For a pharmacy, an expiry date is not just a number on a box — it is capital tied up in stock that did not sell in time, a safety risk if expired medicine is dispensed by mistake, and a point inspectors pay close attention to.
The problem is that most shops still manage expiry by eye and the occasional shelf walk, which fails easily once you stock thousands of items across many lots. This article covers how to manage drug expiry systematically — from the day stock arrives to early warnings and clearing soon-to-expire lots before they become waste.
Why expired drugs cost you money
Medicine that expires on the shelf is a cost you already paid that will never become revenue. The more varied your range and the larger your buying lots (for better prices), the higher the risk of leftovers expiring.
Beyond tied-up cash, expired drugs are a direct risk: if the system does not warn staff and the wrong lot is dispensed, a customer can receive sub-standard medicine, hurting both safety and your reputation. Good expiry management cuts cost and risk at the same time.
- Capital tied up in stock that does not sell before expiry
- Safety risk if expired medicine is dispensed unintentionally
- Write-offs as waste, which hit profit directly
- Staff time spent walking shelves to find soon-to-expire items
Capture lot and expiry at goods receipt
Accurate expiry management starts at the source — goods receipt — not when stock is already near expiry. When you receive from a supplier, record each item’s lot number, expiry date, manufacturing date and unit cost right then.
In CuraLink, creating a goods receipt lets you scan a barcode to add items and enter lot number, expiry date, manufacturing date and storage location per line. Every unit is tied to its real lot and expiry from day one — no guessing later.
Sell by FEFO (first-expired, first-out)
FEFO stands for First-Expired, First-Out: dispense the lot that expires soonest first. It differs from FIFO, which goes by receipt date, because a lot received later can expire before one received long ago.
When every unit is already tied to its lot’s expiry, you instantly know which lot to pick first. Arranging shelves and dispensing by FEFO clears soon-to-expire stock first and significantly reduces the chance of items sitting until they expire.
Automatic alerts for soon-to-expire lots
The core of expiry management is seeing it coming — not finding out after the fact. CuraLink’s dashboard surfaces items nearing expiry, and Stock Intelligence tracks expiring items with urgency levels so you can act early.
With early warning you still have options: push the stock, run a promotion, or transfer it to a busier branch — instead of leaving it until it must be written off.
- See soon-to-expire items on the dashboard and in Stock Intelligence
- Urgency levels for lots nearing expiry
- Guidance on handling and disposing of affected lots
- Manage per lot, not the product as a whole
Transfer stock between branches before expiry
If you run multiple branches, a lot that is slow in one shop may sell well in another. Transferring stock between branches before expiry is an often-overlooked way to cut waste.
Stock Intelligence highlights opportunities to move dormant (non-moving) stock to a branch with demand, and the system supports stock transfers between shops directly — so stock circulates before its expiry date instead of sitting still.
See the financial impact of waste
What gets measured gets improved. The loss and waste analysis in Stock Intelligence shows how much you lose to expired drugs in a given period and how the trend is moving.
With a clear financial figure, owners make better calls on which items to order less of, which to clear faster, and which purchasing policies leave less stranded stock over time.
Frequently asked questions
When should I start recording expiry dates?
At goods receipt, together with lot and manufacturing dates. The data is then accurate and tied to real stock from the source — better than fixing it later when items are near expiry.
What is the difference between FEFO and FIFO?
FIFO goes by receipt date (first in, first out); FEFO goes by expiry date (first expired, first out). For pharmacies FEFO is better, because a lot received later may expire before one received long ago.
How does the system reduce expired drugs?
It ties each unit to its lot and expiry, surfaces soon-to-expire items on the dashboard and in Stock Intelligence with urgency levels, so you can clear or transfer stock before it becomes waste.
How do I handle soon-to-expire lots across multiple branches?
You can transfer stock between branches before expiry. Stock Intelligence highlights opportunities to move non-moving stock to a branch with more demand.
Run your pharmacy smarter
POS, inventory and compliance in one platform. Free until your first 50 sales.