Efficient inventory management: How Compound Direct’s stocktaking saves time and money

Knowing what you have in your inventory is not just crucial for ensuring you have what you need to make compounds in a timely manner, it also prevents over-ordering, loss due to expiry or incorrect monthly financials. Luckily Compound Direct has a simple and intuitive stocktaking module that will save you time and money.

1. Know the weights of the containers so you can easily subtract this from the total weight. This can be written on the side of the container or lid when first receiving the stock.
2. Complete all your invoices before commencing the stocktake- you cannot stocktake batches that haven’t been added to the system.
3. Know the type of stocktake you wish to perform based on how you wish to update stock. Referred to as the ‘Update Mode’.

The stocktake feature is found in ‘Settings’ → ‘Stocktake’

To begin click ‘Create Stocktake’ and choose how you would like the stock levels to be adjusted.

Update Mode

‘Real-Time’ stocktakes will be best if you are going to stocktake while compounding will be taking place as the stock level is updated immediately.
‘On Completion’ stocktakes will take all the values and save them, but only update at the end of the process. This is best used when no compounding will be taking place until the stocktake has been completed, and allows for a supervisor or lab manager to review and confirm the updated stock and hand, and movement cost before updating the records. 

Filters

You can choose what you will be stocktaking if you aren’t performing a full stocktake. The available options are:

1. Stock type
2. Tags (with or without)
3. Supplier
4. Dates purchased
5. Last stocktake date
6. Stock quantity (only with, without or ALL)

Once the filters have been applied you can see the list of applicable items below. 

Filter by stock type

Stock types can be ingredients, batches, devices & consumables, commercial drugs or retail drugs. When creating your stocktake, you must select a stock type. If you wish to stocktake other types at the same time, a separate stocktake must be created.

Most pharmacies keep different types of stock separately. The stocktaking process can be made simpler if the type of stock you count is filtered into smaller counts. For example, stock made in-store (batch stock) can be counted separately from ingredients bought from wholesalers.

Filter by supplier

Filtering by the supplier can be a handy way to separate stock that has been pulled from your dispensary, such as stock that is commercially available and used in the compounding process. In the example below, only stock supplied by API has been selected.

Removing items

To remove items from your stocktake you can select one or more and then click to remove from the list, this can be useful if you only want to count a selection of your items, especially if you will only update the items after the count has finished.

Once you have removed any lines you do not wish to count, you can ‘Create’ your stocktake.

A summary of the stocktake is presented when you select a stocktake from your list of stocktakes created.  If you are satisfied with the selections you can ‘Perform Stocktake’ or print a PDF to count manually, for example, if you need to count in a clean room without access to a device.

To update the stocktake from the PDF file count, you can use ‘Count mode’ and input the count manually

Clicking ‘Perform Stocktake’ will proceed through the guided stocktake.

Progress tracking

Once started, you will see the number of items remaining in the stocktake and a progress bar showing the percentage completed so far.  If you have selected to update in real time you can open and close the stocktake whenever you would like.  The counts and progress will be saved automatically.

Weighing

Once selected you can weigh the item. If you know the container weight you can select ‘Subtract total container weight’ and input the value. This will be subtracted from the total weight on the scales.

Tare the scales and place the item on the scale for real-time calculation. Select ‘Confirm’ to record. 

You can repeat this process if you need to split the weighing over several occasions by selecting ‘Continue Weighing’. You will be able to see the total value based on all the weights for that item.

Once all items have been weighed you can select ‘Save & Next’.

Counting

Some items you stocktake may be counted rather than weighed, for example, batches of capsules, devices and consumables, retail or commercial medications. Compound Direct will recognise when stock has been entered as units and will ask for a count rather than a weight.

If the product has a barcode you can toggle ‘Scan Mode’ and scan each item via its barcode. Depending on what works best, you may use a traditional scanner with your laptop or PC, or use a device that has an inbuilt camera such as a tablet or a phone.

Alerts

If you perform a count and the variation is above the threshold, you will be alerted before you save the count. For example, if you had split the item into several containers, you may have forgotten to record the weight of the additional container. Or in the case of counting, you may record 1,000 capsules instead of 10,000.  

The threshold for a variance alert is more than 5% difference from the weight in grams or volume in mLs.  For stock counted in units the alert will show for any variation even if it is just 1 unit away.

Counted items

As you progress through the stocktake, the items you have counted will move from ‘Remaining’ to ‘Counted’ and the result of the count will be shown. The stocktake window can be closed and re-opened at any stage and progress will be saved. Remember, if you have selected to update stock after completion you may end up with inaccurate counts if the stocktake is not completed before you resume compounding.

If you have miscounted or would like to edit a counted item you can click the 3-dots and ‘redo stocktake’

Completing the stocktake

The stocktake can be finalised at any stage, even if all items shown are not counted. To do so you can select ‘Mark as Complete’. You will need to confirm this action in case you accidentally selected to complete.

When you open a completed stocktake you can view all of the previously selected types and filters and you can see what was counted and the variance when compared to the theoretical count.

You can export the stocktake if you wish to run any reports or financials based upon the results, for example for financial year or end-of-month figures.

• Accurate inventory tracking is essential for timely compounding, preventing over-ordering, and maintaining correct financial records
• Access stocktake through the Settings menu, with options for performing a whole store stocktake or real-time stocktake with values being updated as you go.
• Filter options include stock type, tags, supplier, location, and dates to customise the stocktake scope
• Items can be counted by weight (with container weight subtraction) or by units for items like capsules, devices & finished products
• Split weighing for large batches is supported, and barcode scanning is available for countable items
• System alerts for significant count variations to prevent errors
• Stocktake can be completed at any time and exported for financial reporting, showing variances between theoretical and actual counts

Take a look at the stocktake user guide to learn more about how the stocktake system works

All names and medical data shown in software screenshots are fictional and for demonstration purposes only. These figures represent fictional persons; any resemblance to real individuals is purely coincidental. Use of existing fictional names is for illustrative purposes and does not imply affiliation or endorsement.