> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.clinikehr.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Reagents and consumables

> Stock reagents with lot and expiry tracking, release new lots through validation, and attach the reagents each test consumes.

export const StillStuck = ({topic}) => <div className="ck-callout ck-callout--note" role="note">
    <p className="ck-callout__body">
      <strong>Still stuck{topic ? ` with ${topic}` : ''}?</strong>{' '}
      Check <a href="/platform/help/troubleshooting">Troubleshooting</a> first —
      it covers the failures we see most often. If that does not resolve it,{' '}
      <a href="/platform/help/contact-support">contact support</a> and include
      your workspace name and the time the problem happened, so we can find the
      matching entry in your audit log.
    </p>
  </div>;

export const TaskHeader = ({before, time, after}) => <div className="ck-task">
    {before ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Before you start</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{before}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {time ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Takes about</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{time}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {after ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">When you're done</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{after}</p>
      </div> : null}
  </div>;

export const Path = ({steps = []}) => <span className="ck-path">
    {steps.map((s, i) => <span key={i} className="ck-path__step">
        {i > 0 ? <span className="ck-path__sep" aria-hidden="true">
            ›
          </span> : null}
        {s}
      </span>)}
  </span>;

export const Availability = ({editions = ['all'], plans, roles, note}) => {
  const list = editions.includes('all') ? ['clinic', 'pharmacy', 'lims'] : editions;
  return <div className="ck-avail" role="note" aria-label="Feature availability">
      <span className="ck-avail__label">Available in</span>

      {list.map(e => <span key={e} className={`ck-pill ck-pill--${e}`}>
          {EDITION_LABELS[e] || e}
        </span>)}

      {plans ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Plan</span> : null}
      {plans ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--plan">{plans}</span> : null}

      {roles ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Who</span> : null}
      {roles ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--role">{roles}</span> : null}

      {note ? <span className="ck-avail__note">{note}</span> : null}
    </div>;
};

<Availability editions={['lims']} plans="Included from Starter Lab. Expiry-risk figures need Professional Lab; its recommendations need Business Lab." roles="Owner, Manager, Lab Manager" />

**A new reagent lot arrives quarantined.** It is received, it is on the shelf, it shows in your stock — and it cannot be used until someone validates it against the lot in service. Labs that do not know this spend a week wondering why good stock is unusable. It is waiting on the **Validation** tab.

<Path steps={['Sidebar', 'Reagents & Inventory']} />

<Note>
  The vocabulary drifts on this one screen, so screenshots and menus will not agree. Your sidebar says **Reagents & Inventory**, the report catalogue calls it **Reagents**, and the screen itself is the general inventory screen with general inventory wording. Same place, three names.
</Note>

<TaskHeader before="Nothing — the catalogue starts empty" time="5 minutes to add a reagent, a minute to validate a lot" after="A validated reagent lot in active stock, attached to the tests that consume it" />

## Add a reagent to the catalogue

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create the item">
    On the **Catalog** tab, add an item and set its type to **Reagent** — or **Kit**, for something supplied as an assembled kit.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Turn on lot-to-lot validation">
    Switch on **Lot-to-lot validation (lab reagent)**. The field says what it does: "New lots arrive quarantined until validated." Leave it off only for something that genuinely needs no lot check.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Receive the stock">
    Receive it against its lot number and expiry date on the **Stock** tab. Lot and expiry are what every later alert, count and validation hangs off, so never receive a reagent without them.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Release a new lot through Validation

The **Validation (\{n})** tab holds quarantined reagent lots waiting for lot-to-lot validation. It lists **Reagent**, **Lot**, **On hand** and **Expiry**, and each row carries a **Validate** button. When there is nothing waiting it reads **No reagent lots awaiting validation. New reagent lots arrive here quarantined until validated.**

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the sheet">
    Select **Validate**. The **Validate lot** sheet opens, stating its purpose: "Lot-to-lot validation before patient use. Pass releases the lot to active stock."
  </Step>

  <Step title="Say what you compared it against">
    Choose the lot in service under **Compared against (current in-use lot)**, or **None / first lot** if this is the first lot you have held.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Record what you did">
    Enter the **Method**, pick a **Reviewer** for sign-off, and summarise the outcome in **Result summary** (for example `Within 2SD of in-use lot`). Put observations and deviations in **Notes**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pass or fail it">
    **Pass & release** puts the lot into active stock — the toast reads **Lot validated — released to active stock**. **Fail** records the failure and the toast reads **Validation recorded as failed — lot stays quarantined**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  **Pass & release** puts that lot into patient use. Do it only when you have actually run the comparison and the reviewer has seen the result — a lot released on a guess produces patient results nobody will question until a clinician acts on one.
</Warning>

## What each tab is for

| Tab                   | What it holds                                           |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Catalog**           | Every item you stock, with its type and pricing         |
| **Stock**             | On-hand quantities by lot, expiry and location          |
| **Ledger**            | Every movement in and out                               |
| **Counts**            | Physical stock counts, and the variances they find      |
| **Validation (\{n})** | Quarantined reagent lots awaiting lot-to-lot validation |
| **Purchasing**        | Reorder suggestions and purchase orders                 |
| **Vouchers**          | Issued vouchers                                         |
| **Recalls**           | Recalled lots and what became of them                   |
| **Locations**         | Fridges, benches, stores and sites                      |
| **Alerts (\{n})**     | Expiry and low-stock alerts                             |
| **Reconciliation**    | Reconciling counted stock against the ledger            |

The **Validation** tab only appears once at least one item is flagged for lot-to-lot validation — before that there is nothing for it to show.

## Attach reagents to a test

A catalogue test carries a **Reagents consumed** card. Each row is a **Reagent**, a **Qty** and an **Opt.** flag for something not always used. Use **Add reagent** for rows and **Save reagents** to save — the toast reads **Reagents saved**. An empty card reads **No reagents yet. Add the items this test consumes.**

Completing that test then draws its reagents down, so counts follow the bench without anyone counting bottles. See [Add your tests and panels](/lims/get-started/tests-and-panels) and [Enter and verify results](/lims/lab/results).

<Note>
  The drawdown rides alongside the status change and can occasionally fall behind, so treat reagent counts as very good rather than perfect. A periodic stock count on the **Counts** tab is what keeps them honest.
</Note>

### Collection consumables are configured separately

The supplies a specimen collection uses — cups, seals, tamper tape — are not on the test. They live in the **Collection supplies** sheet, which "Configure the inventory supplies one specimen collection consumes"; saving it toasts **Collection kit saved**. See [DOT collection](/lims/dot/collection).

## Expiry and low stock

The **Alerts (\{n})** tab carries both expiry and low-stock alerts. Alongside them the **Expiry risk** panel projects what is heading for the bin, reading **Expiry risk — \{amount} projected to expire unsold** with the number of lots at risk beside it. The projection uses your last 90 days of consumption, per lot, oldest expiry first, and an acknowledged alert stays quiet for 30 days.

| You get                                                                                    | On               |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------- |
| The expiry-risk figures — value at risk, lots at risk                                      | Professional Lab |
| The recommendations — supplier returns, and transfers to the site that still uses the item | Business Lab     |

Batch and lot tracking, expiry monitoring, low-stock alerts and purchase orders are all included from **Starter Lab**. See [Plans](/platform/plans/overview).

## Check it worked

* The new lot leaves the **Validation** tab and its quantity appears as usable stock.
* The **Reagents consumed** card on the test lists the items and quantities you saved.
* Completing a test moves the reagent's on-hand figure on the **Stock** tab.
* The **Reagents at risk** tile on **Executive** reflects what the expiry panel shows — see [Reports, Lab Analytics and the owner summary](/lims/business/analytics).

## If something goes wrong

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Stock is on the shelf but the bench cannot use it">
    It is quarantined. Open the **Validation** tab and validate the lot. This is the intended behaviour for anything flagged **Lot-to-lot validation (lab reagent)**.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="There is no Validation tab">
    Nothing in your catalogue is flagged for lot-to-lot validation yet. Edit a reagent, switch the flag on, and the tab appears.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Reagent stock did not move after a test completed">
    Either the test has no **Reagents consumed** rows, or the drawdown fell behind the status change. Check the card first, then reconcile with a stock count.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Save reagents refuses with “Pick a reagent for each row”">
    A row was added but left empty. Choose an item on it, or remove the row.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Expiry risk shows a number but no recommendations">
    The figures are a Professional Lab capability and the recommendations — supplier returns and transfers — are a Business Lab one. The panel says so itself. See [Change your plan](/platform/plans/change-plan).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Collection supplies are not being drawn down">
    They are configured in the **Collection supplies** sheet, not on the test's **Reagents consumed** card — see [DOT collection](/lims/dot/collection).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<StillStuck topic="reagent stock" />