify
• Best offline pharmacy software in Pakistan
• Pharmacy stock count guide
• Help: import your data