Every pharmacy billing software demo looks good for twenty minutes. The differences that matter to a medical store show up in month two: at the counter during a rush, at month end when the GST return is due, and on the day the PC dies. This checklist is what we would ask if we were buying.
1. What happens when the internet drops?
Ask precisely this: "If I unplug the network cable, can I still bill, print, search stock and see a report?" Cloud-only software will say no, or say yes with a caveat about a local cache that expires. For a shop that runs on a shared broadband line or a mobile hotspot, this is the single most important question on the list.
2. Is the batch the unit of billing?
A pharmacy bill has to name the batch and its expiry, because the batch is what gets restocked, returned and traced. In some software the batch is a comment field. In good software it is the thing you pick when you add the line. Watch a demo and see how many keystrokes it takes to pick a batch — then multiply by 300 bills a day.
3. Can it sell loose quantities?
Half a strip, ten tablets out of a blister, one bottle out of a pack of twelve. If the software only thinks in packs, your stock count is wrong by the end of the week and nobody notices until the audit.
4. Does GST come out as data, or as a screenshot?
GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B are filed as files. If your software can only show you a summary on screen, someone is going to re-type it into a portal — usually at 11 pm on the 10th. Ask what exactly you can download, and whether GSTR-2B from the portal can be reconciled against your purchases.
5. Who owns the database?
Ask where the data file is and whether you can copy it. If the answer is "on our servers, and here is an export button that works if your subscription is active", understand what you are agreeing to. A local database that you can copy onto a pen drive is a different kind of asset.
6. What happens to your data if you stop paying?
Some vendors lock the software the moment a subscription lapses. Others delete data after a grace period. Get the answer in writing before you enter a year of stock into it.
7. How does printing work?
Thermal 2-inch or 3-inch receipt printer? A4 sheet for GST and B2B customers? Both, from the same software, with a preview? This sounds trivial until the first customer asks for a proper bill with GSTIN printed on it.
8. Can two counters share one stock?
If the shop has an owner's counter and a staff counter, they must see one stock, one khata and one set of invoices. Find out how the software syncs them and what it costs per seat.
9. Are there approvals?
In a shop with employees, the useful control is not a password on the door — it is an approval queue for purchases, stock adjustments and price changes. If anyone can edit stock silently, your reports are decorative.
10. What does support look like at 7 pm on a Saturday?
Ask for the support number and test it before you buy. A real person who can connect to your PC is worth more than a ticketing portal and a knowledge base.
11. What does it cost over three years?
Compare the three-year total, not the first month: subscription, per-seat charges, charges for "premium" reports, and the cost of the day the software is down during your busiest season. Cheap software that stops a counter is expensive.
12. Can you try it on a real day?
The right test is not a demo — it is your worst day. Install the trial, keep the old register open beside it, bill a hundred real customers, file one real day's report and print one real GST invoice for a B2B customer. Any software that survives that will be fine.
Red flags
- "Works offline" means "has a mobile app that caches a bit".
- No way to export or copy your own data.
- Batch and expiry are optional fields.
- GST summaries that cannot be downloaded.
- Pricing that only appears after a "book a demo" form.
- No drug licence field on the invoice, in a business where inspectors ask for it.
Where PharmaPOS fits
Full disclosure: this is our blog, and PharmaPOS is our product. The checklist above is exactly what we build against — billing with no internet requirement, batch-first billing, stock, purchases and khata, and GSTR-1, GSTR-2B and GSTR-3B as files you can hand over. It is ₹250 a month with a 7-day trial, and you can download it and judge it on your own counter.