Pharmacy Operations Blog
Practical, Kenya-specific guides on compliance, inventory, payments, wholesale management, and patient care — written for pharmacy owners, pharmacists, and the staff who run the till.
Compliance & Tax
KRA eTIMS, 16% VAT, SHA/NHIF claims, and Pharmacy and Poisons Board rules for Kenyan pharmacies.
KRA eTIMS for Pharmacies in Kenya: A Complete Guide
KRA eTIMS turns every pharmacy sale into a tax-compliant electronic invoice. Here is what it actually requires, and how a modern POS handles it without slowing down the till.
16% VAT on Medicines in Kenya: What Pharmacies Must Charge and Report
Not every item on a pharmacy shelf is taxed the same way. Here is how VAT actually applies to medicines and pharmacy products in Kenya, and how to avoid charging — or under-charging — the wrong rate.
Processing SHA/NHIF Insurance Claims Directly From Your POS
Insurance-covered sales add a layer of paperwork most retail transactions don't have. Here is how SHA/NHIF claims should work when they are built into the POS instead of bolted on afterward.
eTIMS Compliance Checklist: Is Your Pharmacy Ready?
Most pharmacies assume they are eTIMS-compliant simply because they have a receipt printer. Here is a practical checklist to confirm whether that is actually true.
Pharmacy and Poisons Board Rules for Controlled Substances (Schedule II–V) in Kenya
Controlled substances carry stricter record-keeping obligations than ordinary stock. Here is what the Pharmacy and Poisons Board expects, and where most pharmacies fall short without realising it.
Inventory & Expiry
FEFO batch tracking, cold-chain monitoring, stock transfers, and batch recalls.
FEFO Explained: Why First-Expiry-First-Out Matters in Pharmacy Inventory
FEFO — First-Expiry-First-Out — is the single most effective habit a pharmacy can build into its stock management. Here is why it matters and how to make it automatic instead of manual.
Cold-Chain Monitoring for Vaccines and Biologics: A Pharmacy Guide
A vaccine that spent two hours outside the 2-8°C range is not necessarily unsafe — but without a temperature log, no one can prove it either way. Here is what proper cold-chain monitoring actually requires.
How Expiry Alerts at 90/60/30 Days Cut Pharmacy Stock Losses
By the time an expired product turns up in a stock count, the opportunity to do anything useful with it is already gone. Staged alerts change the timeline entirely.
Managing Stock Transfers Between Pharmacy Branches Without Spreadsheets
One branch is overstocked on a slow-moving product while another is turning customers away for the same item. Stock transfers solve this — if the pharmacy can actually track them.
How to Run a Fast, Traceable Batch Recall in a Pharmacy
A batch recall notice gives a pharmacy a small window to act. Whether that window is enough depends entirely on how quickly affected stock and sales can be identified.
Payments & Cash
M-Pesa STK push, split payments, end-of-day cash-up, layby plans, and refunds.
M-Pesa STK Push at the Pharmacy Till: How It Works
Most Kenyan pharmacy customers already expect to pay by M-Pesa. The difference between a smooth checkout and a frustrating one usually comes down to whether STK push is built into the till.
Handling Split Payments (Cash + M-Pesa + Card) at Pharmacy Checkout
A customer pays part cash, part M-Pesa, for one prescription. If your till can only record one payment method per sale, that transaction either gets forced into the wrong box or recorded incorrectly.
End-of-Day Cash-Up: Catching Variances Before They Become Losses
A small, unexplained shortfall at cash-up is easy to dismiss as a one-off. Across a month, across multiple tills, those one-offs are often the single largest source of unexplained loss in a pharmacy.
Layby and Installment Plans for Pharmacy Customers, Done Right
Layby lets a customer secure a higher-value item with a deposit and pay the rest over time. It is a genuinely useful option for pharmacies — as long as someone can actually track who owes what.
Returns, Refunds, and KRA Credit Notes: Getting Pharmacy Reversals Right
A return is not just "give the money back." Done properly, it has to generate a credit note that KRA recognises, linked clearly to the original sale.
Wholesale & B2B
Quotations, invoices, credit terms, tiered pricing, and warehouse-to-retail dispatch.
What Wholesale Pharmacy Management Software Should Do in Kenya
Retail and wholesale pharmacy operations look similar on the surface but run on completely different workflows. Here is what software built specifically for wholesale actually needs to cover.
From Quotation to Invoice: Streamlining Pharmacy B2B Orders
A quotation that has to be manually rewritten as an invoice once a client confirms is where a lot of wholesale pharmacy orders quietly lose time, and sometimes accuracy.
Setting Credit Terms (NET 7/14/30) for Wholesale Pharmacy Clients
Extending credit to a wholesale client is a normal part of doing business — until an invoice quietly goes thirty days past due with no one noticing. Here is how to manage credit terms without that happening.
Tiered Pricing for Wholesale Pharmacy Clients: A Practical Guide
Not every wholesale client should pay the same price for the same product. Tiered pricing reflects that reality — but only works if the system applies it consistently, every time.
Warehouse-to-Retail Stock Dispatch for Pharmacies Running Both
When a pharmacy operates both a central warehouse and retail branches, internal stock dispatch is effectively a sale that never gets invoiced to a customer — but still needs to be tracked just as carefully.
Patient Care
Prescription management, drug interaction and allergy warnings, and controlled substances.
Prescription Management Software: What to Look for in Kenya
A prescription is more than a sale — it is a clinical record that should be retrievable months or years later. Here is what proper prescription management actually requires.
Drug Interaction and Allergy Warnings at the Point of Sale
A pharmacist cannot be expected to remember every known interaction for every drug combination, for every patient, every time. That is exactly the gap automated warnings at the till are meant to close.
Contraindicated, Major, and Moderate Drug Warnings: What They Mean at the Till
Not every drug interaction warning calls for the same response. Knowing the difference between contraindicated, major, and moderate is what turns a warning into the right action.
Keeping a Compliant Controlled Substances Ledger in a Kenyan Pharmacy
A controlled substances ledger exists to answer one question reliably: who dispensed what, to whom, and when. Here is what it actually needs to contain, and why a manual register makes that harder than it should be.
Why Full Prescription History Per Customer Improves Patient Safety
A customer rarely remembers every medication they have been prescribed over the past year. A complete, accessible prescription history means the pharmacy does not have to rely on them remembering.
Buyer's Guide
Choosing pharmacy POS software, pricing in Kenya, and starting or switching systems.
How to Choose Pharmacy POS Software in Kenya: A Buyer's Checklist
Most pharmacy POS demos look impressive. The real test is whether the system handles the specific, unglamorous things a Kenyan pharmacy actually needs every single day.
Pharmacy POS Pricing in Kenya: What You Should Actually Pay
Pharmacy POS pricing in Kenya varies widely, and the cheapest option is rarely the cheapest once missing features force manual workarounds. Here is what to actually look for in the pricing.
Starting a Pharmacy Business in Kenya: Licensing, Costs, and Systems
Opening a pharmacy in Kenya involves more than stocking shelves — licensing, compliance systems, and operational tooling all need to be in place before the first sale.
Retail-Only vs Retail-Plus-Wholesale Pharmacy Software: Which Do You Need?
Some pharmacies only ever sell retail, over the counter. Others also supply clinics, hospitals, or smaller pharmacies on credit. The software each needs looks quite different.
Switching Pharmacy POS Systems Without Losing Data or Sales Days
Switching pharmacy POS systems is daunting mainly because of what could go wrong — lost stock records, a confused till on day one, gaps in sales history. A clear checklist avoids most of that.
Technology & Security
Offline-first PWA, role-based access control, audit logs, and data security.
Offline-First POS: Why Kenyan Pharmacies Cannot Rely on Always-On Internet
Internet connectivity in many parts of Kenya is good most of the time, not all of the time. A pharmacy POS that stops working the moment the connection drops is a liability waiting to happen.
Role-Based Access Control for Pharmacy Staff: Who Should See What
Not every staff member in a pharmacy needs access to every function. Role-based access control limits what each person can see and do, based on what their job actually requires.
Why Every Pharmacy POS Needs an Audit Log
When a stock discrepancy or a disputed void shows up, the question is always the same: who did what, and when. A proper audit log means that question has a fast, factual answer.
PWA vs Native App: Why PharmaPOS Is Installable Without an App Store
Some pharmacy POS systems require installing a native app from an app store, with updates and device compatibility to manage. A PWA works differently — and more simply.
Data Security for Pharmacy POS Systems in Kenya: What to Demand From Vendors
A pharmacy POS system holds patient prescription history, payment information, and business records. Before choosing one, it is worth asking exactly how that data is protected.