Near-expiry medicine returns: agree terms, return on time and confirm the credit

Why returns are a cash problem, not only a stock problem

Every short-dated pack on your shelf is money you have already paid. A return or exchange can recover part of that money, but only if three things happen: you identify the stock in time, the supplier accepts it, and the credit is actually applied to your account.

Most lost credit does not come from refusals. It comes from returns that started too late, were not documented, or were never checked against the next statement.

Step 1: Agree the terms before you buy

Ask each distributor these questions before you place large orders, and write the answers down:

• Do you accept returns or exchanges of short-dated stock? For which companies and products?
• How many days before expiry must a return reach you?
• Do you give full credit, partial credit or an exchange for fresh stock?
• What documents do you need: invoice number, batch number, a return form?
• How and when will the credit appear on my account?

Use the answers when you compare suppliers. A slightly lower price is not worth much if short-dated stock can never be returned.

Step 2: Build the return list from your expiry alerts

Use your 90/60/30-day expiry review as the trigger. At the 60-day stage, look at each short-dated batch and decide:

Step 3: Document every return

Prepare a return note for each supplier with these details for every line:

• Product name, strength and pack size
• Batch number and expiry date
• Quantity returned
• Original invoice number and date
• The value you expect as credit

Ask the delivery person or the distributor's representative to sign a copy when they collect the stock. Keep the signed copy with your supplier records.

Step 4: Confirm the credit

Sending the stock back does not change your balance. The return is complete only when the credit note or exchange appears.

1. Record the return as pending against the supplier, with its expected value.
2. When the credit note arrives, compare it with your return note line by line.
3. Check the next supplier statement to make sure the credit was applied.
4. Follow up on any return that is still pending after the agreed time.

Step 5: Reduce how often you need returns

Returns recover only part of the money, and they take staff time. Each month, look at which products appear on the return list again and again. Reduce their order quantity, order more often in smaller amounts, or ask the supplier for longer-dated stock at delivery.

At receiving, check the expiry date before accepting the delivery. Short-dated stock is easier to refuse at the door than to return later.

How RunMyPharmacy supports the return process

RunMyPharmacy records the batch number and expiry date of every received batch and raises alerts at 90, 60 and 30 days before expiry, and again after expiry. Each alert names the product, batch number and days remaining, and the reports page lists products that expire within 30 days. Together they are the starting point for your return list. Purchase records show what you bought from each supplier and the payment status.

RunMyPharmacy does not create supplier return notes or credit notes. Keep those documents with your supplier records and reconcile them against the supplier statement.

See supplier and purchase records