Every clinic has two inventory problems at once. Something runs out in the middle of a busy day, so an assistant borrows from the clinic next door or a patient is rescheduled. Meanwhile, at the back of a cupboard, a box of composite expired last month and goes in the bin.
Both come from the same cause: nobody can see stock until it’s a problem. This guide sets out a simple system that works for a single-chair clinic and scales to a busy multi-dentist practice.
What to track (and what not to)
Don’t try to track every cotton roll. Track items that are expensive, that expire, or that stop treatment when they run out:
- Anaesthetic cartridges and needles.
- Composites, bonding agents and cements.
- Impression materials.
- Endodontic files and materials.
- Implant components, if you place implants.
- Sterilisation supplies, gloves and masks in bulk.
A clinic usually ends up with 40 to 150 tracked items. Cheap consumables can be checked by eye once a week.
Give every item four numbers
For each tracked item, set:
- Unit and pack size. You buy anaesthetic by the box of 50 and use it one cartridge at a time. Record both so stock counts make sense.
- Unit cost. What one unit costs you. This is what makes stock show up properly in your profit.
- Warning level. The quantity at which you need to reorder, based on how fast you use it and how long the supplier takes to deliver.
- Reorder quantity. How much to order when you hit the warning level. If you’re not sure, ordering enough to reach twice the warning level is a sensible start.
In BeClarified, when you leave the reorder quantity empty, it defaults to exactly that: enough to reach twice the warning level.
Track expiry by batch
Two boxes of the same bonding agent can expire a year apart. If you only record “bonding agent: 6 bottles”, you can’t know which to use first.
Record each delivery as a batch with its own expiry date. Then use the batch that expires first. BeClarified does this by default: when stock is used and no batch is chosen, it takes from the batch that expires first. Items expiring within 30 days show up on the home page every morning, alongside anything out of stock or running low, one click from the list.
Record every movement
Stock changes for six reasons: opening stock, deliveries, use in a visit, write-offs (expired or damaged), adjustments after a count, and returns to a supplier. Record each one with who did it, when and why.
That history is what turns “we seem to go through a lot of composite” into an answer. You can see which dentist uses what, which items are written off most often, and whether a count difference is a mistake or a pattern.
Record use in the visit
The most accurate way to track use is to record it where it happens: in the patient’s visit. When the assistant records the materials used, stock goes down automatically. BeClarified also records who pays for each use, whether the patient or the clinic, so billable materials don’t slip off the invoice.
Order from suggestions, not memory
Reordering is where most clinics lose time. Someone walks around with a notepad, phones three suppliers and forgets the fourth.
Instead, start orders from the low-stock list. BeClarified groups the items at or below their warning level by supplier, so you build one order per supplier in a few clicks. Send it by WhatsApp or print it. When the delivery arrives, receive it against the order: quantities, batches and expiry dates go into stock, and what you owe the supplier goes on their account.
Keep supplier accounts straight
Like labs, suppliers often work on credit. Keep a running account per supplier: deliveries received, payments made, balance owed. Compare it with the supplier’s statement once a month. The approach is the same one we describe for lab accounts.
Know what stock really costs
Stock used is a real cost, even though you paid for it weeks ago. If your profit report only counts cash spent this month, a month where you bought a lot looks terrible and the next looks great.
BeClarified’s money report counts stock used in the period as a cost, alongside expenses, staff pay and lab costs, so profit reflects what the clinic actually used. See clinic KPIs worth tracking.
Getting started in an afternoon
- List your tracked items with unit, pack size, unit cost and warning level. You can paste them straight from a spreadsheet: name, category, unit, pack size, quantity, unit cost, expiry, warn at.
- Count what’s on the shelf and enter it as opening stock, with expiry dates.
- Add your suppliers.
- From tomorrow, receive every delivery in the system and record use in visits.
After a month, look at what was written off and what ran out. Adjust warning levels for those items, and you’ll rarely be surprised again. See inventory for more.
Frequently asked questions
How often should we do a full stock count? Once a month for expensive or fast-moving items, once a quarter for the rest. Record differences as adjustments, with a reason.
Who should be allowed to adjust stock? As few people as possible. Use roles so assistants can record use while only a manager can adjust or write off.
Do we need barcodes? Not to start. Most clinics track stock well by name. Barcodes help large clinics with many similar items.
What about materials the patient pays for separately? Record them in the visit as billable to the patient, so they appear on the invoice and come out of stock at the same time.