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Inventory overview

Inventory tracks what your clinic buys, keeps and uses. “Suppliers, purchase orders, and a unified inventory of purchasable items … each tracked through one shared movement ledger.”

Thing What it is
Inventory item Something you stock. It is either a Consumable (used up: gloves, anaesthetic, implants) or an Asset (kept and lent out: crutches, a nebuliser).
Unit One physical piece of an item that’s Tracked by serial number. Assets are always tracked this way.
Supplier “Who this clinic purchases inventory from.”
Purchase order An order placed with a supplier. Stock is added when it’s Completed. You pay the supplier against it.
Movement One line in the ledger: Received, Consumed, Assigned, Returned or Returned to supplier. Stock on hand is always the sum of the movements. Nothing is ever deleted. Wrong entries are voided.
Catalogs The Categories, Locations and Units (of measure) your inventory is organised by.
Purchase order (Draft → Ordered → Completed) → Received → on hand
│
┌──────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────┤
▼ ▼ ▼
Consumed (used up) Assigned (asset lent out) Returned to supplier
└─ billable? → patient's invoice └─ Returned (back in stock)

An item marked Billable to patient has a Sale price. When it’s consumed:

  • on an appointment (Record consumption on the appointment), it’s added automatically when you select Generate Invoice on that appointment, at sale price × quantity. The appointment’s Consumables used section shows it as Billed once it’s on an invoice.
  • for a patient directly (from Record movement), it doesn’t belong to a visit. It can still be added to that patient’s invoice from their billable records, but Generate Invoice on an appointment won’t pick it up.

A consumption that’s already on an invoice can’t be voided: “This has already been billed on an invoice - it can no longer be voided.”

Staff & Administration › Procurement: Inventory Items, Inventory Movements, Purchase Orders, Suppliers and New Movement. Its categories, locations and units are under More › Catalogs › Inventory catalogs. On records:

  • Appointments get the Record consumption action and the Consumables used section.
  • Patients and staff get an Inventory tab: “Every consumable use, asset assignment, and return” for them.
Permission Allows Starts on these roles
Read suppliers / Manage suppliers See / add and edit suppliers. Receptionist, Manager / Manager
Read inventory items / Manage inventory items See items, stock and catalogs / add and edit items, catalogs, and archive units. Receptionist, Manager / Manager
Read purchase orders See purchase orders. Receptionist, Manager
Create purchase orders Create them. Manager
Update purchase orders Edit, change status, add charges, record returns, and record payments and refunds with the supplier. Manager
Delete purchase orders Delete them (Draft, Ordered or Cancelled only). Manager
Read inventory movements See the movement log and the Inventory tabs. Receptionist, Manager
Record inventory consumption Record consumables being used. Receptionist, Manager
Assign/loan inventory Lend assets, and take a deposit for a loan. Receptionist, Manager
Return loaned inventory Record a lent asset coming back, and refund its deposit. Receptionist, Manager
Void inventory movement Void a movement. Manager

Any money in or out (supplier payments, loan deposits) also needs staff access on the account used.