Devices & Consumables

Devices and consumables are commonly used items in preparations including bottles and capsules. Stock management is now available, with device batch tracking, allowing your business to stay ahead of its requirements. Record each device and variant you use and link it with formulation dosage forms to automatically track usage. 'Devices & Consumables' is an advanced feature, speak to our 'Compound Direct' team about how this tool can help your business and enable device batch tracking.

Types of devices

ContainersContainers of products which are compounded and are treated specially (e.g., bottles, jars, and Syringes)
CapsulesEmpty capsules in compound formulations; dynamically adjusts to capsule size
Per ContainerDevices that are used for each container (e.g., spoons, silica gels, and lids)
Per Final UnitDevices that are used per final unit (e.g., suppository shells, and wrappers)
more_horizOthersCovers all other device categories not specifically classified

Container matching

  • ‘Containers’ are treated specially in the system to streamline your compounding experience. When dispensing a formulation, the system will match the final units of a product with the closest container it can find with sufficient volume. When a product is split over multiple containers the product units per container are matched to the most appropriate container.

  • To do this the system will search for devices in the device group you have linked with a dosage form, with a valid volume.


  • Formulations that are encapsulated are matched to the most appropriate bottle available in the system using the 'Lynch Method'. The method takes into account the volume of the capsule size you have selected and uses an algorithm to determine the minimum volume required for packaging.

Finding a device

  1. Go to the ‘Settings’ page.
  2. Under the ‘Stock’ section click on ‘Devices & Consumables’.
  3. A list of devices is shown by device name together with the device type, stock on hand, and the number of variants.
  4. To find your desired device you may either:
    1. Begin typing the name of the device into the search bar.
    2. Click on the sell icon to display a list of tags to apply in the search.
    3. Click on the ‘More Filters’ button near the search bar to apply more filters to the list.
      1. Click on the ‘Tagged With’ drop-down menu and include either consumables with a specific Tag or without a specific Tag to the search.
      2. Click on the ‘Archival Status’ drop-down menu and tick the ‘Show Archived’ checkbox to show archived consumables.
    4. Click on the ‘Sort By’ button to sort the product list by created date or device name.
  5. The LOW STOCK tag will appear beside the stock on hand count when the consumables/variant reaches its ‘Minimum Stock on Hand’ threshold.
  6. Once found click on the device to view it.

Adding a device

  1. Go to the ‘Settings’ page.
  2. Under the ‘Stock’ section click on ‘Devices & Consumables’.
  3. Click on the ‘Add Device’ button.
  4. Under ‘Device details’ input your device name.
  5. Then select the appropriate ‘Device Type’ from the options.
  6. You can organize your devices by adding a tag using the ‘Tags’ drop-down.
    • For more information see the Tags tutorial.
  7. Select whether to allow negative stock on hand or not by ticking/unticking the ‘Allow negative stock on hand‘ checkbox.
    • This will allow you to allocate stock even if there is not enough stock.
  8. Select whether you want to track the batches of this device/consumable by ticking/unticking the ‘Batches are individually tracked for this device group‘ checkbox.
  9. Under ‘Variant details’ upload your product's image by clicking the ‘add_photo_alternate Add Image’ box or drag and drop your image to the box.
  10. For ‘Containers’, you will need to input the volume of the container.
  11. For ‘Capsules’, you will need to select the capsule size from the drop-down menu.
  12. Enter the inventory details including the initial stock on hand, minimum stock on hand, preferred supplier, supplier SKU, preferred quantity, and purchase price.
    • The ‘Minimum Stock on Hand’ is the minimum number of units that must be available in stock before a low stock alert is given.
    • Adding a variant

      • 1. Click on the ‘+ Add Variant’ tab button and a new variant tab will be added.
      • 2. Input the variant name. The tab header will also display the variant name.
      • 3. Upload the variant's image by clicking the ‘add_photo_alternate Add Image’ box or drag and drop your image to the box.
        • You will also need to supply a variant name for the first variant, as the variant name input field won't display until you add the second variant.
        • 4. For ‘Containers’, you will need to input the volume of the container.
        • 5. For ‘Capsules’, you will need to select the capsule size from the drop-down menu.
        • 6. Enter the inventory details including the initial stock on hand, minimum stock on hand, preferred supplier, supplier SKU, preferred quantity, and purchase price.
        • If you wish to delete a variant, a ‘Delete’ button will appear below each variant tab.
  13. Click on the ‘Create’ button when finished to create the new device.

Editing a device

  1. Go to the ‘Settings’ page.
  2. Under the ‘Stock’ section click on ‘Devices & Consumables’.
  3. Find the desired device and click on the name to begin editing.
  4. Click on the ‘More Actions’ drop-down menu to archive the device if required.
  5. Editing the quantity will depend on whether batch tracking is enabled or not.
    1. If batch tracking is not enabled, you can directly edit the device quantity by clicking on the edit icon under the ‘Stock on hand’ section.
    2. If batch tracking is enabled, under the ‘Batches’ section click on the batch you wish to edit the quantity, you will be then taken to the ‘Batch details’ page where you can click on the edit icon to edit the quantity.
  6. Edit the ‘Device details’ as required including the name, device type, and preferred supplier.
    • For single variant products, You can directly edit the variant's property through this page. See Editing a device variant for more information.
  7. Under ‘Tags’ current tags can be seen, added, or removed.
    1. Click on the drop-down menu to add a tag that has already been created in the system to the device.
    2. To create a new tag, begin typing the desired tag under ‘Tags’ and press the Enter / Return key to add it.
    3. To remove a tag click on the close near its name.
  8. Select whether to allow negative stock on hand or not by ticking/unticking the ‘Allow negative stock on hand‘ checkbox.
    • This will allow you to allocate stock even if there is not enough stock.
  9. Select whether you want to track the batches of this device by ticking/unticking the ‘Batches are individually tracked for this device group‘ checkbox.
  10. Click on the ‘Save’ button when finished to save changes.

Adding a variant

  1. Go to the ‘Settings’ page.
  2. Under the ‘Stock’ section click on ‘Devices & Consumables’.
  3. Find the desired device and click on the name.
  4. How to add a variant will depend on whether the device is a single variant or a multiple variant device.
    1. For single variant devices:
      1. Click on the ‘More Actions‘ drop-down menu then ‘+ Add Variant’ button.
    2. For multiple variant devices:
      1. Under ‘Device variants’ click on the ‘Add Variant’ button.
  5. Input the variant name.
  6. Upload the variant's image by clicking the ‘add_photo_alternate Add Image’ box or drag and drop your image to the box.
  7. For ‘Containers’, you will need to input the volume of the container.
  8. For ‘Capsules’, you will need to select the capsule size from the drop-down menu.
  9. Enter the inventory details including the initial stock on hand, minimum stock on hand, preferred supplier, supplier SKU, preferred quantity, and purchase price.
  10. Click on the ‘Create’ button when finished to create the new variant.

Editing a variant

  1. Go to the ‘Settings’ page.
  2. Under the ‘Stock’ section click on ‘Devices & Consumables’.
  3. Find the desired device and click on the name to begin editing.
  4. Editing a variant will depend on whether the device is a single variant or a multiple variant device.
    1. For single variant devices:
      1. You can directly edit the variant's property through the ‘Device details’ page.
    2. For multiple variant devices:
      1. Under ‘Device variants’ click on the name of the desired variant you wish to edit.
        • Additionally: You can directly edit the variant quantity by clicking on the edit icon, or rearrange the variant order by dragging the menu icon for each variant.
        • Update variant units as new stock comes in.
  5. Click on the ‘More Actions’ drop-down menu to archive the device/variant if required.
  6. Edit the variant name or image as required.
  7. If batch tracking is enabled, a list of batches will be displayed under the ‘Batches’ section. The batch code, date created, quantity, and expiry date of each batch can be found here.
  8. Editing the quantity will depend on whether batch tracking is enabled or not.
    1. If batch tracking is not enabled, you can directly edit the variant quantity by clicking on the edit icon under the ‘Stock on hand’ section.
    2. If batch tracking is enabled, under the ‘Batches’ section click on the batch you wish to edit the quantity, you will be then taken to the ‘Batch details’ page where you can click on the edit icon to edit the quantity.
  9. Click ‘Show History’ to view the device history in further detail.
    1. Click ‘Export’ to export as Excel (.xlsx) or CSV (.csv) file.
  10. Edit the ‘Minimum Stock on Hand’ as required.
  11. If batch tracking is enabled, ‘Validated Allocation’ will be available. This will allow you to scan and then weigh the device during the batch input process and will help you confirm whether the correct number of units is being allocated based on the average weight per unit.
  12. Click on the ‘Save’ button when finished to save changes.

Linking devices to a dosage form

  1. Go to the ‘Settings’ page.
  2. Under the ‘Formulation’ section click on ‘Dosage Forms’.
  3. Find the desired dosage form and click on the name to begin editing or create a new dosage form if required.
  4. On the ‘Dosage Form’ page, Under the ‘Devices’ section click on the ‘Add Device’ button, this will open the ‘Device List’ modal.
    1. On the ‘Device List’ modal, you will see the list of devices that are available to add to the dosage form.
    2. The list will display the number of stock on hand for each device/variant.
    3. Depending on the device type you will see different labels for each device:
      1. For ‘Containers’, an ‘auto_awesome Any container size’ label will be shown instead of the device name. This means that ‘Container Matching’ is supported and Compound Direct will match the final units with the closest container it can find from that device group during compounding.
      2. For ‘Capsules’, an ‘auto_awesome Any capsule size’ label will be shown. This means that Compound Direct will auto-select the appropriate capsule size during compounding.
      3. For ‘Per Container’, ‘Per Final Unit’, and ‘more_horizOthers’, the device/variant name and description will be shown.
    4. You can search for a device by typing the device group, device name, or variant name into the search bar.
    5. Once you have found the device you wish to add, click on the device to add it to the dosage form.
    6. Click on the ‘Done’ button once you've added all the devices you wish to add.
  5. For ‘Per Container’ and ‘Per Final Unit’, you can modify the number of units used when compounding by clicking on the more_vert icon on the right side of the device and selecting ‘Modify Calculation’ from the drop-down menu. You can then select the ‘Quantity Calculation’.
    1. Use Multiplier - Specify the multiplier for the number of units needed depending on the number of containers or final units of the formulation.
    2. Use Exact Quantity - Specify the exact number of units needed for this dosage form.
  6. For ‘more_horizOthers’ you will be able to specify the exact number of units needed for this dosage form by entering the quantity in the ‘Quantity’ field.
  7. To remove a device from a dosage form, click on the more_vert icon on the right side of the device and select ‘Remove Device’ from the drop-down menu.
  8. Click on the ‘Save’ or ‘Create’ button when finished to save changes or create the dosage form with the selected devices.
    • See Dosage Forms tutorial for more information and a list of default settings for each dosage form.

Modify devices of a formulation

  1. Go to the ‘Formulation’ you wish to modify the devices.
  2. Under the ‘Devices’ section you can either inherit the dosage form devices or customise for that specific formulation.
    1. By default, the dosage form will inherit the devices from the dosage form selected, this is indicated by the ‘Inherit’ label on the drop-down button.
    2. To use a customised device list, click on the drop-down button and click the ‘Customise for formulation’ option.
  3. For inherited devices, modification will be locked and you will not be able to modify until during compounding.
  4. For customised device list, you will be able to add and modify devices as required.
    1. To add a device, click on the ‘Add Device’ button, this will open the ‘Device List’ modal.
      1. On the ‘Device List’ modal, you will see the list of devices and variants.
      2. The list will also display the number of stock on hand for each device/variant.
      3. For ‘Capsules’, a ‘star Correct capsule size for this preparation’ label will be shown for the correct capsule size.
      4. You can search for a device by typing the device group, device name, or variant name into the search bar.
      5. Once you have found the device you wish to add, click on the device to add it.
      6. Click on the ‘Done’ button once you've added all the devices you wish to add.
  5. For ‘Per Container’ and, ‘Per Final Unit’, you can modify the number of units used when compounding by clicking on the more_vert icon on the right side of the device and selecting ‘Modify Calculation’ from the drop-down menu. You can then select the ‘Quantity Calculation’.
    1. Use Multiplier - Specify the multiplier for the number of units needed depending on the number of containers or final units of the formulation.
    2. Use Exact Quantity - Specify the exact number of units needed for this formulation.
  6. For ‘more_horizOthers’ you will be able to specify the exact number of units needed for this formulation by entering the quantity in the ‘Quantity’ field.
  7. To remove a device, click on the more_vert icon on the right side of the device and select ‘Remove Device’ from the drop-down menu.
  8. Click on the ‘Save’ or ‘Create’ button when finished to save changes or create the formulation with the selected devices.

Modify devices for Batch Manufacture

  1. Go to the ‘Batch Stock’ you wish to modify the devices.
  2. Click the ‘Manufacture Batch’ button, this will open the ‘Create Batch Manufacture’ modal.
  3. Click ‘Prepare with changes’ link, this will open the ‘Prepare Batch Manufacture’ modal.
  4. Under the ‘Devices’ section click on the ‘Add Device’ button, this will open the ‘Device List’ modal.
    1. On the ‘Device List’ modal, you will see the list of devices and variants.
    2. The list will also display the number of stock on hand for each device/variant.
    3. You can search for a device by typing the device group, device name, or variant name into the search bar.
    4. Once you have found the device you wish to add, click on the device to add it.
    5. Click on the ‘Done’ button once you've added all the devices you wish to add.
  5. For ‘Container’, ‘Per Container’ and ‘Per Final Unit’, you can modify the number of units used when compounding by clicking on the more_vert icon on the right side of the device and selecting ‘Modify Calculation’ from the drop-down menu. You can then select the ‘Quantity Calculation’.
    1. Use Multiplier - Specify the multiplier for the number of units needed depending on the number of containers or final units of the formulation.
    2. Use Exact Quantity - Specify the exact number of units needed for this batch manufacture.
  6. For ‘more_horizOthers’ you will be able to specify the exact number of units needed for this batch manufacture by entering the quantity in the ‘Quantity’ field.
  7. To remove a device, click on the more_vert icon on the right side of the device and select ‘Remove Device’ from the drop-down menu.
  8. On the ‘Containers’ field below the devices section, you can input the number of containers by which the final quantity will be divided by. This will also determine the number of labels to be printed.
  9. Click on the ‘Create Batch Manufacture’ button when finished to create the batch manufacture.

Modify devices used during compounding

  1. Go to the ‘Script’ you wish to modify the devices.
  2. Click on the ‘View Preparation’ button.
  3. Under the ‘Devices’ section click on the ‘Edit Devices’ button.
  4. On the ‘Edit Devices’ page, you will see the list of devices and the quantity of each device used during compounding.
  5. To add a device, click on the ‘Add Device’ button, this will open the ‘Device List’ modal.
    1. On the ‘Device List’ modal, you will see the list of devices and variants.
    2. The list will also display the number of stock on hand for each device/variant.
    3. You can search for a device by typing the device group, device name, or variant name into the search bar.
    4. Once you have found the device you wish to add, click on the device to add it.
    5. Click on the ‘Done’ button once you've added all the devices you wish to add.
  6. To remove a device, click on the more_vert icon on the right side of the device and select ‘Remove Device’ from the drop-down menu.
  7. Click on the ‘Save’ button when finished to save changes.
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