Expiry management

Expired stock is money lost, and a risk if it reaches a customer. The Expiry dashboard is the medicine expiry tracking screen in MediPOS, for owners and inventory managers. It lists every batch in the branch that has expired or will expire within 90 days, shows what it is worth at cost, and lets you return it to the supplier, move it to Quarantine or write it off in one click.

How to open the Expiry dashboard

Go to Inventory → Expiry. Five cards run across the top:

Each card shows how many batches are in it and, if you have the See purchase cost permission, their value at cost. Click a card to list its batches. The owner dashboard also warns about expired batches still on the shelf and batches expiring within 30 days, and its links open this screen.

How to read the list

Each row is one batch in one location, with Product, Batch, Expiry (with in 24 d or 5 d ago), Location, Quantity in base units, Value at the batch's cost and Supplier, the distributor it first came from. Expired rows are red and rows within 30 days are amber. Stock already set aside carries a Quarantine tag, and a batch split between Main Store and Quarantine shows on two rows. The list shows the 300 batches nearest to expiry; a note tells you when there are more.

What to do with expiring stock

Return it to the supplier

1. Click Return on the row.
2. MediPOS creates a draft return to that batch's supplier, with the whole quantity at that location and the reason set to Expired or Near expiry.
3. Check the claim price and quantity against what the distributor will accept, then post the return.

Batches from opening stock have no supplier on record, so they have no Return button. Create those returns yourself under Purchasing → Returns to supplier.

Move it to Quarantine

Click the shield icon and confirm. The whole quantity of that batch in that location moves to the branch's Quarantine in one step. You see the transfer number when it is done. Quarantine stock cannot be sold and is not counted as on hand on Products & stock. It stays on the expiry list with a Quarantine tag, so you can return or write it off later.

Write it off

For an expired batch that nobody will take back, click the red bin icon and confirm Write off all … units of batch … as expired?. MediPOS posts an Expired write-off stock adjustment for the whole quantity, valued at the batch's cost and booked to Stock loss, damage & expiry. It cannot be undone.

A weekly routine that works

Every Monday, open Within 60 days. Say it shows 9 batches worth Rs. 14,200 at cost. Among them are 3 bottles of Calpol syrup batch CP0413, expiring in 24 days and bought from your GSK distributor. Click Return and hand the bottles over on the salesman's next visit. Then open Expired. It shows 2 tubes of an ointment from opening stock, so click the bin icon and write them off.

Ways to stop stock expiring in the first place:

• Enter the right expiry on every purchase. FEFO then sells the oldest batch first on its own.
• Check your distributors' return terms. Many take near-expiry stock back only before a cut-off, so the 60- and 90-day cards are where you save money.
• If you do not want to sell short-dated stock, set Stop selling batches expiring within (days) in Settings → POS & receipts, for example to 30.
• Buy slow movers in smaller quantities. The Slow-moving & dead stock report shows which ones.

Rules and tips

• Expired means the expiry date is before today, by your pharmacy's own date. A batch expiring today is still in date today.
• Only batches with an expiry date appear. Items that do not track expiry are never listed.
• The dashboard covers the branch you are working in. On Cloud with several branches, switch branch to see another one.
• Every action goes through a normal document (a supplier return, a transfer or a stock adjustment), so stock, value and the audit log stay in step.
• If Expiry is not in your Inventory menu, your plan does not include the Expiry dashboard. FEFO selling and expiry blocking still work. The owner can see what each plan includes under Plan & billing.

Common questions

Why is there no Return button on some rows?

Either the batch came from opening stock, so MediPOS does not know its supplier, or you do not have the Return to supplier permission. Create the return manually from Returns to supplier.

Is the value shown at cost or at retail price?

At cost: the quantity times the batch's cost per unit, including scheme bonus and discounts. It is the money you stand to lose, not the sales you would make.

Can I undo a write-off?

No. Posted adjustments are permanent. If you wrote off stock by mistake, add it back with a stock adjustment using the Found stock reason.

Can I sell stock after moving it to Quarantine?

No. Quarantine is not a selling location. If the distributor refuses the return and the stock is still in date, transfer it back to Main Store.

Related guides

• Batches and FEFO (first expiry, first out)
• Returns to supplier
• Stock transfers and quarantine
• Low stock, reorder and slow-moving medicines