A weekly numbers review for a retail pharmacy

One hour, once a week

You do not need a full set of accounts every evening. You do need one sitting each week where the owner looks at the same four questions:

1. Did the cash drawer agree with the shifts?
2. Did you make margin on what you sold, after the true cost of the stock?
3. Which batches will become a loss if you do nothing?
4. Who owes you, and who do you owe?

Pick a quiet hour. Use the same day each week so it happens.

Cash

Add the closing counts of each shift. Subtract the opening floats so you are looking at movement, not at the permanent drawer balance.

Then list cash that left for a reason other than a customer refund:

• Supplier paid in cash
• Shop expenses
• Owner drawings

If the week's cash is short and there is no note, go back to the shift that failed to close. Do not spread the gap across the week until it disappears.

Margin

Margin is selling price minus the true cost of the batch you sold, not minus a rounded trade price you remember. Free packs from a scheme belong in that cost. The purchasing guide shows the division.

Look at items that sold at a loss or at a margin that cannot cover breakage and expiry. Sometimes the printed retail price and a poor scheme are the cause. Sometimes the batch cost was entered wrong at receiving. Fix the record before you "fix" the shelf.

This review is not tax advice. Sales tax on products in a Pakistani pharmacy depends on what the item is and on the current federal schedules. Registered drugs have in recent years been taxed mainly at the manufacturer or importer stage, while other products on the same shelf can be treated differently, and Finance Acts change the detail. Ask your tax adviser before you add or omit tax on a bill. Do not copy last year's rate because it was familiar.

Expiry risk

List batches expiring in the next 30, 60, and 90 days, with quantity and cost. Sort by the rupees at risk, not by the number of packs. Ten cheap packs matter less than one expensive slow mover.

For each line, choose one action and write it down:

• Sell it first, at the printed price, by putting it in front
• Return it if that supplier's agreement still allows a return
• Move it to another branch you own, if that branch can sell it
• Quarantine it if it is already expired, and do not sell it

There is no universal "six months" return rule. The window is whatever that distributor agreed. Acting while the pack is still inside that window is the whole point of the weekly list.

Money in and money out

Separate two lists:

• Customers who owe you (credit sales not yet collected)
• Suppliers you owe, including bills not reduced by credit notes

A shop can look profitable and still be unable to pay a distributor because too much of the month is sitting in udhaar. Collect the old customer balances before you take more stock on credit from suppliers.

Key takeaways

• Reconcile shift cash before you look at profit.
• Use batch cost, including bonus packs, for margin.
• Sort near-expiry stock by rupees, then act while a return is still allowed.
• Customer dues and supplier dues are different lists.