Inventory management is an essential part of maintaining a smooth and efficient workflow. From setting up items to managing counts and purchase orders, Shepherd’s inventory system is designed to help you stay organized and in control.
In this article, we’ll cover the basics of inventory management, including how to set up items, navigate the dashboard, perform counts, manage purchase orders, and more. For more information on specific functions within inventory management, be sure to check out additional guides.
Take a Look
Initial Setup
Select Clinic Settings in your Shepherd Admin menu
Under General, toggle on the Inventory toggle
If you plan on detailed inventory tracking by adding inventory lots and bottle numbers, including expiration dates, you'll also toggle on the Track lots and expiration dates toggle
Note: Toggling Track Lots and Expiration Dates is irreversible because it impacts existing data. In addition, it adds required fields to your inventory item setup that you may wish to proceed without until closer to launch. Please connect with your account manager to determine the appropriate time to enable this feature.
Dashboard
The inventory dashboard is the first page you see on the Inventory tab. This provides a high-level overview of important inventory status and reporting metrics. Additional and further in-depth reporting is available on the Inventory Status tab as well as the Reporting tab in your Shepherd menu.
All of the below information for your clinic's inventory is visible at a glance:
Estimated Revenue from Inventory
Calculated from the quantity on hand (regardless of the date) by the average sales price in the last 365 days, including dispensing fees and discounts. The estimated revenue updates with each inventory change, displaying data for the past 365 days from the last sale.Items Below or at Reorder Point
Current Cost of Goods Sold (CoGS)
The CoGS only takes into account the purchase price of items intended for sale. Other costs (holding costs) are not taken into account. It updates with each inventory change, displaying data for the current month from its beginning.
Total Cost of Inventory
The total cost of inventory on hand is updated with each inventory change, displaying data regardless of the date.Top Selling Items
Your most sold items for all of time.
Purchase Orders
Inventory Status
For a quick glance at where the items on your shelf currently stand, this report will come in handy. This is an easy way to see a list of all items currently being tracked within Inventory, as well as the current quantity on hand. Click here to learn more about inventory reporting.
Inventory Items
Each of your sellable items is created as an inventory item and then also linked to a product or service that is invoiced to the client. Please check out the video above for steps on creating items and linking to your products.
Name
Vendor
Barcode
Item location(s)
UOM (unit of measure): the UOM is the size you commonly order the item. This has a relation to your units and unit type fields.
Units: this is how many individual units are contained within your specified UOM size.
Unit type: the unit type is the form you retail or dispense your item. Your UOM to unit type relation is how many units are within your larger UOM (UOM = Bottle, Units = 500, Unit Type = Capsules).
Order quantity: the quantity you want to order each time you place the order
Min quantity: the minimum you want to have on hand
Max quantity: the most you want to have on hand; anything over this will be overstock
Reorder point: the point you want to be notified to order this item
Can be different than the minimum quantity if you want to make a buffer (useful for high-volume/more volatile items that can spoil or are temperature sensitive)
Cost per UOM: how much you purchase the item for from the manufacturer
Initial Count (Units): starting number currently in stock
Note: this is across all inventory locations
Initial Cost (per Unit): Initial cost per unit (per tablet, capsule, ml, etc.)
Linking Inventory to Products
After your inventory item has been created, there are multiple ways you can link the item to your admin selling products.
From the inventory item page, you can either link to an existing product or create a new product under 'Product List.'
Or, from the product settings, you can toggle on 'Link with Inventory Item' and then select the existing inventory item
Vendors
Inventory vendors are the suppliers you work with to purchase the items you need for your business. Setting up vendors for your items allows you to keep both your purchase orders and your inventory organized.
Barcodes
Barcodes can be assigned to any inventory item, either manually or by scanning with a barcode reader. Inventory and product search fields recognize barcode values as valid search parameters, allowing for quick and efficient lookups.
Locations
Knowing where your inventory is stored is crucial for efficient management. Our inventory tool helps you keep track of not just your items but also their specific locations within your practice. Whether it’s a shelf, a cabinet, or an entire room, you can set up locations as detailed as you need.
Tracking Lots & Expiration Dates
From the options in clinic settings, if your clinic has Track Lots and Expiration Dates enabled, you'll be required to enter at least one lot/bottle expiration date for each inventory item. You will enter new lot/bottle expiration dates as you receive inventory on a purchase order. Click here to learn more about tracking lots, bottle numbers, and expiration dates.
Counts
Inventory counts are used to audit or update your current quantities on hand for inventory items. Counts can be created by location or manually using a blank count. Click here to learn more about inventory counts.
Purchase Orders
Purchase orders let you track your pending orders and receive items when they arrive to add to your inventory stock/count. Purchase orders will automatically add all items below the reorder point for the vendor from which you are creating the order. When you receive your inventory items, you can easily track any changes in your cost, which will automatically be reflected in the selling price for your clients. Click here to learn more about purchase orders.
Transactions
Shepherd will automatically create a transaction for all received, counted, and invoiced inventory, but sometimes, you'll need to track your inventory in other ways or make manual adjustments for expired or damaged items, stolen or missing items, etc.