NarcCount vs spreadsheets and paper count sheets
Most of the pharmacies we talk to still reconcile narcotics on a paper sheet or a spreadsheet, and we give both away for free. This page is honest about where they stop working, and what a purpose-built tool changes.
NarcCount and Paper & Excel count sheets, side by side
Where the expected balance comes from
Derived for every drug on your last finalised count from your purchase, dispensing and destruction records. Nobody types it.
Typed by a person from the last sheet, or carried forward by a formula that anyone can overwrite.
Finding the cause of a variance
Open the variance to the receipts, dispenses and destructions inside the count window, on the screen.
Print the dispensing report and the invoices, and match them by hand against the sheet.
Second-person sign-off
One person can finalise. A tick records a second person who also checked the count, with their name if you add it, or they sign off with their own login, and either way it is on the record and the printed report.
A second signature line on the sheet, if somebody remembers to sign it.
Audit trail
Append-only, hash-chained log of edits, deletions and sign-offs, with who and when. Each bulk import is logged as one entry.
In a spreadsheet saved on one computer, a cell can be edited with no record that it was, and a paper correction depends on how it was struck through.
Keeping the records
In Ontario, pharmacy patient and dispensing records, which include your controlled-substance dispensing, must be kept at least 10 years (O. Reg. 264/16 s. 21), longer for a minor. Federally, narcotic and controlled-substance records must be kept at least 2 years (Narcotic Control Regulations s. 40.1; Food and Drug Regulations Part G s. G.03.010; Benzodiazepines and Other Targeted Substances Regulations s. 75). NarcCount keeps every finalised count and its history together, exportable as CSV and printable as a report.
The same obligations apply. A binder or a shared spreadsheet has to survive staff turnover, a move and a hard-drive failure for the whole period.
Cost
A subscription per pharmacy. Work out whether it pays for itself on your own count frequency with the free count cost calculator.
Free, and we give the sheets away: printable count sheets, a perpetual log and a spreadsheet whose balance calculates itself.
Why pharmacies pick NarcCount
A variance means something
When the expected number is derived rather than typed, a difference is a real discrepancy and not a transcription error to rule out first.
The slow part gets fast
Counting the shelf takes the same time either way. Reconstructing why a number is off is the part that eats an afternoon, and it is the part software does.
The record keeps itself
Every count, every sign-off and every edit is kept in one place, so the question an inspector asks about a count from last year has an answer in seconds.
Start with the free sheets if you would rather
If a sheet is the right tool for your volume, use ours. A perpetual log, a shift-change count sheet, a physical count sheet and a periodic inventory form, plus a spreadsheet whose balance and variance calculate themselves. No account, no sign-up.
Questions
›Are the free count sheets enough?
A count sheet is a record of a count, and a complete, signed record kept for the required period is what your college asks to see. The sheets are free and there is no account to make. Software earns its keep when the volume of transactions makes reconstructing a variance the slow part.
›Can I keep using my spreadsheet alongside NarcCount?
Yes. You can run one count in NarcCount beside your existing sheet to see that the two reconcile, then retire the sheet.
›What does NarcCount cost compared with a spreadsheet?
A spreadsheet is free. NarcCount is a monthly or annual subscription per pharmacy, listed on the pricing page. The count cost calculator works out payback in months from your own count frequency and Ontario median wage figures, with every constant shown beside its source.
›How often does Ontario expect a narcotic reconciliation?
The Ontario College of Pharmacists expects narcotics and controlled substances to be reconciled at least every six months, at minimum twice a year. NarcCount tracks the interval and keeps the records continuous.
Sources
- Ontario College of Pharmacists: Designated Manager - Medication Procurement and Inventory Management policy — checked 14 September 2026
- Ontario College of Pharmacists: Record Keeping and Scanning Requirements fact sheet — checked 14 September 2026
- Narcotic Control Regulations, s. 40.1 — checked 14 September 2026
- Food and Drug Regulations, s. G.03.010 — checked 14 September 2026
- Benzodiazepines and Other Targeted Substances Regulations, s. 75 — checked 14 September 2026
Primary sources for the figures on this page. Regulations change; confirm the current requirement with the source before you rely on it.
NarcCount assists with reconciliation; it does not replace your dispensing system, the Ontario Narcotics Monitoring System (NMS), or your professional and regulatory obligations. Microsoft Excel is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation; NarcCount is an independent product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.