1. Does It Handle GST Correctly Across All Medicine Categories?
Picture a pharmacist who runs a report after switching software and finds it has been applying 12% GST to several Schedule H medicines that should have been billed at 5% under HSN 3004 — overcharging customers on one hand and under-declaring the correct rate on the other, a problem that cuts both ways in an audit.
The 12% slab was withdrawn from 22 September 2025, after the 56th GST Council meeting, and medicines that were at 12% moved to 5% — but the category has nuances: formulations, ayurvedic preparations, medical devices sold alongside medicines, and OTC products can each carry different rates. Your billing software must map HSN codes automatically at the product level, not ask you to configure them manually for 30,000-plus SKUs.
Ask the vendor to show you what happens when a product's GST category is ambiguous. If the answer is "you set it up," walk away.
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2. Does It Maintain Schedule H and H1 Registers Automatically?
Under Rule 65(3)(h) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, every Schedule H1 supply must be recorded in a separate register at the time of supply — prescriber's name and address, patient's name, drug and quantity — kept for three years and available for inspection. Gaps in it can put the licence at risk.
Some pharmacies end up running a separate paper register alongside their billing software because the software doesn't auto-populate it. That's double work, and the paper register is always a few days behind. In an inspection, "the register is being updated" is not an acceptable answer.
The software you buy should log every Schedule H1 sale at the moment of billing, with prescriber, patient, quantity, and batch. Ask which of the Rule 65(3)(h) particulars it does not capture, so you know exactly what is left for the pharmacist to add.
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3. Will It Work When the Internet Drops?
Broadband in a market in Patna or a lane shop in Coimbatore is not the same as a corporate office in Mumbai. Power cuts, router failures, and ISP outages happen multiple times a week in many locations. If your billing software is a pure cloud application with no offline mode, your counter stops the moment connectivity drops.
Ask the vendor specifically: "Can I raise a GST invoice with no internet connection?" If they say "our servers have 99.9% uptime," that is not an answer to your question. You need a system that stores data locally and syncs when connectivity returns.
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4. How Many Medicines Are in the Database — and How Current Is It?
Picture a pharmacist who has to add 200-plus medicines manually in the first month because the software database doesn't recognize brands the distributors supply regularly. Each manual entry takes 4-6 minutes when done correctly with composition, schedule, HSN, and pack size. At 200 medicines, that is roughly 13-20 hours of data entry before the system is even functional.
Ask the vendor for the exact count of medicines in their database and when it was last updated. A working pharmacy database in India should carry at minimum 200,000 medicines with composition, schedule classification, and HSN codes pre-filled.
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5. Can It Handle Expiry Tracking by Batch Using FEFO?
First-Expiry-First-Out (FEFO) batch selection is not a feature you negotiate — it is the method that prevents you from selling a batch that expires in 45 days while a batch expiring in 120 days sits behind it on the shelf. Every batch that crosses its return window unsold is stock you paid for and cannot recover — pull last year's write-off total from your own purchase ledger to see what that has cost you.
Ask the vendor: "When I bill a product, does your system automatically select the nearest-expiry batch?" Then ask for a live demo of the batch selection screen — not a slide.
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6. Does It Protect Patient Data Under DPDPA 2023?
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 applies to any system that stores patient names, phone numbers, or prescription data. A billing system that keeps customer purchase history — including prescription medicines — is holding personal data under this law.
Ask the vendor where data is stored, whether it is encrypted at rest and in transit, and whether they have a data processing agreement you can sign. If the vendor has not heard of DPDPA 2023, that is your answer.
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7. What Does Expiry Return Management Actually Look Like?
Most software will show you an expiry report. Fewer will tell you, proactively, that a batch is crossing the 30-day or 60-day window before it becomes unreturnable — and many distributors set a return window before the printed expiry date, which varies by agreement.
Ask: "Does your system alert me automatically before a batch crosses my return window?" Then ask how the alert is delivered — inside the software, on mobile, via WhatsApp — and at what time of day.
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8. Can You Export to Tally Without Manual Re-Entry?
Many Indian pharmacies run Tally Prime for accounts. If your billing software cannot export data in a Tally-compatible format, your accountant is re-entering every invoice by hand, or you are paying someone to do it. At even 150 invoices a day, that is a significant daily reconciliation burden.
Note: "export to Tally" and "integration with Tally" are different things. An export means your software generates a file that Tally can import — which is what most pharmacies need. Ask to see the actual export file and confirm your CA can import it without third-party tools.
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9. Does It Support Prescription Photo Capture?
A prescription is a legal document. For Schedule H1 medicines, the register must carry the prescriber's name and address, and Schedule X prescriptions must be retained. But in a busy pharmacy, reading a prescription and typing it in is where errors creep in. A billing system with prescription photo scan lets the billing operator photograph the prescription at the counter and have the medicines read into the bill.
Ask whether the photo is also stored with the invoice record, for how long, and whether it is retrievable during an audit.
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10. What Languages Does It Support for Voice or Data Entry?
India has 22 official languages and dozens of regional scripts. A billing operator in a Coimbatore pharmacy billing in Tamil, or a pharmacist in Hyderabad reading a prescription in Telugu, should not have to mentally translate into English to use their software. Voice billing in regional languages is not a novelty — it is a practical time-saver that reduces billing errors caused by transliteration.
Ask the vendor which Indian languages are supported for both interface and voice input, and whether they can demonstrate it live.
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11. What Happens to Your Data If You Stop Paying?
This is the question vendors least like to answer. Ask it anyway: "If I stop paying, can I export all my historical invoices, stock records, and patient prescription attachments within 30 days?" You want this confirmed in writing before you sign anything.
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12. What Does the Pricing Actually Cover — and What Comes Later?
Demo pricing often excludes: multi-counter licenses, WhatsApp notification charges, report modules, or support beyond a starter tier.
Ask for a written quote that covers every feature you saw in the demo, including GST filing reports, Schedule H register, and multi-store access if relevant.
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What Operations Look Like When All 12 Are Covered
Before: The billing operator manually selects batches, sometimes by memory. The Schedule H register is a paper book updated at end of day. Expiry reports are run monthly — if remembered. Tally reconciliation takes the accountant two hours every Friday.
After:
| Task | Before | After |
|---|
| Batch selection | Manual, error-prone | FEFO auto-selected at billing |
| Schedule H1 register | Paper, updated manually | Logged at point of sale; pharmacist adds prescriber's address |
| Expiry alerts | Monthly report, if run | Proactive alert before return window closes |
| Tally export | Manual re-entry | One-click file export |
| Prescription entry | Typed by hand, often wrong | Read from a photo at the counter, confirmed by the pharmacist |
The change is not cosmetic. Solving these five operational gaps means less manual work at the counter, fewer register gaps to explain at inspection, and fewer batches quietly crossing their return window unsold.
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What Running on a System Built for This Actually Feels Like
Picture a general pharmacy running on Nesayo. On the AI Employee plan, the morning routine changes first: the Morning Briefing agent delivers a summary before the shutter opens — medicines running low, what customers owe, and the day's expiry alerts.
The expiry alerts change the routine most. Expiry Guard sorts batches into 30, 60 and 90-day windows, each with a return or discount suggestion ready for approval, so the list is ready before the distributor rep walks in.
On the paid plans, voice billing in Hindi and English (beta) speeds up billing on busy weekday afternoons, and the prescription photo scan reads the medicines and, where legible, the patient's and doctor's names into the bill. Schedule H1 sales are logged automatically at billing: date, medicine, batch, quantity and bill number, with the patient and prescriber names entered on the bill. Nesayo does not record the prescriber's address yet, so the pharmacist adds it to complete the Rule 65(3)(h) register. The prescription photo is kept for 90 days for checking, not stored with the invoice, so the register — not the photo — is your record.
More than 2.5 lakh medicines come pre-loaded, so you are not typing an item master in the first month. On the AI Employee plan, the export for Tally runs without a consultant. Billing is free, permanently. The AI agents — all five of them: Morning Briefing, Expiry Guard, Refill Radar, Stock Sense, and Payment Advisor — are available from ₹999 per month on the AI Employee plan, or ₹399 per month for the Starter plan (as of September 2026). For a chain, the Chain plan (by invitation) covers the first store at ₹2,999 per month with each additional store at ₹999 per month, as of September 2026.
None of this requires a migration consultant, a training week, or a configuration manual.
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The Choice in Front of You Right Now
Every month you run on software that misses even two or three of the 12 checks above is a month of compounding risk — regulatory exposure on the Schedule H register, expiry stock that crosses the return window unnoticed, GST mappings that may not survive an audit. The cost of inaction is not abstract; it shows up in write-off totals, CA fees, and the fine that arrives with a notice you did not expect.
Spend 20 minutes on nesayo.com/demo. A sample pharmacy is pre-loaded — no signup required. Walk through a Schedule H1 sale, look at the batch that billing picks and at the expiry alerts, and hold them against the 12 checks above. You will know within those 20 minutes which points it covers and which are left to you. That is a better use of your time than another demo that shows you only the clean parts.
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FAQ
What is the correct HSN code for medicines in India?
Most pharmaceutical formulations intended for human or veterinary use fall under HSN 3004, and most of them attract 5% GST since 22 September 2025, when the 12% slab was withdrawn (Notification 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate), after the 56th GST Council meeting). However, specific categories — including some Ayurvedic preparations, medical devices, and OTC products — may carry different HSN codes and GST rates. Verify the classification for each product category with your CA before configuring your billing software.
Is FEFO a legal requirement for retail pharmacies in India?
FEFO (First-Expiry-First-Out) is not explicitly mandated for retail chemists by name in Indian pharmacy regulation, but selling medicines beyond their expiry date is an offence under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. FEFO is the standard method used to prevent that outcome and is recommended practice under Good Distribution Practice guidelines. Your state drug inspector may cite poor batch management as a contributing factor in cases involving expired sales.
How long must a Schedule H1 register be kept?
Under Rule 65(3)(h) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, the Schedule H1 register must be maintained for three years and be open for inspection by a drug inspector. Gaps in it can put the licence at risk, and selling a Schedule H1 drug without a prescription is punishable under Section 27(d) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, with imprisonment of one to two years and a fine of not less than ₹20,000.
What documents does a pharmacist need to keep for Schedule H medicine sales?
At minimum: a record of the sale under Rule 65 — in a prescription register or a serially numbered cash/credit memo — with the date of supply, the prescriber's and patient's names and addresses, the drug and quantity, and the manufacturer, batch number and expiry, signed by the registered pharmacist; plus the retail invoice. For Schedule H1, also an entry in the separate H1 register (prescriber's name and address, patient's name, drug and quantity), kept for three years under Rule 65(3)(h). A copy of the prescription has to be retained only for Schedule X drugs (Rule 65(9)).
How do I calculate how much money I am losing to expired medicines each year?
Pull a stock ledger report for the last 12 months and total all products written off or returned due to expiry, at purchase price. That figure varies a lot by category mix and how tightly batches are managed, so there is no single industry number worth quoting — your own ledger is the only reliable source for your pharmacy.
Does the DPDPA 2023 apply to a small retail pharmacy?
Yes. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 applies to any entity that collects and processes personal data of Indian residents — including name, phone number, and health-related purchase history stored in a billing system. There is no small-business exemption based on turnover or size as of the current framework. Consult a legal advisor for guidance specific to your operations, as implementation rules are still being notified in phases.
What should I check in a pharmacy software demo before I commit?
Ask the vendor to demonstrate: (1) billing a Schedule H1 medicine, including how the prescription is captured, (2) the Schedule H1 register entry that results, and which Rule 65(3)(h) particulars you still add by hand, (3) the expiry alert queue for a batch within 30 days of expiry, (4) the GST report with HSN-level breakup, and (5) a Tally-compatible export of the day's invoices. If any of these cannot be shown live in the actual product — not slides, not a recorded video — treat that as a red flag for that specific feature.
How does Nesayo's free billing plan compare to paid plans?
Billing on Nesayo is free permanently — GST invoicing, Schedule H1 logging at billing, FEFO batch selection, expiry alerts, and more than 2.5 lakh pre-loaded medicines are all included at no cost. The paid plans (prices as of September 2026): Starter at ₹399 per month adds Hindi and English voice billing (beta), prescription photo scanning and Refill Radar; AI Employee at ₹999 a month includes all five agents (Morning Briefing, Expiry Guard, Refill Radar, Stock Sense, Payment Advisor) and the export for Tally; Chain, by invitation, at ₹2,999 a month covers one store with additional stores at ₹999 each a month.