Inventory & purchase orders

Know what is on the shelf, what is expiring, and what is on order.

Inventory tracks what is on your shelves: items, the lots they arrive in, expiry dates, and what has been used. Open Inventory in the sidebar (under Financial for clinics). The hub has up to four tabs: Stock, Formulary, Controlled log and Biennial.

What your plan includes

Basic stock tracking (products, supplies and equipment: items, lots, receiving, adjustments, reorder alerts and purchase orders) is included on every paid tier. The pharmacy side (medications, the Formulary tab, dispensing from stock, and the controlled substance ledger) is part of the clinical layer on Intelligence and Practice. An Operations clinic without the clinical layer sees the Stock tab only. If a plan lapses, the controlled substance log and biennial counts stay readable so you never lose access to records you are required to keep.

Items and lots

On Stock, click New item to add an item, or use Starter supplies to add common non-drug items in one step. Clinical orgs can also bring in a list with Import. To link an item to a drug in the formulary, pick the entry in Link to formulary entry. You can also link an item to a charge code so dispensing it can be billed.

Each item page lists its Lots (lot number, expiry, quantity on hand) and Recent activity. A lot past its expiry date is flagged as expired. Items can be archived and restored when you stop stocking them.

Receive stock. On the item page, click Receive stock and enter the lot number, expiry, quantity and unit cost. From invoice reads a supplier invoice, packaging photo or notes and fills the form for you to review.
Reorder alerts. Set a reorder threshold on an item. When quantity on hand falls to or below it, the item is flagged as low stock.
NDC lookup. For pharmacy items, look up a National Drug Code from the public FDA directory and save it to the item. Many veterinary products share NDCs with human drugs, so check the match.

Purchase orders

Click Purchase orders on the Stock tab to order from a vendor. A purchase order moves through four statuses: draft, submitted, received or cancelled.

Create the order
Click New PO, enter the vendor, then add line items. Adding lines needs inventory.po.create. Add line item can also read an item from a quote or invoice.
Submit it
Click Submit to vendor. This records the order as submitted and needs inventory.po.approve. A draft with no lines cannot be submitted. Chartling keeps the record; send the order to your vendor the way you normally do.
Receive it
When the delivery arrives, click Mark received. Chartling creates a lot for each line so stock on hand updates. Receiving also needs inventory.po.approve.

An order containing a medication or any controlled substance needs the clinical pharmacy plan. If it contains a controlled substance, the person receiving it must also hold rx.controlled.dispense and must enter the DEA Form 222 / CSOS order number. See Controlled substances.

Permissions

Permission	What it allows
`inventory.read`	View items, lots, on-hand counts and expiry
`inventory.manage`	Add, edit and archive items. Medication and controlled-substance flags also need the clinical pharmacy plan
`inventory.dispense`	Receive stock and record adjustments outside a prescription
`inventory.po.create`	Draft purchase orders and edit their lines
`inventory.po.approve`	Submit, cancel and receive purchase orders

Controlled items add their own checks on top of these. Receiving, wasting, adjusting or returning a controlled item needs rx.controlled.dispense in addition to inventory.dispense, and waste, adjustments and returns need a witness. Details are on the Controlled substances page.

FAQ

Can an Operations clinic use inventory?

Yes, for products, supplies and equipment. The Formulary, Controlled log and Biennial tabs, and medication items, are part of the clinical layer.

Where is the Formulary?

It is a tab on Inventory and also on Medications. It is the drug and vaccine reference you dose and prescribe from. See Medications & Rx.

Does submitting a purchase order email the vendor?

No. Submitting records the order and its status in Chartling. Place the order with your vendor as usual, then mark it received when it arrives.