Every pharmacy has found it: a box of allergy tablets at the back of a peg, three months past its date. It is a small loss and a bigger embarrassment. Expiry tracking on the front shelves is not hard, but it only works as a routine. This is the weekly one we recommend, written for a POS that records lot numbers and expiry dates — which GetPharmacyPOS does today for front-store stock.
Why front-store expiry deserves its own routine
Prescription stock is watched closely because the pharmacy system and the pharmacist handle it. Front-store stock often is not: it is ordered in cases, shelved by whoever is free, and sold at the till by staff who do not look at dates. Yet a large share of the front store is dated — OTC medicines, vitamins, supplements, sun care, baby formula, first-aid creams.
Step 1: receive with lot and expiry
Capture the lot number and expiry date when stock arrives; it is the one moment the information is in your hands and on the box. In the POS, record the purchase against the supplier and enter lot and expiry per line.
- One lot per line. If a case contains two lots, enter two lines.
- Use the date format printed on the pack and check month-first vs day-first (US packs and UAE or Pakistani packs differ).
- Items with no expiry (cards, gifts) leave the fields blank.
Step 2: read the expiry report weekly
Pick a fixed day and a fixed look-ahead window, and read the stock-expiry report then. Ninety days suits most OTC lines.
The report lists stock by expiry date, lot and location. Work from the top: the earliest dates first.
Step 3: act in a fixed order
For each line in the window, choose the first action that works:
- Transfer it to a location that sells it faster (stock transfers keep the lot attached).
- Discount it with a dated discount on the product so it sells before the date.
- Pull it when it can no longer be sold. Record a stock adjustment with the reason “expired” so the cost shows up in reports.
Medicines that cannot be sold must be handled under your market’s rules for returns and disposal. Those rules are set by regulators (in the US, the FDA and DEA, plus your state; in the UAE, the health authority of your emirate; in Pakistan, DRAP and the provinces). The POS records the write-off; it does not replace those rules.
Step 4: reorder from sell-through
Short-life lines should be reordered from what actually sold, not from what was ordered last time. Use sales and stock reports, and set an alert quantity per product so reorders are prompted before the shelf is empty — not by a full shelf of old stock.
FIFO vs FEFO on the shelf
FIFO (first in, first out) sells the oldest delivery first. FEFO (first expired, first out) sells the earliest date first. They usually match, but not always: a later delivery can carry an earlier date. For dated stock, FEFO is the rule that prevents waste. Software cannot face the shelf for you, so make “older dates to the front” part of shelving.
A one-page checklist
| When | Who | What |
|---|---|---|
| Every delivery | Receiving staff | Enter lot and expiry per line |
| Weekly | Front-store lead | Read expiry report (90-day window) |
| Weekly | Front-store lead | Transfer, discount or pull, in that order |
| Weekly | Owner | Review write-offs and adjust reorder quantities |
| Every shelving | All staff | Earlier dates to the front (FEFO) |
How it works in GetPharmacyPOS
Lot numbers, expiry dates, the stock-expiry report, transfers, dated discounts and stock adjustments all work today on the front-store POS. See Stock, lots and expiry. It tracks retail stock only; prescription inventory stays in your pharmacy system.