Why track lots and expirations?

Many supplies have expiration dates — saline, medications, certain dressings, chemical light sticks, and more. If a manufacturer issues a recall, lot numbers let you find exactly which units are affected without pulling everything off the shelf.

How lot-based tracking works

When you add new stock to a location, you enter a lot number and an expiration date. The system keeps balances separate by lot. That means if you add 50 saline bags from lot A (expiring June 2027) and 30 from lot B (expiring September 2027), the system tracks them as two separate balances for the same product at the same location.

This is useful because:

  • You can see exactly how many units from each lot you have.
  • If lot A is recalled, you know you have 50 units to pull — not all 80.
  • You can rotate stock by using the oldest lot first.

Expiry alerts

The system watches expiration dates. On the dashboard, the Inventory expiring soon panel groups upcoming expirations into 0-30 days, 31-60 days, and 60+ days. Use it to rotate the nearest-expiring lots first.

Worked example

Your agency adds two shipments of cold packs to its supply room:

  1. January 10 — 100 cold packs, lot CP-2025-A, expires January 2027.
  2. April 15 — 60 cold packs, lot CP-2025-B, expires July 2027.

In December 2026, the dashboard shows that 100 cold packs from lot CP-2025-A are expiring next month. You distribute those first and keep the lot CP-2025-B packs in reserve.

Tips

  • Always enter the lot number and expiration date when you add new stock to a location. It takes a few extra seconds but saves a lot of trouble during recalls.
  • When you move items between locations, the lot and expiration information travels with them.
  • Check the Inventory expiring soon section of the dashboard at least once a week to stay ahead of expirations.