Preventing stock theft and cash leakage in a pharmacy

Pharmacies are easy places to lose money without noticing. The goods are small and valuable. Boxes get opened and strips sold one at a time. Customers pay by cash and MoMo in a rush. And a strip missing from an opened box looks exactly like a strip that was sold.

Our article on stock and cash leakage in a mini-mart covers the basics that apply to any shop. This one is about the gaps that are particular to a pharmacy or chemical shop.

Where does a pharmacy usually lose money?

Most pharmacy leakage comes from six places, and none of them looks like theft on the day.

• Strips from opened boxesGH₵520.00
• Cash sales not rung upGH₵410.00
• Voids after the customer leftGH₵260.00
• Short deliveriesGH₵180.00
• Expiry write-offs not checkedGH₵150.00
• MoMo to a personal numberGH₵120.00

Source: Example figures

Why count medicines in strips, not boxes?

Count in the smallest unit you sell, because that is where pharmacy stock disappears. If your system only knows boxes, an opened box with two strips missing still counts as one box. Nobody can tell whether those strips were sold or taken.

When the product is set up in strips (or tablets) with the box as a pack, every sale takes off the exact number, and a weekly count of the shelf shows a real difference. Our article on selling by box, strip and tablet shows how to set this up.

Which lines should you count every week?

Count your most expensive and fastest-moving lines every week, and everything else once a quarter. In most pharmacies that weekly list is short: a few dozen lines, often branded medicines, baby milk and toiletries that sell fast and are easy to resell.

1. 1Pick the 20 lines on your high-value list
2. 2Scan and count each one in its smallest unit
3. 3Compare the count with the system
4. 4Read the week's voids, refunds and price changes
5. 5Check write-offs against the expired-stock box
6. 6Ask about any difference the same day

A small difference now and then is normal. The same line coming up short week after week, or a shortfall that always falls on one person's shift, is a pattern worth a calm conversation.

How do you stop sales that never reach the till?

Make the till the only way to sell. Every sale is scanned, every customer gets a receipt, and cash goes into the drawer only through a sale. When a customer pays and leaves without a receipt, ask why.

Open each till with a counted float, record any cash taken out for transport or water with a reason, and close with a counted drawer. A drawer that is regularly over can be as telling as one that is short: it can mean sales are being rung up for less than was paid.

How should voids, refunds and discounts work?

A cashier should be able to sell, but not cancel or cut a sale alone. Require a manager for voids, refunds and large discounts, with a reason each time. Then read the log every week. In a pharmacy, watch for refunds on items that are rarely returned and for discounts given to the same "customers" again and again.

Price changes matter too. If anyone can change a price at the till, a strip can be sold at half price to a friend. Keep price changes with the owner or manager, and look at the price-change log.

What about MoMo payments?

Take MoMo only to the business's own number, and record the transaction ID on every sale. At the end of the day, match the MoMo total on the till with the wallet statement. A customer who says "I paid the boy" and shows a different number has found the gap for you. Our guide to reconciling Mobile Money payments walks through the daily check.

How do you protect deliveries and supplier returns?

Count every delivery against the supplier's invoice before the driver leaves, check the expiry dates, and record what actually arrived with its batch and date. When you send stock back to a supplier, record the return and make sure the credit appears on your next statement. Unrecorded returns are an easy place for stock to vanish.

Why do expiry write-offs need checking?

Because "it expired" is the easiest story for missing stock. The Pharmacy Council lists the display and supply of expired medicines among offences, so expired stock must come off the shelf. But each write-off should be checked by a second person, recorded, and the boxes kept apart in a marked container until disposal. If the write-off record says 12 strips and the box holds 4, you have found a problem. See tracking expiry dates and batches for the routine.

How MPOS helps a pharmacy close the gaps

MPOS gives each person their own login with a role: owner, manager or cashier. Voids, refunds and big discounts need a manager. Every void, refund, price change and cash-up goes into an activity log you can read from anywhere.

Each till opens with a float, records cash in and out, and closes with a count, with X and Z reports. If a till closes short, the owner can get an SMS alert. MoMo payments record the transaction ID, and the money goes to the business's own wallet. MPOS never holds it.

On the stock side, products are set up in their smallest unit with packs on top, stock is kept per branch, stock takes are done by scanning, purchases and supplier returns are recorded, and dated stock is received with its batch number and expiry date. The same barcode cannot go on two products. The owner gets a weekly email report.

MPOS does not keep prescription records or a controlled-drugs register. Those stay in the form your regulator requires.

What to do next

This week, write your high-value list and count it in strips or tablets. Make sure no cashier can void or refund without a manager, and read the log on Friday. Put an expired-stock box in the store with a sheet taped to the lid.

For the full picture of running the shop, read the complete guide to running a pharmacy in Ghana. If you want to see these controls on your own counter, you can start a free trial.