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How to track lots and expiry dates

Lot and expiry tracking means knowing, for each batch on your shelves, how much is left, when it expires and who bought it. Record it when stock arrives, sell the oldest first, act on short-dated stock every week, and you are ready for a recall.

October 20, 2026·7 min read
  1. Decide what to track Track lots and expiry for perishables, medicines, supplements, cosmetics and anything a supplier could recall. Skip it for products that never expire.
  2. Turn on lot and expiry tracking Switch on lot numbers and expiry dates in your POS or inventory system before the next delivery.
  3. Record lots on receiving Enter the lot number and expiry date from each case when you receive a purchase, not later.
  4. Shelve oldest first Put new stock behind old stock so the earliest expiry sells first (first expired, first out).
  5. Review short-dated stock weekly Run an expiry report each week and discount, move or write off stock close to its date.
  6. Write off expired stock properly Remove expired items as a stock adjustment with a reason, so counts and costs stay right.
  7. Practise a recall Pick a lot and check you can find how much you received, sold and still hold, and where it is.

Why track lots and expiry

Expiry tracking cuts waste: if you know which stock expires next month, you can discount it, move it to a busier store or use it in-house while it still has value. Lot tracking protects you in a recall: when a supplier recalls lot 26-0412, you can see in minutes how much you received, how much is on the shelf and, where customers are recorded, who bought it.

For some businesses it is not optional. Pharmacies, food producers and anyone selling regulated products may be required to trace lots. For everyone else it is a cheap insurance policy.

Record at the receiving door

The only reliable time to record a lot is when the stock arrives. Each case or carton usually shows a lot or batch number and a best-before or expiry date. Enter them on the purchase as you check the delivery against the invoice. If one delivery contains two lots of the same product, enter them as two lines. Waiting until later means guessing, and a guessed lot number is worse than none.

For opening stock, count by lot and expiry where you can. If the old stock has no lot information, enter one line per product with the earliest expiry date you can find.

Rotate and review

Shelving new stock behind old (first expired, first out) is the simplest habit that cuts waste. Then set a weekly time to review short-dated stock. Decide your rule in advance: for example, anything with less than 30 days gets a markdown, less than 7 days moves to staff use or donation, and expired stock is written off. Some systems can also stop selling a product a set number of days before it expires.

Write off expired stock as a stock adjustment with a reason. That keeps the count right and shows the cost of waste on your reports.

Handling a recall

When a recall notice arrives, look up the lot. Check how much you received, how much is left and where it is stored. Pull it from the shelf and quarantine it. If the product is one where customers are attached to sales, check which customers bought it. Return or destroy the stock as the supplier instructs, and record it as an adjustment or a purchase return.

Doing it in SeroPOS

Lot and expiry tracking is set up in the SeroPOS web back office and recorded on purchases and opening stock.

  • Business Settings, then Product: Enable Product Expiry (enter an expiry date, or a manufacturing date plus an expiry period), and choose On product expiry: Keep selling, or Stop selling a set number of days before.
  • Business Settings, then Purchases: Enable Lot Number.
  • Purchases, then Add Purchase: each line takes a lot number and MFG and EXP dates. Opening stock can also be entered with lot and expiry.
  • Business Settings, then Dashboard sets the stock expiry alert window; the Dashboard shows a Stock Expiry Alert table.
  • Reports, then Stock Expiry Report: stock left per lot with its dates, so you know which lots to write off with a stock adjustment.
  • Reports, then Lot Report: current stock, units sold, units adjusted and expiry per lot.
  • Products, then Print Labels can print the lot number, expiry date and packing date on shelf or product labels.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a lot number and a batch number?

In everyday use they mean the same thing: a code that identifies a group of products made together. Some industries use one term or the other, and a few use both at different levels. What matters is recording the code exactly as printed on the case.

What is FEFO?

First expired, first out: selling the stock with the earliest expiry date first, regardless of when it arrived. It is the shelf rule most food and pharmacy retailers use, and it differs slightly from FIFO, which goes by arrival date.

Can SeroPOS stop selling a product before it expires?

Yes. In Business Settings, then Product, the On product expiry setting can be Keep selling, or Stop selling a set number of days before the expiry date.

How do I find out how much of a recalled lot I still have?

In SeroPOS open the Lot Report in the back office. It shows each lot's current stock, units sold, units adjusted and expiry, so you can see what to pull from the shelf.

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