Using Point-of-Sale to Identify Inefficiencies in your Pharmacy

From time to time, we all get that irritating feeling that there’s something we’ve forgotten to do. Whether it’s an email we didn’t send before the end of the day, or something we forgot to grab at the grocery store, or a neglected deadline, it doesn’t matter at the moment. Everything is an unseen iceberg waiting to sink you because this unknown problem is eating away at you. 

The key of course is detecting that unknown problem or underlying issue. Once you know what’s going on, you can make a plan to take corrective action. But in the case of a complex pharmacy business, how exactly do you get to the root of inefficiencies and problems?

The reporting you get from your pharmacy point of sale system are some of the first and most important tools you should use to identify where there might be some room for improvement in your pharmacy business. They can help you with every factor of your business from products to people to billing. 

Products – There are any number of ways that mismanaged products can cause issues for your pharmacy. You could have products that just aren’t moving, best sellers that are out of stock, and items that are selling below your target margins. The list goes on and on. With a robust POS system, you can easily see all of these key indicators that will tell you that a change is in order. 

Employees – If wishes were fishes we’d all take a swim. And we’d have perfect employees that never make mistakes. But we’re all human, and even if you have low turnover and expert employees, they all make mistakes. If one employee is under performing others but working the same hours, you need to know that. If there are a high frequency of cash drawer opens outside of the norm, you need to know that. Or if one employee is discounting items or transactions outside of acceptable norms, that’s important. You might be surprised at the peace of mind you get from knowing that you’ll see abnormalities and be able to respond to them.

Customers – A good understanding of customer behavior comes in conjunction with a well rounded customer loyalty program. On one hand, you may be cutting into profits a bit by giving customers rewards for dollars spent in your pharmacy. On the other hand, you’ll be able to tell who your best customers are by analyzing your loyalty rewards accumulation. If you make use of loyalty levels, it’s even simpler as you’ll be able to view customers by tiers or levels. This may not seem important right off the top, but customer loyalty programs are so popular in part because customers like their purchasing behavior and loyalty to be recognized and rewarded. How can you do that if you don’t know who your best customers are?

Billing – You should always be able to see where your pharmacy is when it comes to outstanding AR balances. And it should be easy to know what’s past due or extremely past due so that you can appropriately manage your cash flow. 

The bottom line – Don’t overlook the importance of robust reporting capabilities when it comes to your pharmacy point-of-sale system. Knowing the most important things about your pharmacy business means you won’t have to worry about what you might be forgetting. At least that’s one worry off of your plate!