Vetzilla Help Center
Guides, tutorials, and technical reference, step by step.
Veterinary Inventory Control, Batch & Service Management
Updated on September 2, 2026
Product & Medical Supply Management
This section defines the physical supplies, medications, and commercial items used in your practice. To ensure professional management and protect your profit margins, complete each product record according to these criteria:
Set alert levels for automatic reordering of medications and supplies. The system will notify you instantly when stock drops below the minimum.
Record the actual acquisition cost of your pharmaceuticals. This is required to accurately calculate profit margins and overall practice profitability.
Assign a unique barcode for fast item lookups at the point of sale (POS) and to streamline inventory audits.
Internal item identifier. Highly useful for tracking stock across your purchasing system and supplier orders.
Three Critical Inventory Settings
The "Manage Inventory" toggle is optional but highly recommended for items requiring strict shelf-count tracking. When enabled, it is vital to define:
- Minimum Stock — The critical level that triggers low-inventory notifications.
- Maximum Stock — The optimized maximum quantity to store to prevent over-purchasing.
- Average Cost — The essential financial foundation required for automatic reorder alerts.
For critical medical products (biologicals, controlled substances, vaccines, dewormers), enable the "Manage Batches" switch. This allows strict control over expired inventory and waste with three fields:
- Batch Number — The official manufacturer lot identifier for legal and medical tracking.
- Expiration Date — When the batch expires (critical for patient safety and avoiding financial loss).
- Batch Quantity — How many specific units belong to that specific expiration group.
Classify your supplies for financial reporting and quick searches: Vaccination, Commercial Product, Deworming, Medication, etc. This simplifies cyclic inventory counts and cost-benefit analysis.
Service & Clinical Act Management
Services represent the catalog of clinical, medical, and operational activities in your practice. Although they do not require physical shelf stock, their correct configuration keeps your checkout line moving quickly:
Clinical & Grooming Service Configuration
System-Specific Categories: Classify your services exactly within their corresponding modules: Consultation, Laboratory Tests, Surgery, Imaging (X-Ray, Ultrasound), Vaccinations, Deworming, and Aesthetics & Spa (Grooming) so they link automatically to your patients' electronic medical records (EMR).
Billing Accuracy: A service set with a "0" price in your inventory will halt automated point-of-sale invoicing, forcing manual entry which increases human error risks and revenue leaks.
Operational Comparison: Product vs. Service
This table outlines the key differences in how Vetzilla processes each item type in your system:
| Feature | Product (Supplies & Medications) | Service (Clinical & Grooming Acts) |
|---|---|---|
| System Categories | Vaccination, Product, Deworming, Medication | Consultation, Laboratory, Surgery, Imaging, Aesthetics & Spa |
| Stock Tracking | Optional (Automated stock counts) | Not applicable |
| Batch Control | Available & Essential (Batch, Expiry, Quantity) | Not applicable |
| Search Method | Barcode, SKU, and Commercial Name | Generally by SKU or Service Name |
| Price Structure | Required (Average Cost + Profit Margin) | Required (Direct retail sale price) |
| Waste & Expiry Auditing | Tracked by batch number and expiration date | Does not require physical stock |
Inventory Best Practices
Before adding products in bulk, define the categories you will use. This avoids data duplication, disorganization, and confusion in your metrics.
Every medical item must have a unique SKU and barcode. This prevents pricing duplication errors during patient checkout.
Supplier costs change frequently. Keep your margins updated to secure accurate profitability metrics and financial reports.
If you adjust retail prices or enable Batch Control, note the effective dates. This is highly beneficial for internal audits and medical traceability.