How to track medicine expiry in a pharmacy

Capture expiry at purchase

Expiry can only be tracked if it's recorded. Enter the expiry of every batch when you enter the supplier invoice. Uploading or scanning the invoice can speed this up, but check each line.

Pick an alert window

Decide how early you want to know — commonly 60 to 90 days before expiry. That gives time to return stock to the supplier under their policy or to sell it first.

Review the expiry list weekly

Once a week, go through batches expiring inside your window:

• Move them to the front of the shelf
• Ask the supplier about returns or replacements
• Stop reordering that medicine until old stock clears
• Separate expired stock so it can't be sold

Let billing block expired batches

The last safety net is the counter. Billing software should refuse expired batches and use the earliest-valid batch automatically.