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Step 2 of the setup checklist — “Stock your shelves so you can dispense and sell from live inventory.” One item of any kind completes it, and it is the one step the till genuinely depends on.

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Catalogue entry, then stock

Two different things, and separating them is what makes expiry control possible:
  • The catalogue entry is the product — its name, strength, price and barcode. You create it once.
  • The stock is the physical quantity, held per lot with its own batch number and expiry date. You receive it over and over.
The Add item sheet says as much: ‘A catalog entry — e.g. “Botox 100U vial”. Stock is tracked per lot.‘

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Create the item

1

Open the sheet

Select Inventory in the sidebar, then Add item.
2

Look the drug up, if it is a known one

Look up drug (NDC or name) searches a drug reference and fills the details for you. Type a name or an NDC (“e.g. Oxycodone or 0406-8530”). For anything not in the reference — a local brand, a consumable, a device — ignore it and type the details yourself.
3

Give it a barcode

Barcode / UPC (optional) is what makes the item scannable at the till. Use Camera scan to read the code off the pack, or Generate in-house code for anything unbarcoded, repackaged or split down from bulk.Skip this and the item still sells — you just have to find it by name every time. See Scan barcodes at the till.
4

Name and classify it

Name is what your counter will see and search, so write it the way your staff say it — strength included. Then set Type, Unit (“U / mL / vial”) and, if you sort your shelves, Category (optional).Under Drug details, Generic name, Brand name, Strength, Dosage form, Manufacturer, NAFDAC/FDA No and Storage instructions are all optional — but the generic name is what makes the product findable when a customer asks for the other brand.
5

Price it and set your reorder points

Unit cost is what you paid; Sale price is what you charge. Only the sale price reaches the till.Low-stock threshold and Reorder qty drive the low-stock badge and your purchasing suggestions. Set them roughly now; they are easy to tune once you know your turnover.
6

Decide how it is controlled

The checkboxes at the bottom change how the item behaves everywhere else:
  • Sell at the pharmacy POS — leave this on for anything you sell over the counter. It is what puts the item in the till’s product grid.
  • Track by lot / expiry — on for medicines. This is what gives you batch numbers, expiry alerts and first-expiry-first-out dispensing.
  • Refrigerated — for the cold chain.
  • Witness required (controlled) — for controlled drugs. It also means the item cannot be sold at the till; it must go through the dispensing flow, where a second person countersigns.
7

Receive opening stock

Opening stock (optional) with Into location puts quantity on the shelf as you create the item. Enter what is physically there now.You do not have to: you can create the entry today and receive the delivery properly later — see Batches and expiry.
8

Save it

Save the sheet. The item appears in the inventory list with its row actions — Receive, Dispense and Label.

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Add its ingredients, if you want screening

Add ingredients records what is actually in the product. Interaction screening can only check items whose ingredients are on file — anything without them is listed at the till as “not screened”, which is honest but not useful. See Interaction screening.

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Check it worked

  • The item is in the inventory list with the quantity you received.
  • Open POS: it appears in the Available Products grid, or comes up when you search or scan it. If it does not, check Sell at the pharmacy POS.
  • Selecting the tile adds it to the cart at your Sale price.
  • The setup checklist’s stock step is done.

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If something goes wrong

Three usual causes: Sell at the pharmacy POS is off, the item is hidden from inventory, or it is one of the 100 grid tiles that did not fit — search or scan for it before assuming it is missing.
Witness required (controlled) is ticked. That is the point of the flag: controlled items go through the dispensing station so a second person can countersign, not through the till. See The dispensing station.
Sale price is empty or wrong on the catalogue entry — Unit cost is not used at the counter. Edit the item and set the sale price.
Generate in-house code is disabled while the field already holds a code: “Clear the field to generate a new code.” Empty it first.
Selling without stock is on by default, so the till logs an oversell for reconciliation rather than blocking the sale. Turn it off, or clear the shortfalls on Inventory › Reconciliation — see Ring up a sale.
Do not type them. Import the catalogue from a spreadsheet — see Import and export.