Industry playbook
Pharma distributors & stockists
How pharma distributors automate batch, expiry, licences and GST with hisabkitab
Imagine a district-level pharma distributor stocking products from several companies and supplying a few hundred chemists and clinic dispensaries. Every line it buys and sells carries a batch number and expiry date, schemes change every month, and near-expiry returns flow in from chemists all year.
See hisabkitab for Pharma distributors & stockists →
The challenges
Why pharma distribution needs more than a billing app
Batch and expiry on every single line
Each medicine is bought and sold batch by batch, and the invoice must show batch number and expiry. Picking the wrong batch, or selling an older batch while a newer one is picked first, leads to expiry losses that sit unnoticed until a chemist sends goods back.
Licence numbers that must be right
Drug licence numbers of both seller and buyer are expected on pharma invoices, and selling to a party with an expired or wrong licence is a serious risk. Keeping licence details in a separate file means they rarely make it onto the bill reliably.
Schemes and free quantities
Companies offer free quantities and trade schemes that change frequently. Free goods have to reach chemists correctly, stock has to reflect them, and claims have to go back to the company with proof.
Expiry and breakage returns
Chemists return near-expiry and damaged stock, which then has to be returned or claimed from the company. Without batch-level tracking, matching what came back with what can be claimed is a manual, error-prone exercise every month.
Heavy purchase volume and tight margins
Company invoices run to many lines with batches, MRP and tax. Typing them by hand is slow, and errors flow into stock valuation and the margins on which a distributor survives.
A day in the life
A day before vs after hisabkitab
Before
Billing staff type batch and expiry manually from the box onto each invoice line.
Customer drug licence details are checked from a paper file, if at all.
Expiry returns from chemists are piled in a corner and sorted at month-end.
Company purchase bills are keyed line by line, taking hours each morning.
With hisabkitab
Batch and expiry are picked from stock on each line, with near-expiry batches visible.
Drug licence numbers of both parties print on every invoice from the master.
Returns are booked batch-wise against the original sale, ready for company claims.
Company bills are uploaded and AI-OCR prepares the purchase entry for review.
Solutions
How hisabkitab solves it
Batch and expiry control
Batch & expiry tracking (Pharma Update)
Every purchase records batch and expiry; every sale picks from available batches. Stock by batch makes near-expiry stock visible early, so it can be sold, returned or claimed before it becomes a write-off.
Licences on invoices
Drug licence on invoices (Pharma Update)
Store drug licence numbers on your company and on each customer. They print automatically on invoices, so every bill carries the details an inspector or buyer expects to see.
Expiry and return claims
Pharma reports + Sale Return / Debit Note
Book chemist returns batch-wise against the original bill, then raise debit notes to the company. Pharma reports give batch and expiry views that support the claim.
Strips and pieces
Custom Field (Item Level) + Formula
Store pieces-per-strip on the item; Total pieces = Strips × Pieces-per-strip keeps quantities consistent when chemists order mixed units.
Free schemes
Stock Journal + Custom Field (Transaction level)
Move free goods through Stock Journal so stock stays right, and tag scheme codes on bills to build company claims quickly.
Purchase typing
OCR Purchase Bill Import (AI)
Upload company invoices; AI extracts GSTIN, lines, HSN and tax for your review, cutting the morning's data entry.
ITC from companies
Automated GST Reconciliation
Match GSTR-2B with your purchase register and act on mismatches before claiming credit.
Inside the software
Built for your books
Custom formula example
Total pieces = Strips × Pieces-per-strip. Example: 40 strips × 10 tablets = 400 tablets.
4-level grouping
Items: Therapy (Anti-diabetic) → Form (Tablet) → Schedule (H) → Brand. Customers: Town → Route → Salesman → Chemist.
Reports you’ll use
Pharma reports (batch & expiry) · Stock Summary · Customer Ageing Report · Item-wise Profit Report · Party-wise Sales Report · GST Report
Compliance notes
Most medicines moved to the lower 5% slab in September 2025, and some life-saving drugs are exempt; confirm the current rate for every HSN rather than carrying old masters forward. Drug licence details, batch and expiry are expected on pharma invoices under drug-control rules. Distributors above the e-invoicing threshold must generate an IRN for B2B bills, and consignments above ₹50,000 need an e-way bill.
Recommended plan
The plan that fits
Advance
₹6,999/year, exclusive of 18% GST (or ₹13,999 for 3 years)
Distributor volumes call for AI-OCR on company bills, Stock Journal for free schemes, unlimited e-invoices and e-way bills, and AI GST reconciliation, all on Advance, which also includes the Pharma Update's batch, expiry and licence features.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Does hisabkitab support pharma businesses now?
Yes, on the Advance plan. The Pharma Update added batch and expiry tracking, drug licence numbers on invoices and pharma reports. Combined with hisabkitab's custom fields, four-level grouping, AI-OCR for purchase bills and GST reconciliation, it covers the core workflow of a pharma distributor or stockist.
Can I see stock that is about to expire?
Yes. Because every purchase and sale is recorded batch-wise with expiry, stock can be viewed by batch and expiry date. Use this view weekly to push near-expiry stock to chemists, return it to the company, or prepare a claim before it turns into a write-off.
Will the customer's drug licence print on my invoice?
Yes. Record drug licence numbers on your company profile and on each customer ledger. They print on invoices automatically, which keeps every bill consistent and saves staff from checking a paper file every time they bill a chemist. It also reduces the risk of a missing licence number on a bill.
How do I record company free schemes?
On Advance, Stock Journal moves scheme and free goods in stock correctly. Add a scheme code as a transaction-level field so every bill that carried a scheme can be filtered at month-end, which makes the claim to the company quick and well-supported.
Can I move my data from my current pharma software?
We migrate from Tally, Busy, Excel and other systems through our standard migration flow, including opening balances, party outstandings and item stock, without extra charge. Talk to us during the demo about batch-wise opening stock so we plan that part of the import carefully.
Batch, expiry and licence on every bill
Book a demo and see a company invoice become batch-wise stock through AI-OCR, then a chemist invoice with batch, expiry and both drug licence numbers printed.
