Dukaan POS
1Switching tracking on for a product
Each product has an expiry switch. New food and drink products start with it on, since they go off; hardware or stationery items start with it off. Where it is on, the purchase screen offers an expiry date field for that item, so the date is captured at the moment the goods arrive, when the carton is in your hands.
Stock of a dated product, week by week
Example: yoghurt cartons against a date
2How the warning works
For products still in stock, the app looks at the earliest expiry date entered on deliveries and warns you when it falls within the next 30 days. The warning appears in the notification list with the product and its date. It is a prompt to go and look at the shelf, because the app counts stock per product and does not know which individual packets are left from which delivery.
Without a system
- Dates checked when you remember
- Expired goods found by customers
- Waste never counted
With Dukaan POS
- Date entered on delivery
- A warning 30 days ahead
- Write-offs shown in profit reports
3What to do when the warning appears
The usual playbook is quick. Bring the older packets to the front, set a small discount to sell them first, check the back stock, and if a batch cannot be sold, ask the supplier whether they take back short-dated goods. A few extra minutes at the warning saves most of the loss.
🧮 Stock value calculator
Shows the money sitting on your shelf at cost and at retail.
4Writing off expired goods
When items do expire, record them as an expiry write-off with the quantity. They leave saleable stock so the cashier cannot sell them by mistake, and the loss is subtracted in the net profit report. Seeing that number each month shows whether you are ordering too much of short-life items.
5Habits that make it work
Tracking works when delivery entry is consistent. Make it a rule that nothing goes on the shelf before its expiry date is entered, and have the stock person do a short shelf walk once a week. Combined with ordering smaller amounts of fast-expiring goods more often, most shops see waste drop within a couple of months.
6Which goods benefit most
The biggest losses come from short-life items bought in volume: milk and yoghurt, bread and bakery, juices, snacks, baby milk and cooking items with a printed date. If your shop also sells personal care or cleaning goods, many carry dates too, though they expire slowly. A good starting point is to switch tracking on for the ten products where one wasted carton hurts most, run it for a month, and then extend it to the rest once the habit has formed.
★Get started in four steps
- Check the expiry switchTurn it on for every product with a shelf life.
- Enter dates on every deliveryFill in the expiry field when you record the purchase.
- Act on the warningsMove, discount or return items flagged as near expiry.
- Write off what expiresRecord expired items so stock and profit stay true.
!Good to know before you start
- Stock is tracked per product, not per batch, so the warning is a reminder to check the shelf.
- Expiry dates must be entered when goods are received to be tracked.
- It does not meet regulated pharmacy or medicine record-keeping rules.
- Warnings appear inside the app, not as messages.
?Questions about expiry date tracking software
What is expiry date tracking software?
It records the expiry dates of goods you receive and warns you before they expire so you can sell or return them in time.
How early does it warn me?
Warnings appear for dates within the next 30 days.
Does it track each batch separately?
No. It uses the earliest expiry date entered for a product that is still in stock.
Can I write off expired items?
Yes, as an expiry write-off, which reduces saleable stock and is counted as a stock loss.
Can I switch it off for items that do not expire?
Yes. Each product has its own expiry switch.
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