Whether opening a new dental practice or optimizing inventory management for an established one, maintaining a thorough dental office inventory list is critical. After all, even a small dental office has a long list of supplies, materials, and assets to manage.
This article will discuss how to organize dental inventory and provide a dental office inventory management template to help you start tracking inventory today.
How to organize dental inventory
To properly organize dental inventory, follow these four steps:
1. Determine what dental inventory you need and how to organize it
Most dental practices utilize much of the same supplies and materials. Still, every office is different, and the first step to organizing inventory is to determine precisely what inventory you need, how much of it you’ll need, and where to store it.
All dentists need dental surgical kits, disposable bibs, professional-grade toothpaste, mouth trays, and face masks. Also on every list are dental tips, evacuators, mixing pads, and positioning devices. And if you practice a dental specialty, your inventory needs will be even more complex.
If you give your patients new toothbrushes or ask them to self-address postcards as appointment reminders, you must add these items to your list, too. Additionally, if your practice provides X-ray services, you’ll need to account for equipment like X-ray machines, imaging supplies, and personal protective gear to keep you and your patients safe.
If you’re tracking all office assets, you may also want to account for any supplies and equipment your administrative team uses. This includes computers, phones, printers, paper and ink, pens, notepads, stamps, file folders, and cabinets.
Finally, you’ll need to determine where all the items will be stocked. Plan to place a week or two of supplies in each exam room, then keep backup storage nearby in a supply closet.
2. Create your dental office supply inventory list
As you review your inventory needs, make an exhaustive, detailed list of what you have on hand and what needs to be ordered from suppliers. You can create this inventory list on paper, in a spreadsheet (such as our free template, linked at the end of this article), or within an inventory app.
However you create your dental inventory list, denote every detail about each item. This includes the item name, serial number, SKU, vendor details, item location, minimum quantity, expiry date, quantity in stock, and any other notes that matter to you. If you’re using an inventory app, you can also add pictures and barcodes or QR codes.
Choosing an inventory management system
A sheet of paper may seem like the simplest way to track inventory. However, that simplicity also leads to limitations, from misplacing that inventory sheet to realizing that tracking every last dental supply by hand is virtually impossible.
An inventory spreadsheet has drawbacks, too, but it is an excellent tool for beginners looking to organize their dental practices. Remember that spreadsheets are vulnerable to human error, especially when employees transfer data from a piece of paper into a spreadsheet. Plus, when items have similar names, it can be hard to differentiate products listed line after line.
Typically, an inventory app is the most efficient tool for tracking inventory. Sortly, for instance, offers critical features like a visual inventory list, low stock alerts, and easy barcode and QR code scanning for checking items in and out.
This easy, comprehensive guide will help you:
Free Ebook: Getting Started With Inventory Tracking
3. Set alerts for dwindling stock or approaching warranty end, expiry dates
Your dental practice must avoid stockouts and inventory spoilage to keep productivity up and costs down. To achieve this, you’ll need to stay on top of low stock, upcoming warranty end dates, approaching expiration dates, and scheduled maintenance.
You can create a calendar to track critical dates manually, but you’ll need to count inventory regularly to keep up with stock levels. Or, solutions like Sortly can automatically keep track of these dates and stock levels for you, sending customized in-app notifications and email alerts to the right person at just the right time.
Related: Discover Sortly’s low stock alert feature.
4. Maintain an accurate dental inventory list
If you’ve decided to use a dental inventory spreadsheet to maintain your inventory, determine how frequently your team will physically count inventory. Daily or weekly is standard.
The more frequently you count inventory, the more accurate your inventory list will be. Still, you’ll have to balance these inventory responsibilities with all the other tasks your team handles.
One option to free up time is to upgrade to a perpetual inventory system. Once implemented, your inventory records will always be accurate because your system updates whenever an item is checked in or out.
Barcode and QR code scanners built into your smartphone or tablet make these check-in and check-out processes lightning-fast. Note that some apps, including Sortly, allow users to scan barcodes and QR codes with smartphones and tablets and with external scanners.
Remember that even if you practice perpetual inventory, you’ll still want to count inventory at the end of the year to hedge against inventory loss and double-check the whereabouts of your highest-value assets. But the process will feel more like an audit, not a full-blown inventory count.
Related: What’s the difference between physical and perpetual inventory?
Dental Office Inventory Template
Looking for a dental inventory checklist to get your practice organized? Our free dental office inventory template is the perfect starting point. To help you get organized even faster, we’ve prepopulated the template with some of the most common items stocked by general dentistry practices.
Download our free dental inventory template today! The template is pre-populated with common dental inventory and supplies but is totally customizable–feel free to add your items along with custom details, rows, and columns specific to your dental practice’s inventory. Free Download: Dental Inventory Template
The template is yours to customize, so feel free to input your practice’s unique inventory and assets. If you decide to upgrade to Sortly, you can bulk import your customized template into the inventory app anytime.
About Sortly
Sortly is a top-rated inventory app designed for businesses of all shapes and sizes, including dental practices. Our easy-to-use software works on smartphones, tablets, and computers and is designed for even the least tech-savvy users.
Best of all, Sortly automates some of the most time-consuming inventory management practices, from tracking what’s in every exam room to alerting you when you’re running low on dental bibs.
Plus, with customizable reports, the ability to bundle your inventory into kits, and tons of powerful automation features, Sortly can help your dental office stay organized for good.
Ready to get started with Sortly today? Claim your free, two-week trial today! Even if you’re not ready to try Sortly quite yet, you can always import your inventory spreadsheet right into the app.
