# Pharmacy step 4: receive stock with batch and expiry

> Record distributor purchases with lot numbers, manufacturing and expiry dates, buy in boxes while counting tablets, and follow every batch in the Lot Report.

Source: https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/pharmacy/step-4-purchases-batches-and-expiry/  
Last updated: 2026-10-30  
Product: SmartPOS Hub (https://smartposhub.com)

In a pharmacy every unit on the shelf belongs to a **batch** with an **expiry date**. You record both when the stock arrives, on the purchase. From then on SmartPOS Hub knows which batch each sale comes from and warns you before anything expires.

## Before you start

- **Enable Product Expiry** and **Enable Lot number** are on ([step 1](https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/pharmacy/step-1-pharmacy-settings/)).
- Your distributors are added in **Purchases › Suppliers** with their **Pay term**.

## Record a distributor delivery

1. Open **Purchases › Add Purchase**.
2. Choose the **Supplier**, the **Business Location** and the **Purchase Date**; type the distributor's invoice number in **Reference No**.
3. Set **Purchase Status** to **Received** once the medicines are checked in.
4. Search or scan each medicine. On its line enter:
   - **Purchase Quantity** and the unit (**Box**, **Strip** or **Tablet**);
   - **Unit Cost**;
   - **Lot Number** from the pack;
   - **MFG Date / EXP Date** (or only the expiry, depending on your setting).
5. Enter what you paid now (or leave it as due) and click **Save**.

![Add Purchase form with supplier, reference, date, status, location and products table with Lot Number and MFG Date / EXP Date columns](https://docs.smartposhub.com/_astro/add-purchase-lot-expiry.DtuvwQz9.png) (web app page: `/purchases/create`)
*Lot Number and MFG / EXP Date columns on the purchase line.*

:::tip[Check expiry on arrival]
Don't receive short-dated stock you can't sell in time. If a distributor sends it, record a purchase return straight away ([step 8](https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/pharmacy/step-8-expiry-returns-and-write-offs/)).
:::

## Follow purchases and dues

**Purchases › List Purchases** shows each delivery with its status, payment status and what you still owe. Pay distributors from **Add payment** on the purchase or from the supplier's page. See [Supplier payments and credit](https://docs.smartposhub.com/inventory/supplier-payments-and-credit/).

![Pharmacy purchases list with distributors, Received status, Paid and Partial payment statuses and purchase due](https://docs.smartposhub.com/_astro/pharmacy-purchases.BEqlN2Sc.png) (web app page: `/purchases`)
*Distributor purchases with partial payments still due.*

## See your batches

**Reports › Lot Report** lists every lot with its product, **EXP Date** (and how far away it is), current stock, units sold and units adjusted. Filter by location, category or brand.

![Lot Report listing several lots of Feverol 500mg Tablets with expiry dates from a year to two years away and stock in strips](https://docs.smartposhub.com/_astro/lot-report.C88ZwCoy.png) (web app page: `/reports/lot-report`)
*One medicine, many batches: each with its own expiry and stock.*

More: [Purchases](https://docs.smartposhub.com/inventory/purchases/), [Expiry and batches](https://docs.smartposhub.com/inventory/expiry-and-batches/), [Serial, IMEI and lots](https://docs.smartposhub.com/inventory/serial-imei-and-lots/).

  - [Step 5: Sell by tablet, strip or box](https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/pharmacy/step-5-sell-by-strip-and-box/)
  - [Opening stock](https://docs.smartposhub.com/catalog/opening-stock/)

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I buy in boxes and sell single strips?

Yes. Pick the Box unit on the purchase line. Stock is added in tablets (for example 1 box of 200 = 200 tablets) and you can sell by tablet, strip or box.

### What if one delivery has two batches of the same medicine?

Add the medicine twice on the purchase, one line per lot number with its own expiry date.

### How do I enter opening stock with expiry dates?

Use Products › Import Opening Stock or the product's opening stock window; both accept lot numbers and expiry dates when those settings are on.

### Where do I see which batches I have?

Reports › Lot Report lists stock by lot number with the expiry date, current stock, units sold and adjusted.

### Can I correct a wrong expiry date?

Yes. The Stock Expiry Report lets you edit the expiry date of a purchased lot.