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Lots and expiry

A lot is the batch a manufacturer made a device in. Its code is printed on the label as LOT. The expiry is the date after which the device should not be used. Together they tell you which units are old, and which units a recall covers.

Who can: Owner, Admin, Member, Viewer, Inventory manager, Visit manager, Clinician, Auditor, Purchaser, Compliance, Site settings

How expiry shows

A lot is one lot code plus one expiry date, so the same code with two expiry dates counts as two lots.

Expires in N days, Expires tomorrow or Expires today appears when stock expires within 30 days, based on the soonest expiry. N expired appears for units past their expiry that are still on the shelf, and an expired lot's date turns red with a status such as "Expired 3 days ago". Expired units aren't counted as in stock, but stay on the record until someone removes them, which asks you to confirm first. Next expiry is the soonest among units still in date.

Where: Settings › Alerts

Expiry alerts have their own window, set as "Expiring soon window". See Alert settings and Alerts and notifications.

Which unit a stock-out uses

When someone scans an item out of stock, or into a case, the app picks the unit to use. The label decides first, then the earliest expiry. In order:

  1. Serial number. If the label has one, that exact unit is used. If no unit has that serial, units recorded with a different serial are ruled out, and the app falls back to units added without one.
  2. Scanned lot. The unit from that lot with the earliest expiry. If two share an expiry, the one added first goes first.
  3. Expiry only. If the label has no lot but has an expiry, a unit with that expiry date is used.
  4. Stock with no expiry. If the label gives a lot, expiry or serial and a unit was imported with no lot or expiry, that unit is used and takes the label's details. See below.
  5. Earliest expiry first. Otherwise the unit that expires soonest is used. Units with no expiry go last.

Units that are already used, removed, or still waiting on delivery for a visit are never picked. A unit that is already past its expiry can be picked, and the message turns into a warning.

What "substituted" means

If the label has a lot code but no unit in stock carries that lot, the app doesn't refuse. It uses the unit that expires soonest, and tells you. In stock-out mode the message reads Used lot (substituted). It means the unit that came off the shelf is from a different lot than the one you scanned. Check that the lot on the box matches what you expected, and use Undo on the message if it doesn't (see Undo). The substitution is also saved with the activity log entry.

Notes on a unit

Each unit can carry a short note, up to 2000 characters, such as "opened" or "consigned". On the product page, look in the Notes column of the detailed table, in the list under a lot's count, or in a lot's Units list on a phone. People who can edit products see a pencil to change it. Everyone else sees the note only.

Stock with no expiry

Stock you add yourself always has an expiry date. The one exception is a spreadsheet import with an IN STOCK column. A spreadsheet has no lot or expiry, so those units are added without them.

These units:

  • show No expiry (N no expiry on the list, No expiry on the lot, and In stock · no expiry as the status),
  • count as in stock,
  • are left out of expiry alerts, and
  • sort after dated stock.

Hover over the No expiry marker on a wide screen for a reminder. A unit gets its lot and expiry in one of two ways:

  • Scanning it out, from stock-out or a case, records the label's lot and expiry on it. The message adds "lot/expiry recorded".
  • Counting it in an audit fills them in when the audit review is applied.