Getting Started with PharmaDesk

System Overview & Access

PharmaDesk is a web-based pharmacy management system with the following architecture:

Initial Setup

When you first log into PharmaDesk, follow these steps to set up your pharmacy system:

1. Navigate to Settings (Admin only) to configure your pharmacy information
2. Create Users for your team members with appropriate roles (Admin, Salesman, Cashier, Pharmacist)
3. Add Medicines to your pharmacy catalog with pricing and stock information
4. Add Suppliers for tracking purchase sources and managing purchase orders
5. Configure Currency Settings to match your local currency (symbol, position, etc.)
6. Test with sample transactions before going live

Settings Configuration

Access Settings (Admin only) to configure:

Master Data Setup

AdminCashier

• Medicines: Add all medicines with form, strength, unit, and pricing
• Stock/Batches: Manage stock batches with batch numbers, expiry dates, and quantities
• Suppliers: Maintain supplier list for purchase management

User Roles & Permissions

PharmaDesk has four distinct user roles, each with specific responsibilities and access levels:

Role Responsibilities Summary

Function	Admin	Salesman	Cashier	Pharmacist
Create New Sales	✓	✓	✓	✗
Collect Payments	✓	✗	✓	✗
Process Sales Returns	✓	✗	✓	✗
Create Purchases	✓	✗	✓	✗
Stock Adjustments	✓	✗	✓	✗
View Medicines	✓	✓	✓	View
Manage Medicines	✓	✗	✓	✗
Manage Suppliers	✓	✗	✓	✗
Manage Users	✓	✗	✗	✗
System Settings	✓	✗	✗	✗
View Reports	✓	✗	✓	✗

Role Descriptions

Admin — Full System Access

Administrators have complete control over the system and are responsible for overall management, configuration, and oversight.

Dashboard: System-wide dashboard with key metrics

Key Responsibilities:

• System configuration and settings
• User account management (create, edit, delete)
• Complete transaction visibility and management
• Stock and supplier management
• Access all reports and analytics
• Database backup and management

Salesman — Medicine Sales Only

Salesman focus on medicine dispensing and creating sales orders. They maintain medicines and stock information but do not handle payments or financial transactions.

Dashboard: Sales-focused view showing medicines and stock

Key Responsibilities:

• Create new sales bills for customers
• View available medicines and stock levels
• Access sales history for reference
• Manage medicine details (in collaboration with Admin)

Restrictions: Cannot access pending bills, payment collection, purchases, or stock adjustments

Pharmacist — View-Only Medicine Access

Pharmacists have read-only access to medicine information for reference purposes only.

Dashboard: Pharmacy-focused view showing medicines and stock (view-only)

Key Responsibilities:

• View available medicines and detailed information
• Check stock levels and batch information
• Access medicine reference data

Restrictions: Cannot create sales, access payments, purchases, or modify any data

Cashier — Payment & Inventory Management

Cashiers handle payment collection, inventory management, and purchasing. They work at the counter and manage shelf inventory directly.

Dashboard: Cashier-focused view showing pending bills and transactions

Key Responsibilities:

• Create new sales (for walk-in customers)
• Collect payments from pending bills
• Process sales returns
• Create and manage purchase orders
• Perform stock adjustments
• Manage supplier information
• Access sales reports

Restrictions: Cannot manage user accounts or access system settings

Role-Specific Workflows with Examples

Salesman Workflow

Typical daily workflow for a salesman creating sales orders:

Cashier Workflow

Typical daily workflow for a cashier managing payments and sales:

Admin Workflow

Typical admin workflow for managing the pharmacy system:

Advanced Workflows

Salesman Cashier — Sales Returns Workflow

Process returns when a customer returns medicines due to damage, wrong item, or other reasons. Returns reduce customer's outstanding balance and restore stock:

Sales Returns Interface Details

Sales Returns Best Practices

• Document Reason: Always record why items were returned (helps identify quality issues)
• Quick Processing: Process returns same day as receipt to maintain accurate stock counts
• Customer Verification: Verify customer has items and condition before recording return
• Batch Tracking: System automatically tracks which batch returned items came from
• Partial Returns OK: Can return just some items from a sale (e.g., 5 of 10 boxes)
• Edit Before Save: Check quantities and reason before clicking "Save Return" - editing afterwards works too

Admin Cashier — Stock Adjustments Workflow

Record inventory adjustments for damage, theft, expiry, count corrections, or other discrepancies:

Stock Adjustment Examples

• Expired Batch: Type=Expired, Direction=Reduce (-), Qty=entire batch quantity. Removes expired items from stock.
• Damaged Items: Type=Damage, Direction=Reduce (-), Qty=number damaged. Records loss from damage.
• Count Correction: Type=Count Correction, Direction=Reduce (-) or Add (+). Fixes physical count discrepancies.
• Theft/Loss: Type=Theft, Direction=Reduce (-), Qty=missing quantity. Records inventory loss.

Admin Cashier — Purchase Returns Workflow

Process returns of items you purchased from suppliers (damaged, expired, wrong items). Returns reduce supplier payable and remove stock:

Purchase Returns Interface Details

Purchase Returns Best Practices

• Quick Processing: Return damaged/wrong items to supplier as soon as identified
• Document Reason: Always record detailed reason (helps with supplier relationship and quality tracking)
• Photo Documentation: For damaged items, take photos before returning (keeps supplier honest)
• Communicate with Supplier: Email or call supplier when processing returns for large amounts
• Track Credit Notes: Maintain records of credit notes received from suppliers
• Batch Tracking: System automatically tracks which batch items came from - helps identify quality patterns
• Partial Returns OK: Can return some items from a purchase (e.g., 5 of 10 defective units)
• Edit Before Save: Double-check quantities and reasons - editing afterwards is possible but save first
• Monitor Suppliers: Use Purchase Summary report to see return rates by supplier

Salesman — Multi-Bill Management (Draft Sales)

Create and manage multiple sales bills simultaneously:

Key Features Explained

Payment Modes

PharmaDesk supports four payment methods for flexibility:

• Cash: Direct cash payment at counter
• Card: Credit or debit card payment
• Bank Transfer: Online bank transfer (for large orders or purchase orders)
• Other: Alternative payment methods (check, cryptocurrency, etc.)

Medicine Information & Location Tracking

Complete medicine catalog with detailed information:

• Medicine Details: Name, generic name, form, strength, base unit
• Storage Location: Physical location identifier (e.g., "Shelf A 2", "Refrigerator 1", "Cabinet B") - helps staff quickly locate items on shelves
• Active/Inactive Status: Deactivate medicines without deleting transaction history
• Packing Options: Multiple pack sizes (tablets, capsules, strips, bottles) for same medicine
• Pricing Per Packing: Different selling and cost prices for each pack size

Stock Management with Batches

Stock is managed at the batch level for better inventory control:

• Batch Number: Unique identifier for each batch from supplier
• FEFO Method: First Expire, First Out - system prioritizes the earliest expiry date that is still valid (already-expired batches are skipped when adding to a new bill, even if they happen to be the earliest in the list)
• Expiry Date: Automatic alerts for expired or expiring medicines
• Quantity Tracking: Real-time stock quantity per batch
• Purchase Price & Selling Price: Track margins for profitability analysis
• Stock Alerts: Low stock warnings and expiring stock notifications on dashboard

Currency Settings

Support for multiple currency formats:

• Currency Symbol: Configure your currency (USD $, GBP £, EUR €, INR ₹, etc.)
• Position: Choose whether symbol appears before ($100) or after (100 $)
• Global Application: All amounts in the system automatically use your configured currency
• Number Formatting: Automatic locale-based number formatting with 2 decimal places

Session Management & Security

• Login: Each user logs in with their assigned username and password
• Password Policy: Minimum 8 characters for security. Forced password change on first login.
• Session Timeout: Automatic logout after 30 minutes of inactivity. Every action you take resets the 30-minute clock.
• Instant Lockout on Deactivation: When an admin deactivates a user, that user is logged out immediately on their next action - no waiting for the timeout. Useful for fired or rotating staff.
• Role-Based Access: Users can only access functions for their assigned role

Pending Bills System

Salesman creates a bill and cashier collects payment later:

• Bill created by salesman is automatically marked as "Unpaid"
• Cashier sees all unpaid bills on the Pending Bills screen, auto-refreshing every 30 seconds
• Cashier confirms payment - full payment required (the system rejects partial payments)
• The moment of payment is timestamped separately from when the bill was created - useful for cash flow reports
• Change calculation is automatic

Discount System

Two-level discount system for flexibility:

• Item Discount: Applied per item at sale creation (by salesman). Stays with the bill from the moment it's saved - cashier confirming payment does not erase it.
• Cashier Discount: Applied at payment time, in addition to any item discounts. Useful for loyalty or bulk-buy adjustments. Recorded separately from the salesman's item discounts so reports can distinguish them.
• Bill total updates after payment: When the cashier confirms with a discount, the bill's total amount is recomputed to reflect the final charged amount. So the Sales list always shows what the customer actually paid.
• Real-Time Updates: Final total updates instantly as you adjust the cashier discount in the payment modal.

Expired Stock Protection

The system protects you from accidentally selling expired stock:

• When adding a medicine to a bill, the system auto-selects the earliest-expiring batch that is still valid. Expired batches are skipped during auto-selection - though they remain visible in the batch dropdown if you need to view them for stock-adjustment purposes (e.g. writing off expired stock).
• If you manually select an expired batch and try to save the bill, the system rejects it with a clear message ("Batch X expired on YYYY-MM-DD"). The bill is not saved and no stock is consumed.
• The Expiry Report shows batches that will expire within your chosen threshold of days
• The Expiry Loss Report shows the financial value at risk - both cost paid and retail price - plus the supplier and invoice for supplier-credit claims

Keyboard Shortcuts

The system supports keyboard navigation for faster operation:

• Escape: Closes any open dialog (payment collection, edit forms, confirmation prompts, etc.). Useful when you want to cancel quickly without clicking the close button. The "Bill Created" success dialog after saving a sale is the one exception - it stays open so you can choose Print Slip, New Sale, or Back to Sales.
• Tab / Shift+Tab: Inside a dialog, Tab moves through the fields and buttons in order. Shift+Tab moves backwards. Focus stays inside the dialog - you can't accidentally tab into the sidebar while a dialog is open.
• Enter: In the "Bill Created" success dialog, Enter activates the currently highlighted button (Print Slip by default).
• Arrow keys (Bill Created dialog only): Left / Right / Up / Down cycle between Print Slip, New Sale, and Back to Sales.
• Click outside a dialog: Clicking on the dark backdrop (outside the dialog) also closes it - except the "Bill Created" success dialog, which stays open until you pick a next action.

Data Management & Deletion Rules

PharmaDesk protects data integrity by enforcing rules on what can be edited or deleted based on transaction history.

Medicine Deletion

Medicines can be deleted or deactivated depending on usage:

Condition	Action	Effect
Never used in sales or purchases	Hard Delete	Medicine completely removed. All packings also deleted. Cannot be recovered.
Used in at least one sale or purchase	Soft Delete (Deactivate)	Medicine marked as inactive. Appears in reports but not available for new transactions. All transaction history preserved.

Packing (Medicine Variant) Editing & Deletion

Packings (different sizes/forms of same medicine) have restrictions to maintain transaction integrity:

Action	Never Used	Used in Transactions
Edit (units per pack, prices)	Allowed	Blocked - Changes would affect transaction history
Delete	Allowed	Blocked - Prevents orphaned references in sales/purchases

Why These Rules Exist

• Audit Trail: Protects transaction history for accounting and compliance
• Data Integrity: Prevents orphaned records (e.g., sales referencing deleted packings)
• Accuracy: Historical prices and costs remain accurate; changes don't retroactively alter past transactions
• Recovery: Soft deletes allow recovery of medicine information if needed later

What You CAN Always Edit

• Medicine Info: Name, generic name, form, strength (even if used in transactions)
• Medicine Location: Storage location can be updated anytime
• Packing Details (if never used): Units per package, prices, MRP
• Supplier Details: Contact info, address, terms

Database Management

Create a New Database

To create a new database for a different location or period:

1. Access Settings (Admin only)
2. Scroll to Database section
3. Click "Create New Database"
4. Enter database name (e.g., "Branch 2 - Jan 2026" or "Test Database")
5. Confirm creation. A new empty database is created.
6. The new database is NOT active yet

Backup a Database

Regular backups protect your data from loss:

1. Access Settings → Database Management
2. Select the database you want to backup
3. Click "Backup" button
4. System creates a timestamped backup file (e.g., "pharmacy_2026-01-15_143022.db")
5. Backup is saved locally on your server/computer
6. Best Practice: Backup daily before closing the pharmacy

Mark Database as Active

The active database is the one your staff uses daily:

1. Access Settings → Database Management
2. View list of available databases
3. Click "Mark as Active" for the database you want to use
4. Confirmation message shows the new active database
5. Important: Once you switch databases, all new sales, purchases, and data go to the active database
6. Old data remains in the previous database (not deleted)

Database Scenarios

Scenario 1: New Year / New Accounting Period

What to do: Create a new database for the new year. Mark it as active from January 1st. Backup the previous year's database for archival. This keeps accounting periods separate and organized.

Scenario 2: Multiple Pharmacy Locations

What to do: Create separate databases for each location (e.g., "Downtown Pharmacy", "Airport Pharmacy"). Each location manager marks their database active when they start their shift. No data mixing between locations.

Scenario 3: Testing New Setup

What to do: Create a test database and populate with sample data. Train new staff on the test database. When ready, switch back to active production database. Delete test database when no longer needed.

Scenario 4: Data Recovery

What to do: If current database is corrupted or has errors, restore from a backup. Create a new database from your backup file and mark it as active.

Reports & Analytics

PharmaDesk provides comprehensive reporting tools to help you understand your pharmacy's business performance, inventory health, and financial position. All reports include filtering and export capabilities.

Available Reports

Sales & Revenue Reports

Profitability & Margin Reports

Returns & Discount Analysis

Inventory & Stock Reports

Purchase & Supplier Reports

Customer & Receivables Reports

Report Features

Report Tips & Best Practices

• Sales Summary: Run daily to spot unusual patterns. High returns might indicate quality issues or customer dissatisfaction.
• Sales by Salesman: Use to motivate and identify training needs. Compare performance across salesmen fairly using same date range.
• Profit & Margin: Run monthly to understand which medicines are truly profitable. Watch for products with declining margins.
• P&L Statement: Run monthly and share with the accountant or owner - it summarises the whole period in eight numbers.
• Cash Flow: Reconcile against your bank deposits at month-end. A negative running balance on consecutive days means you're spending faster than collecting - plan supplier payments accordingly.
• Return Analysis: Run monthly. If one supplier dominates the by-medicine list, raise it with them.
• Discount Analysis: Look at the per-salesman effective discount %. Anyone consistently above the team average is worth a conversation.
• Stock Valuation: Use for inventory management and financial reporting. High-value items may need better security.
• Expiry Report: Check weekly to prevent stock loss. Use for promotional pricing on items nearing expiry.
• Expiry Loss: Run before approaching a supplier for credit on expired stock - the invoice number is on every row.
• Stock Movement: Use the fast/moderate/slow categories to decide what to reorder more or less of.
• Purchase Summary: Review supplier spending quarterly. Look for opportunities to consolidate suppliers or negotiate better prices.
• Supplier Performance: Red return-rate cells deserve immediate attention. Suppliers with no recent orders may have stopped responding.
• Payables Aging: Review weekly to plan cash requirements. Address persistent delays with suppliers.
• Customer Debtors: Review daily to stay on top of collections. Follow up personally on large outstanding balances.
• Customer Sales: Use the aging buckets to prioritise collection calls - 90+ days outstanding deserves the first call.

Report Improvements in Latest Version

Recent enhancements to reporting accuracy and functionality:

• Sales Summary: Fixed double-discount bug, now correctly shows returns as separate column with net revenue calculation
• Profit & Margin: Now deducts sales returns from all profit calculations, added quantity returned column, uses base units consistently
• Stock Valuation: Fixed column reference errors, now shows accurate cost and retail values from correct database sources
• Purchase Summary: Added return credit tracking, fixed date filtering, added comprehensive filters (salesman, payment status, customer search)
• Payables Aging: Fixed SQL aggregation error, now correctly filters overdue payments only
• Customer Debtors: Fixed column name references, now displays customer receipt numbers and payment tracking
• Sales by Salesman: Completely enhanced with payment status breakdown, added filters for salesman selection, payment status, and customer search. Shows paid/partial/unpaid transaction counts

Troubleshooting & FAQs

Common Issues

Issue: "Cannot log in"

Solutions:

• Verify username and password are correct (case-sensitive)
• Check if your user account is active (Admin can deactivate accounts)
• Clear browser cache and cookies, then try again
• Contact Admin if you've forgotten your password

Issue: "Forced password change on login"

Solution: This is normal for new accounts or password resets. Enter your temporary password, then set a new password with at least 8 characters.

Issue: "Access Denied" to a function

Solution: Your user role doesn't have permission for that function. Contact your Admin to change your role or request access.

Issue: "Medicine not showing in search"

Solutions:

• Verify the medicine exists in the system (Admin can add it)
• Try searching by different keywords (form, strength)
• Check if the medicine is marked as inactive
• Type at least 2 characters for search to work

Issue: "Stock quantity showing as 0"

Solutions:

• Check if stock batch has expired (highlighted in red)
• Verify stock was received from the purchase order
• Check if stock adjustments were recorded correctly
• Contact Admin to restock or adjust quantities

Issue: "Cannot collect payment - bill says already paid"

Solution: This bill has already been marked as paid. Check the sales history or ask which bill the customer wants to pay for.

Issue: "Database switched and I see different data"

Solution: Admin switched the active database. Check with your Admin which database should be active. You're now using the correct database for your work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I undo a transaction?

A: No, transactions are permanent once saved. However, you can process a "Sales Return" to reverse a sale or refund.

Q: What happens if the system crashes during a transaction?

A: If the system crashes before you click "Save", the transaction is lost and must be re-entered. Always backup regularly and keep server stable.

Q: Can multiple people log in with the same account?

A: Yes, but it's not recommended for audit trail accuracy. Each person should have their own account so transactions are tracked to them.

Q: How long does a session last?

A: Sessions timeout after a period of inactivity for security. You'll be logged out automatically and must log in again.

Q: Can I change my currency mid-year?

A: Yes, but it affects all transactions going forward. Old transactions will show in the old currency. Consider creating a new database for different currencies.

Q: How often should I backup?

A: Daily backups are recommended. Backup at the end of each business day to protect a full day's worth of transactions.

Q: What if I accidentally mark the wrong database as active?

A: Don't worry! Just go back to Settings and mark the correct database as active. Your data is safe; nothing is deleted.

Q: Can I edit a sales return after saving it?

A: Yes! Go to Sales Returns list, click the Edit button on the return. You can change quantities and reason. The system automatically adjusts stock levels when you save the changes.

Q: What happens to stock when I delete a sales return?

A: When you delete a return, the returned quantities are removed from stock again (subtracted). This is because deleting a return means the customer is keeping the items, so they must be back in your stock count.

Q: Can I create a stock adjustment for more quantity than available?

A: Yes, the system allows over-adjusting. However, this is normally only done for "Count Correction" when physical count is less than system count. Be careful with quantities!

Q: Why can't I edit a packing (medicine size) after I've sold it?

A: To maintain accurate transaction history. If you change the price or units-per-pack after a sale, the historical records become incorrect. Packings are locked once used in transactions for data integrity.

Q: Can I have multiple draft bills at the same time?

A: Yes! Click "New" button in Sale Entry to create multiple bills. Each bill is saved as a tab. Switch between them freely. When a customer is ready to pay, click "Save Sale" for that bill.

Q: Do draft bills get saved to database?

A: No, drafts are temporary and stored only in your browser. They are lost if you refresh or close the page. You MUST click "Save Sale" to save to database. Always save before refreshing!

Q: Can I delete a medicine that's already used in sales?

A: The system will soft-delete it (mark as inactive). It won't be available for new sales, but all past transactions remain in the system. Historical records are preserved.

Q: What's the difference between Sales Return and Stock Adjustment?

A: Sales Return = Customer returns items from a specific bill (tracks which sale, which items, quantities). Stock Adjustment = General inventory correction (damage, theft, expiry, count corrections) without linking to a specific sale. Use Sales Return when there's a specific bill involved; use Stock Adjustment for general inventory corrections.

Q: Where can I see the medicine location (storage location)?

A: Location appears in: Medicines list (Location column), Medicine edit form, and Sales entry (shown when you select a medicine). Helps staff quickly find items on shelves.

Sales Returns & Purchase Returns FAQ

Q: Can I return only some items from a sale?

A: Yes! Sales Returns support partial returns. If a customer bought 10 boxes and returns 3, just enter 3 in the Qty Returning field. The other 7 remain sold on the original bill.

Q: What happens to my stock when I save a Sales Return?

A: Automatically restored to the original batch. If customer bought from batch #12345, returned items are added back to that batch. No manual stock adjustment needed - the system handles it instantly.

Q: What happens to customer's outstanding balance when I process a Sales Return?

A: The return reduces their payable amount. If customer owed 500 for 10 items and returns 3 items worth 150, they now owe 350. The system automatically calculates the credit.

Q: Can I edit a Sales Return after saving it?

A: Yes! Click the Pencil (Edit) icon on the return in the Returns list. You can change quantities, date, and reason. Click "Update Return" to save changes. Stock adjusts automatically based on the new quantities.

Q: What happens if I delete a Sales Return?

A: Deletion removes the return from the system and reverses its effects: returned quantities are subtracted from stock again (so items come off inventory), and customer's payable increases. The original sale remains in the system as if the return never happened.

Q: Can I return items from a sale that's already fully paid?

A: Yes! You can return items regardless of payment status (paid/partial/unpaid). The return creates a credit for the customer that can be applied to future purchases or refunded.

Q: How do I know which sales have returns?

A: In Sales list, look for the return icon (↶ symbol) next to sales that have returns. Click it to see return details. Also visible in sales detail view when you click to view a bill.

Q: Can I return items from a Purchase that's not fully paid?

A: Yes! You can return items from a purchase regardless of payment status. The return immediately reduces supplier's payable amount by the credit value.

Q: What happens to my stock when I save a Purchase Return?

A: Stock is automatically reduced by the returned quantities from the original batch. If you received 100 units in batch #9999 and return 20, stock reduces by 20 instantly. Deleting the return adds them back.

Q: How does Purchase Return affect what I owe the supplier?

A: The system reduces supplier payable by the credit amount. If you owed 5000 for a purchase and return items worth 500, you now owe 4500. This is visible in Payables Aging report as reduced outstanding amount.

Q: Can I return only part of the items from a purchase?

A: Yes! Purchase Returns support partial returns. If purchase had 10 batches and you received 5 wrong/damaged, return just those 5. Enter custom quantities in each item's Qty Returning field.

Q: Can I edit a Purchase Return after saving it?

A: Yes! Click the Pencil (Edit) icon on the return. Modify items, quantities, date, reason, and notes. Click "Update Return" to save. Stock and supplier payable adjust automatically.

Q: What happens if I delete a Purchase Return?

A: Deletion removes the return and reverses its effects: stock is increased again (returns items to inventory), supplier payable increases (customer owes more). Original purchase remains as if return never happened.

Q: How should I document damaged items when returning?

A: Use Reason field to explain damage type. In Notes field, provide details like "Received with broken boxes, 5 units unusable" or "Batch expired 2024-12-15". This helps supplier understand the issue and maintain quality standards.

Q: Can I use returns to adjust for quantity discrepancies?

A: For Sales: Yes, return the over-quantity to adjust customer bill. For Purchases: Yes, return items if received wrong quantity. But if this is just inventory counting, consider using Stock Adjustment instead with "Count Correction" type for clarity.

Q: Should I return items before or after they're used in another transaction?

A: Sales: Return as soon as customer brings items back - this keeps customer's payable accurate. Purchase: Return as soon as you identify damage/errors - this keeps supplier relationship clean and avoids using defective stock.

Q: How do I track return rates by supplier or medicine?

A: Use Reports: "Purchase Summary" shows returns by supplier, "Profit & Margin" shows returns by medicine. This helps identify quality problems with specific suppliers or medicines.

Q: Can multiple people process returns for the same sale/purchase?

A: Yes! Multiple returns can be created for the same original sale/purchase. For example, customer returns 3 items today and 2 items next week - create two separate return records.

Reports & Analytics FAQ

Q: Why does my Profit & Margin report show lower profit than expected?

A: The report correctly deducts sales returns and their associated costs from your profit calculation. If a customer returns items, those transactions reduce your reported profit. Check the "Quantity Returned" column to see return impact per medicine.

Q: What's the difference between "Total Spent" and "Net Spent" in Purchase Summary?

A: Total Spent = gross amount paid to supplier. Net Spent = total spent minus credit for returned items. Net spent is the actual cost impact on your business.

Q: Why is my Stock Valuation report showing different values than before?

A: We fixed the report to use correct pricing sources: Cost value now uses the actual purchase cost per unit, Retail value uses the selling price from packings table. This ensures accuracy for inventory management and financial statements.

Q: How are returns handled in all reports?

A: All reports automatically deduct returns from their calculations. Sales returns reduce revenue and profit metrics. Purchase returns reduce supplier costs. The system maintains separate "Total Returns" or "Quantity Returned" columns so you can see the impact clearly.

Q: Can I compare salesman performance using Sales by Salesman report?

A: Yes! The report shows each salesman's metrics including transactions created, revenue, discounts applied, and importantly, payment collection (Paid/Partial/Unpaid counts). Use the same date range when comparing salesmen for fair assessment.

Q: What should I do if Payables Aging shows many overdue payments?

A: Review the report regularly (weekly recommended). Identify which suppliers have consistent delays. Contact them to clarify payment terms, negotiate extended terms if needed, or consider alternative suppliers. Record payment dates accurately to prevent future issues.

Q: How can I use Expiry Report to reduce losses?

A: Check weekly with default 90-day threshold. Items with <30 days can be promoted at discounted prices to move faster. Items nearing expiry can be used for donations or training purposes. Track expiry losses for supplier claims and insurance documentation.

Q: Can I export reports for further analysis?

A: Yes! Every report has an "Export CSV" button. Downloaded files can be opened in Excel, Google Sheets, or other tools for custom analysis, creating charts, or combining data from multiple reports.

Q: Why should I track base units in Stock Movement report?

A: Base units ensure consistent inventory tracking. A medicine might be sold in boxes (10 units per box) but purchased in cases (100 units per case). Base units standardize everything to single units, making all inventory calculations accurate.