Lots and batches
Track groups of identical products by purchase order and date to manage stock quality and traceability.
Lots and Batches
What is a lot or batch?
A lot (also called a batch) is a group of identical products received in a single purchase order on a specific date. Each lot is tracked separately in your inventory, even if the products are the same. For example, if you receive 100 units of paracetamol on June 1st and another 100 units on June 15th, those are two separate lots with different receiving dates.
Why lots matter
Lots let you:
- Track product quality: Products from different suppliers or manufacturing dates may have different shelf lives or performance characteristics. Lots keep them organized.
- Ensure traceability: If a product must be recalled or is found to be defective, you can quickly identify and remove only the affected lots.
- Meet expiry dates: In pharmacy, food service, and agriculture, each lot has its own expiry date. Managing lots ensures you sell or use the oldest products first (FIFO — first in, first out).
- Manage cost variations: If your supplier changes prices between purchases, different lots may have different unit costs. Tracking lots helps you calculate the true cost of goods sold.
How Usystems manages lots
When you receive stock into inventory, Usystems automatically creates a new lot record tied to the purchase order and receiving date. You do not need to manually create lots — they are generated for you.
Each lot contains:
- Lot number — the product's serial or batch number (if provided by the supplier; optional)
- Expiry date — when the product expires (optional, but essential for pharmacy and food)
- Receiving date — when the lot was added to inventory
- Unit cost — the price paid per unit in that purchase
- Quantity on hand — how many units remain in stock
When you sell or use a product, Usystems draws from the oldest lot first (FIFO). You can see which lot a sale came from on the sales receipt or invoice.
Where you manage lots
You can view and edit lot details in the Inventory section. If you need to update a lot's expiry date or other details, you do so at the lot level, not by re-entering each product individually.
Common workflows
- Add expiry dates when you receive stock or discover them later (see "Expiry date tracking").
- Mark stock expired when a lot passes its use-by date (see "Handling expired stock").
- Monitor stock by lot to ensure you're rotating stock properly and not sitting on old inventory.
Was this helpful?