Challenges
The manual work this trade still runs on, what it costs, and what changes.
Checking a chemist's drug licence before billing
- How it is done today
- A photocopy of the 20B and 21B licence sits in a box file, and the billing clerk is meant to look it up before a new chemist's first order.
- Cost or risk
- Selling to a buyer without a valid licence is a compliance risk for the distributor, and the file is rarely current.
- With Finocket
- Keep both licence numbers and the retention-due date on the chemist's account, where the person billing sees them. Finocket does not yet block the sale; it puts the numbers in front of you.
Writing batch and expiry on every memo line
- How it is done today
- Batch numbers and expiry dates are copied from the carton by hand onto the bill or typed into a desktop billing screen.
- Cost or risk
- A wrong batch on the memo makes a later recall or expiry return hard to trace to the right chemist.
- With Finocket
- Each invoice line has batch and expiry fields, and stock is held by batch, so the same batch you received is the one you bill.
Expired stock found too late
- How it is done today
- Someone walks the racks at month end and pulls short-dated cartons by eye.
- Cost or risk
- Stock that expires on the shelf is a straight loss if it is not returned to the manufacturer in time.
- With Finocket
- Batches carry their expiry dates in stock, so short-dated batches can be found by date instead of by eye. Near-expiry alerts and automatic first-expiry-first-out picking are not built yet.
Chasing outstanding from dozens of chemists
- How it is done today
- A salesman carries a printed outstanding list and a cheque book of post-dated cheques is kept in a drawer.
- Cost or risk
- Cheques get missed on their date and dues age past the agreed credit days without anyone noticing.
- With Finocket
- Outstanding shows dues by chemist with ageing, post-dated cheques are recorded against the bill they pay, and reminders go out from the same screen.
Different rates for chemists, sub-stockists and hospitals
- How it is done today
- The billing clerk remembers or looks up a rate sheet for each type of buyer and edits the rate on the bill.
- Cost or risk
- A wrong rate on a hospital or sub-stockist bill becomes a credit note and an argument.
- With Finocket
- Price lists per customer tier fill the rate on the bill from the buyer's account.
E-way bill and transport details typed twice
- How it is done today
- The e-way bill is made on the portal and the number, vehicle and transporter are then typed again on the memo.
- Cost or risk
- Mismatched numbers between the memo and the e-way bill cause trouble at a check post.
- With Finocket
- The e-way bill number, vehicle and transporter are fields on the invoice, and e-way bills and e-invoices can be generated from Finocket.
Month end for the CA
- How it is done today
- Billing data is exported from one program and re-entered or imported into Tally by the accountant.
- Cost or risk
- Re-keying causes GSTR-1 mismatches against what was actually billed.
- With Finocket
- GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B are prepared from the invoices you raised, and Tally XML is exported for a CA who files from Tally.