Units, prices and barcodes

A medical store buys by the box and sells by the box, the strip or the single tablet. MediPOS handles this with units: one base unit that all stock is counted in, and pack units that each hold a fixed number of base units. This guide explains how units, TP, RP (MRP) and barcodes fit together, and exactly how the POS works out the price of a strip or a box during billing.

Base unit and pack units

The base unit is the smallest unit you sell. It always has a size of 1, and every product has exactly one. Each pack unit says how many base units it contains, in the Base units in it column of the product's Units & prices table.

MediPOS keeps stock in base units only, and shows it back in packs. 237 tablets of Ponstan appear as 2 Box, 3 Strip, 7 Tablet.

Untick Sell in it to hide a unit at the POS, for example the Box of an item you only sell by the strip. No two units can share a name or a size, and a product can have up to six units.

TP, cost and RP

TP, cost and MRP are typed per the unit you pick on the line, and stored per base unit. MRP Rs. 380 for a Box of 100 is stored as Rs. 3.80 per tablet. If the same batch comes in again with a new MRP, the new MRP replaces the old one for that batch.

How the POS prices a unit

For each line on the bill, MediPOS takes the first price it finds:

1. The MRP of the batch that will be sold first (FEFO), multiplied by the base units in the chosen unit.
2. The chosen unit's own Default sale price.
3. The base unit's default sale price, multiplied by the base units in the chosen unit.
4. If none is set, the line shows No price. The cashier must type a price, which needs the Change selling price at POS permission.

With a Ponstan batch at MRP Rs. 380 per box, the POS charges Rs. 3.80 for a tablet, Rs. 38.00 for a strip and Rs. 380.00 for a box. This happens even if you set Rs. 40 as the strip's default price, because the batch MRP comes first. Default prices matter for items that come in without an MRP, such as surgical goods or loose items.

Any change a cashier makes to the listed price is recorded and appears in the Discounts & price changes report.

Rounding

• Unit prices from the MRP are rounded to the nearest paisa. Take a box of 30 tablets (3 strips of 10) with MRP Rs. 1,000. One tablet costs Rs. 33.33 and one strip Rs. 333.33. The box stays exactly Rs. 1,000.00, because the price per tablet is kept to six decimal places.
• The bill total is rounded as set in Settings → POS & receipts → Round bill total to: No rounding, Nearest Rs. 1 (the default), Nearest Rs. 5 or Nearest Rs. 10. The difference shows as Rounding on the bill.
• Quantities are not rounded when they are converted. If a quantity would not convert exactly into base units, MediPOS refuses it and asks you to use a smaller unit.

How to add barcodes per unit

1. Open the product and click Edit.
2. Under Barcodes, click Add barcode.
3. Scan the barcode, or type it.
4. Choose the unit it belongs to: the carton's barcode to Box, the strip's barcode to Strip, or Any unit.
5. Click Save product.

At the POS, scanning a barcode tied to Box puts one box on the bill at the box price. Scanning it again makes it two. A barcode set to Any unit adds the product in its base unit.

For items with no barcode, click Generate. MediPOS creates an in-store EAN-13 number starting with 2, unique in your pharmacy, which you can print on your own stickers.

Rules and tips

• Editing units, prices and barcodes needs the Add / edit products permission. Price changes are kept in the audit log.
• Once a product has stock history, the size of each existing unit and the choice of base unit are fixed, and units used in that history cannot be removed. You can always add a new unit and change prices.
• A barcode can belong to only one product. MediPOS tells you which product already has it.
• A product can have up to 10 barcodes, so old and new pack designs both scan.

Common questions

Why does the POS show a different price from the one I set on the product?

The batch being sold has its own MRP, entered on the purchase or opening stock, and the batch MRP comes before the product's default price.

Can I sell half a strip?

Yes. Either sell 5 tablets, or add a unit such as Half strip with 5 base units in it.

The company raised the MRP. Do I need to edit every product?

No. Enter the new MRP on the purchase line when the new stock arrives. The older batch keeps its old price and, being older, usually sells first.

Related guides

• Adding medicines and opening stock
• Batches and FEFO (first expiry, first out)
• Billing at the counter (POS)
• Purchases, bonus schemes and landed cost