Balance stock control
Menu > Tools > Inquiry > Find Product > Select product > Details button > Details tab > Ordering section
If data has been converted from a previous legacy pharmacy
system, usage figures will have been transferred to Pharmacy Manager.
This means you can use the Prism method immediately.
However, if you have had Pharmacy Manager only a short while, it has not
built up a history of stock usage patterns, so you cannot use the more
sophisticated methods of stock control yet.
Therefore, to begin with, you would use Balance Stock Control. This
is a simple but very effective method of stock control. It just replaces
stock used and does not vary order quantities with demand; it does not
use the stock level or maximum daily usage figures to calculate the order.
The balance used value figure on the Product Details screen
and the Minimum order quantity figure (if set) are the only figures
used to calculate when to place an order. The stock level drops and usage
figures are stored, but the system does not use them for Balance order
creation.
When the balance used figure reaches or exceeds the pack size of
that drug, it produces order in multiples of the pack size, which is then
subtracted from the Balance used figure.
E.g. Nifedipine 10mg Capsules pack size 100. Balance used figure = 0, Minimum
order quantity = 0. If you dispense 120, the system orders 1 X 100 and
the Balance used figure will be 20.
If there is a Minimum Order quantity, the used figure will not trigger
the order until it reaches the Minimum order figure.
E.g. Co-dydramol 10/500mg Tablets, pack size 100, Balance Used figure =
0, Min. Order = 500.
Dispense 200 tablets. Balance Used = 200
Dispense 150 tablets. Balance Used = 350
Dispense 200 tablets. Balance Used = 50, On order = 500.
If an Owing is created, the 'Owed' quantity is added to the 'Balance
Used' figure when the owing is created, not when the owing is dispensed.
This ensures that it orders enough stock to cover any outstanding owings.
Calculating Balance Used value
To enter 'Balance Used' figures on Product Details screen
use the following formula:
Balance Used value = Minimum stock level + Minimum Order quantity figure
(if used) or Pack size (if no Min. order figure) - Stock Holding - Qty
on Order
You can enter a negative 'Balance Used' figure if necessary; this will use up any 'overstock'.
The examples below show how to calculate the 'Balance Used'
figure.
Examples 1 and 2 have no Minimum order figure set.
Example 1:
Diazepam 10mg tablets, pack size 500. Quantity on shelf
= 300, Required minimum stock level = 100, none on order.
100 (min. stock level) + 500 (pack size) - 300 (in stock) = 300 ('Balance
used' figure)
Example 2: (Includes a quantity on order)
Nitrazepam 5mg tablets, pack size 500. Quantity on shelf
= 200, Required minimum stock level = 150, On order = 500
150 (min. stock level) + 500 (pack size) - 200 (in stock) - 500 (on order)
= -50 ('balance used' figure)
Example 3: (Includes Minimum order quantity)
Amiloride 5mg tablets, pack size 100. Quantity on shelf
= 600, Required minimum stock level = 200, none on order, Minimum order
quantity = 500 (5 x 100).
200 (min. stock level) + 500 (minimum order quantity) - 600 (in stock)
= 100 ('balance used' figure)
Example 4: (Includes 'OP' with Minimum order level)
Salbutamol Inhaler, pack size 1. Quantity on shelf = 14,
Required minimum stock level = 6, none on order, Minimum order quantity
= 10
6 (min. stock level) + 10 (minimum order quantity) - 14 (in stock) = 2
('balance used' figure).
Stock levels
You can enter Stock levels on Product Details if required.
This will enable Stock check while labelling
to be used, so that 'Owings' can be automatically created if there is
not sufficient stock on the shelf.
If you plan to use Prism or Fixed Prism methods of stock
control at some time in the future, you can enter stock levels gradually,
over time in preparation for this.
