5 Forecasting Tips for Pharmacies
Posted on Nov 25, 2024
It’s important not to wait until January 1 to begin thinking about the year ahead. Instead, there are a variety of customizable reports in BestRx that will help you to determine how your pharmacy is currently performing and what you can expect moving forward, based on historical trends. Here are 5 forecasting tips to get you started:
1. Evaluate Your Customer Base
To start, determine how many active customers you have, and calculate your new customer and retention rates as well. That way, you can estimate the total number of customers your pharmacy is likely to acquire and keep over the next year. Then, take it a step further, identifying things like the average number of prescriptions filled per patient and the number of patients who are on recurring medications for chronic conditions. This information will help forecast the sales and revenue your pharmacy should accrue over the next year.
2. Review Transaction Data
Next, look at the transactions you’ve processed over the last 12 months. Using the many financial reports available in BestRx, you can quickly calculate the revenue you received from both new and repeat patients, determine which medications had higher or lower reimbursement rates than others, and which OTC items performed well. For a more complete picture of your pharmacy’s financial health, you can review historical information for previous years as well. This information will help you determine which patient populations and transactions are most profitable, so you can develop strategies to expand in those areas.
3. Estimate Your Expenses
Once your customer and revenue information has been reviewed, shift your focus to the cash going out your pharmacy’s door. Start with any known expenses, like your mortgage/rent, utilities and staffing costs. Then, think about any variable costs you may encounter throughout the year, which may include your prescription and over-the-counter inventory and building maintenance that may be needed. Plus, it’s always a good idea to set aside an additional contingency fund to account for any unforeseen expenses that may arise.
4. Monitor Your Cash Flow
Then, you can compare your anticipated revenue for a given period against your estimated expenses to determine what your cash flow situation will likely be. This will allow you to identify any period where you may be operating on razor thin margins, so you can adjust your approach ahead of time. By maintaining an adequate level of cash on hand, you’ll lessen the impact that shifts in demand and fluctuations in drug costs have on your business. Instead, you’ll be better equipped to adapt to these changes and other seasonal shifts or circumstances that are bound to pop up.
5. Set Up Recurring Reports
Now that you have done an initial store evaluation, be sure to set up a process to review vital performance reports on an ongoing basis. An easy way to do this is using BestRx’s Scheduled Reports feature, which allows you to select which reports you’d like to view and how often you’d like them generated. Then, the system takes care of the rest, automatically pulling the information and delivering it right to your inbox. This way, you can eliminate a task from your to-do list while keeping close tabs on your profit and loss statements, inventory and more.
In general, whenever you’re reviewing your pharmacy data, or establishing a plan for the year, the most important thing you can do is to be realistic. While it’s tempting to focus on where you’re excelling, identifying and addressing areas where you’re falling short is critical to the long-term success of your store. Fortunately, BestRx makes it easy to obtain a holistic view of your pharmacy today – and to predict where you’re headed. Request a free demo to learn more.