A supplier quotation can look cheaper until freight, payment fees and currency movement are included. International pharmacy purchasing needs a comparable cost per usable unit, rather than a comparison of two invoice totals in different currencies.
This is a planning worksheet for lawful purchases through permitted supply routes. It does not establish import permission, tax treatment or the right to source a particular medicine. Confirm those matters locally before committing to an order.
Normalize the quotation first
Write down the product identity, strength, dosage form, manufacturer, pack size, quantity, delivery terms, expected remaining shelf life and payment schedule. A carton containing 100 saleable units cannot be compared directly with a carton containing 120.
Clarify whether quoted freight is included, who carries each charge and whether the supplier price is conditional on a minimum quantity. A low unit price attached to an order you cannot sell in time may be the more expensive choice.
Keep a planning cost and an actual cost
Suppose an approved order costs 1,000 units of supplier currency. Your planning exchange rate is 1.10 units of home currency per supplier unit. Goods therefore cost 1,100 home-currency units. Add 90 of freight and 10 of payment fees: planning landed cost is 1,200, before any other applicable charges.
For 200 usable units, the planning cost is six each. If the exchange rate at payment is 1.16 and other charges remain unchanged, cost becomes 1,260, or 6.30 per unit. The difference comes from a documented rate assumption rather than an unexplained inventory adjustment.
Use an accountant-approved method for financial inventory valuation. Recoverable taxes, nonrecoverable charges and later exchange differences may receive different treatment. The planning worksheet and statutory accounts answer related but distinct questions.
Allocate shared costs transparently
An order may contain several product lines. Select a documented allocation basis appropriate to the charge: shipment weight may make sense for weight-driven transport, while invoice value may be appropriate for a value-based charge. Do not change the basis between quotations merely to make one supplier appear cheaper.
Record estimated and actual charges separately. Keep the invoice currency, rate source, rate date, bank conversion, fees and allocation method. The future reviewer should be able to reproduce the number without guessing which exchange rate you used.
If some delivered units are unusable, record the discrepancy and supplier-credit claim. Dividing the full payment by a fictional usable quantity hides the loss. Review the accounting treatment rather than automatically increasing every remaining unit's recorded cost.
Run a sensitivity check before approval
Compare the order at the proposed rate, a less favourable hypothetical rate and a delayed-delivery scenario. Ask whether the margin, available cash and likely demand remain acceptable. This is scenario planning, not an exchange-rate forecast or a recommendation to speculate.
Maintain a quotation sheet with supplier, product, usable units, currency, goods price, exchange assumption, freight, other charges, landed cost, credit terms and decision owner. Assess reliability and traceability beside the arithmetic.
Software teams should store money with its currency and pack conversions explicitly. Never combine an invoice amount in one currency with a home-currency report without recording the conversion basis.
RunMyPharmacy's purchase-order workflow and supplier records are relevant starting points to evaluate. Ask the team about transaction-currency support; international USD marketing prices do not prove that every purchasing or accounting currency is supported.
Disclosure: created for the RunMyPharmacy team with AI drafting assistance and checks of examples, sources and product links. We build the linked product. Numerical examples are hypothetical.
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