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A count compares what the system holds against what is actually on the shelf, and then makes the system agree with the shelf. Opening a count takes a snapshot of current stock, so counting and selling can carry on side by side without the figures moving underneath you.

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Open the count

1

Start a new count

On the Counts tab, select New count. The sheet explains itself: “Snapshot current stock into a worksheet, then enter what you physically count.”
2

Set the scope

Scope is either Whole clinic — meaning your whole pharmacy — or a single location. A scoped count is far easier to finish in one go, and a count you finish is worth more than a count you abandon.
3

Choose the count type

4

Say how it was counted

How was it counted? has two answers.Type counts by hand (worksheet) — “Open a worksheet and key each quantity against the system snapshot.” This page covers that route.Portable scanner (CipherLab terminal) — “Walk the shelves with the terminal first, then upload the scans here.” See Count with a CipherLab scanner.
5

Open it

A toast confirms “Count opened”. The worksheet now holds a frozen snapshot of the scope.

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Enter what you counted

The worksheet lists every lot in scope with its Location and the System quantity. Enter the real number in Counted.
  • Leave a row blank if you have not reached it yet. Blank is “not counted”, not “zero”.
  • Enter 0 when there is genuinely none on the shelf. That is a real count and it produces a real variance.
  • Select save as you go — a toast confirms “Counts saved” — and come back to it. A count stays open until you approve or cancel it.

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Approve it

Approving is what actually changes stock. Up to that point nothing has moved.
1

Add a witness if the scope is controlled

A controlled-drug scope requires dual sign-off. Choose the colleague from Select a witnessing staff member; the count cannot be approved without one.
2

Approve

Saving happens first, then the approval. Where the shelf and the system already agreed, the toast reads “Approved — no variances”. Where they did not, the differences are posted to stock and to the ledger.
Approving posts every variance to stock and closes the count — it cannot be reopened or reversed. Check the outliers before you approve: a mistyped quantity on a controlled line becomes a discrepancy you have to explain. Cancel count discards an open count without touching stock, and is the right move if the counting went wrong.

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Reading the variances

The reconciliation totals name the direction rather than making you work out a sign: More than expected, Less than expected and Net difference, each valued in your currency. Treat a large “less than expected” as an event, not a correction. It is the signal for shrinkage, an unrecorded dispense, or a sale that ran ahead of stock — which shows up separately on the Reconciliation tab, covered in Batches, expiry and FEFO.

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Check it worked

  • The count shows as closed, and the sheet reads “This count is closed. Variances were posted to the ledger.”
  • The Stock tab now matches what you counted.
  • The Ledger tab shows a movement for each variance, against your name and your witness’s.
  • The Counts tab lists the count with its type, scope and date. An empty tab reads “No counts yet. Start a cycle count to reconcile physical stock against the system.”

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If something goes wrong

A controlled scope needs a witness selected. Nothing else blocks approval.
Only staff accounts in this pharmacy can witness. Invite them first — see Invite your team.
The snapshot is taken when the count is opened, so sales during the count do not shift the System column. If a delivery arrived mid-count, cancel and re-open so the snapshot includes it.
It has no stock line in this scope — either it is at another location, or it was never received. Receive it, then run the count again. If you are scanning, the reconciliation sheet lets you assign it; see Count with a CipherLab scanner.
An approved count cannot be reopened. Correct the stock with an adjustment from the toolbar’s Dispense, giving the reason, so the ledger carries both the error and the correction.