4 Important Things to Do in Your Pharmacy After Labor Day

The first Monday in September marks Labor Day. A day created to celebrate American workers and their achievements.

Whether you mark the occasion with back yard barbecues or a spend the day behind the pharmacy counter, Labor Day always brings with it one certainty.  The end of summer is almost upon us and it’s time to think about what the final months of the year will bring.

There will soon be leaves to be raked, winter coats to be aired out, snow shovels to be pulled out of wherever they may be buried in the garage.  And there’s a to-do list in your pharmacy, just waiting for some TLC before what might be the busiest season of the year.

Here are some tips to get you started plus a few great (and free!) resources to help you on your way.

Prepare for winter weather.

We may shut down the air conditioning and pull out a light sweater or two, but it’s not really winter yet. Right? Well, we all know it can sneak up on us pretty fast and natural disasters can strike at any time. So as the season begins to change, it’s time to make sure your pharmacy is ready whatever winter weather might come your way.

This article has some great tips on disaster preparedness in your pharmacy.

Check out your point-of-sale reports and assess where your pharmacy is at.

Maybe you didn’t start the year out with any particular goals. In 2021, just getting through the year seems like enough. Even so, it’s still a good idea to review your metrics to see where your pharmacy business is at. There are so many good metrics to use, and your pharmacy POS system should provide you with some great numbers to learn from.

Not sure where to start? We can help! CPA and Pharmacy Business Coach John Marshall will be hosting a presentation on pharmacy metrics at the RMS CLIMB broadcast on September 9^th. You can bring your financial statements and learn how to review the 10 most important metrics in your pharmacy. At the end of John’s presentation, you’ll be able to grade your pharmacy business based on these metrics. You can click here to register for free!

Rotate out seasonal items.

You may still sell the occasional bottle of sunscreen, (especially if you’re in one of those lucky sunshiny states!) but it’s more likely that back to school first aid kits, vitamins, and cold medicine will be on the list for many customers. If you’re not sure, check product movement reports in your point-of-sale system to identify trends both current and historic.

Clearance sales are a valuable tool during seasonal changes. We recommend that you avoid holding inventory. Here’s a great 6 minute video on why.

And if you’re curious about how clearance sales work in the RMS system, here’s a 15 minute tutorial on how to set that up.

Get your contingency plans in place.

Now more than ever, it’s important to have plans in place to handle the unexpected. This means making sure your pharmacy can run and serve customers even if key pharmacy team members are out.

Last October, Becky Templeton from RJ Hedges & Associates shared with us how you can create a contingency plan in your pharmacy. This is still incredibly valuable information and you can watch the video here to learn more.

P.S.  Becky will be back with us at our September 9^th CLIMB to talk Compliance updates which is another great way to prepare for year end.  We hope you’ll grab a pumpkin spice latte (Or your morning beverage of choice) and join us at either of our CLIMB sessions. We broadcast live at 8am Eastern/5am Pacific with a special rebroadcast at 11am Eastern/8am Pacific. And don’t worry, we’re still standing by for Q&A during the rebroadcast so it’s definitely worth attending!

If you’re not registered yet, here’s that link one more time!

We hope you have an amazing Labor Day weekend! We appreciate our amazing customers and all the work that every pharmacy team member does every day!