Buy medicine in packs but sell it loose — e.g. dispense 10 tablets from a pack of 100. This works through the item's packages: define one package per way you buy/sell, and the system handles the maths, stock, and batch lots for you.
Before you start
- On the drug's Pharmacy tab, set the Unit of dispense (tablet, strip, bottle…) so staff know what "loose" means for this item.
- Decide the sizes you buy and sell in (e.g. Pack of 100 and Tablet).
Set up loose dispensing
- Open the drug in Products & Services.
- On its Packages tab, define a package for each unit:
- Pack of 100 — No. of units = 100, with the pack purchase/sell price.
- Tablet — No. of units = 1, with the per-tablet selling price.
- Save. The base unit is always the smallest (1 unit); everything converts to it for stock.
Dispense loose
- On the sale, add the drug and pick the Tablet package.
- Enter the loose quantity (e.g. 10). The system:
- charges 10 × the per-tablet price,
- reduces stock by 10 base units,
- and — for batch-tracked drugs — draws those 10 units FEFO from the earliest-expiring lot (via the "⋯ lots" editor).
Tips
- The smallest package (No. of units = 1) is your dispense/loose unit — always define one for drugs you sell loose.
- Buying and selling prices live on the package, so your loose margin is whatever you set on the per-unit package — independent of the pack price.
- Stock, expiry, and batch tracking all work in base units, so partial packs never confuse the balance.
Common problems
- I can only sell whole packs. → Add a No. of units = 1 package (the loose unit) to the item and give it a price.
- The loose price looks wrong. → Set the price on the loose (1-unit) package; it isn't auto-derived from the pack price.
- Batch lots ask for the wrong quantity. → The lot editor works in base units (tablets). Enter the loose count there; it maps back to the package automatically.