Pharmacy front-shop POS with lot and expiry tracking

What SeroPOS does in a pharmacy

A community pharmacy is two businesses under one roof: the dispensary and the front shop. SeroPOS is for the front shop. It handles barcode checkout, returns, discounts, loyalty and inventory for over-the-counter products, vitamins, personal care, cosmetics, greeting cards and household goods. For many independent pharmacies, that front shop is a meaningful share of revenue and deserves proper retail tools.

It is not a dispensing system and does not manage prescriptions, drug identification numbers or patient records. Pharmacies keep their dispensing software for that work and use SeroPOS for the retail side, where lot and expiry tracking, supplier ordering and clean accounting make the biggest difference. Keeping the two systems separate also keeps the retail tools simple for cashiers.

Lots and expiry dates on the shelf

Front-shop products like vitamins, supplements, sunscreen and baby formula carry expiry dates, and expired stock on the shelf is a problem. SeroPOS records lot numbers and expiry dates on the products that need them. The expiry report shows what is coming due, so staff can rotate stock, return it to the supplier or mark it down while it still sells.

SeroBooks carries batch and expiry details into inventory, so when expired product is written off the cost reaches the ledger instead of vanishing in a recount. If a supplier issues a recall by lot, you know which lots you received and which are still on hand, which makes pulling affected stock a quick, targeted job.

• Lot numbers and expiry dates captured at receiving
• Expiry report for rotation, returns and markdowns
• Batch and expiry carried into SeroBooks inventory
• Stock adjustments with reasons for write-offs

Ordering from wholesalers

Front-shop stock usually comes from one or two main wholesalers plus direct vendors for cosmetics and seasonal lines. SeroPOS keeps each supplier with their products and costs, raises purchase orders from low-stock items and updates counts when you receive the delivery against the order. Lot numbers and expiry dates are captured at the same moment, while the boxes are still open on the counter.

In SeroBooks, supplier bills are matched to purchase orders and goods received, accounts payable shows what is due, and payment runs pay several suppliers at once. Receipt and invoice scanning turns a photo of a paper bill into a draft bill, which saves keying when deliveries arrive with paper invoices.

Checkout, loyalty and controls

At the counter, SeroPOS scans barcodes, handles discounts and returns, and takes mixed tender. Customer profiles and loyalty points reward regulars who buy vitamins or personal care every month. Receipts print on ESC/POS printers or go out by email or SMS. Card payments run through certified terminals from Global Payments or Moneris, so card data stays in the terminal.

Role-based permissions decide who can adjust stock, override prices, issue refunds or open the drawer. Register shifts and Z-reports tie each drawer to a cashier, and SeroBooks keeps an append-only audit trail of changes to financial records, with period locks once a month is closed. Your accountant can be given their own access to review the books.

• Barcode checkout with discounts and returns
• Loyalty points for regular customers
• Role-based permissions on stock and refunds
• Register shifts and Z-reports per cashier
• Audit trail and period locks in SeroBooks

Accounting, tax and staff

SeroBooks puts front-shop sales, supplier bills and payments into one double-entry ledger with inventory valued properly. Some health products are zero-rated or exempt for GST/HST while cosmetics and household items are taxable, and tax is set per item for every Canadian province. US stores get state sales tax and economic nexus tracking.

For front-shop staff and cashiers, SeroPayroll runs Canadian payroll for all 13 provinces and territories from $25 a month for up to 10 employees, with CPP, EI, vacation pay, statutory holidays, remittances, T4s and ROEs handled. US pharmacies can run payroll in SeroBooks Pro, which covers federal and state withholding.