Run a calmer, more profitable pharmacy
Practical writing about running a community pharmacy in Kenya: buying software, controlling expiry, and what the tax rules mean at the counter. Written by the people who build Optima, including the parts where Optima is not the answer.
- Guides
- 9
- Reading time
- 60 min
- Cost
- Free
Where does it hurt today?
Pick the one that sounds like your week and go straight to the answer.
- I am choosing pharmacy software
- Stock keeps expiring on my shelves
- What does KRA eTIMS mean at my counter
- My shelf and my records do not agree
- The internet or power keeps going out
- My cash and M-Pesa never add up
- Supplier prices keep changing
- I keep running out of fast movers
- I still use a notebook or Excel
Start here
More guides
7 minute readUpdated 17 September 2026
How pharmacies lose money to expiry, and how FEFO stops it
Expired stock is a full-cost loss, not a lost margin, which is why it hurts more than it looks. A practical routine for batch tracking, first-expiry-first-out dispensing and the monthly short-dated check.
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6 minute readUpdated 17 September 2026
KRA eTIMS for pharmacies, in plain language
What eTIMS is, who has to use it, and what it means for a community pharmacy in Kenya. Written without jargon, and without pretending that buying software makes the obligation go away.
Read the guide6 minute readUpdated 26 October 2026
How to do a stock take in a pharmacy, and how often
A stock take that takes a week gets skipped. A routine that counts the fast movers often and everything else on a rota keeps your records honest without closing the shop.
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6 minute readUpdated 26 October 2026
How to keep selling when the internet or power goes out
Outages are part of running a shop in Kenya. What to check in your pharmacy software, what to put on a small battery, and what to do at the counter so a blackout costs minutes and not sales.
Read the guide6 minute readUpdated 26 October 2026
Reconciling M-Pesa, cash and card at the end of a shift
A short, repeatable way to close a shift so cash, M-Pesa and card all agree with the sales record, and a way to find the difference when they do not.
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7 minute readUpdated 26 October 2026
Pricing medicines and tracking margin when supplier prices keep changing
Supplier prices move, and a shelf price set once goes stale. How to work out margin per batch, when to reprice, and how to stop selling today's stock at yesterday's price.
Read the guide6 minute readUpdated 26 October 2026
Setting reorder levels so you stop running out of fast movers
A reorder level is the stock count at which you order again. How to set one from sales and supplier delivery time, plus a safety buffer, without tying up cash in shelves of slow stock.
Read the guide7 minute readUpdated 26 October 2026
Switching from paper or Excel to pharmacy software without losing a day of sales
A practical order of work for moving a pharmacy off a notebook or a spreadsheet: what to prepare, how to load your products and stock, and how to run both side by side before you cut over.
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Written to be used, not skimmed and forgotten
Plain language first
Every guide opens with the short version, and long sections end with one sentence you could say across the counter.
Honest about Optima
Written by the people who build Optima, including the parts where Optima is not the answer for your pharmacy.
Dated and kept current
Each guide shows when it was last updated, because tax rules and prices change and an old page should say so.
Read it, then try it at your own counter
The full application with your own stock and your own till, free for seven days. No card, nothing to cancel.
Looking for help with the app itself?
These guides are about running a pharmacy. For downloading, activating and managing Optima on your computers, the help centre is the place.