What does your narcotic count actually cost you?
Move the sliders, or type your own numbers. Every constant behind the answer is printed at the bottom of this page with its source — including the two that are our own assumptions, and the case where the answer is that we are barely worth it.
How this is calculated — every constant, and where it comes from
| Tool time per item | 0.35 min — NarcCount's own assumption — not measured. Entry and reconciling only; the physical count is unchanged.our assumption |
|---|---|
| Variance investigation | 2 hr by hand → 0.25 hr with drill-down — NarcCount's own assumption — not measured.our assumption |
| Pharmacist wage | $53.85/hr — Ontario median, Job Bank Canada (NOC 31120, pharmacists; 2023–2024, updated 19 Nov 2025) source |
| Pharmacy technician wage | $26.45/hr — Ontario median, Job Bank Canada (NOC 32124, pharmacy technicians; 2023–2024, updated 19 Nov 2025) source |
| Pharmacy assistant wage | $19.50/hr — Ontario median, Job Bank Canada (NOC 33103, pharmacy assistants; 2023–2024, updated 19 Nov 2025) source |
| Count frequency | Minimum 2 a year — Ontario College of Pharmacists — controlled substances reconciled at least every six months |
| Typical count size | 89 line items — Median across the 49 counts held in NarcCount that carry line items (3,809 items over 56 counts, 3 pharmacies; measured 2 September 2026) |
| Plan price | $59/mo (annual) = $708/yr · $69/mo (monthly) = $828/yr — NarcCount's own published pricing source |
Two of these are ours, not a source’s, and they are labelled that way on purpose.Nobody publishes how long a narcotic count takes. Rather than borrow a competitor’s number, we made the figure that matters most — hours per count today — something you enter yourself, and we left the two we did invent standing where you can argue with them.
The arithmetic, in one paragraph
Hours back per year = (your hours per count − items × 0.35 min ÷ 60) × counts per year, plus variances × (2 hr − 0.25 hr). Those hours are priced at the Ontario median wage for whoever does the count, and payback is the plan price divided by one month of that value. At the default position — 89 items, 6 counts a year, 6 hours each, 4 variances, a pharmacist doing it — that is 40 hours and about 4.0 months.
What this calculator deliberately does not claim
- That you will count less often. Reconciliation frequency is set by your college, not by your software. The calculator lets you raise the number of counts, and more counts make the case better — but nothing here suggests counting less.
- That the physical count gets faster. Someone still opens the safe and counts the tablets. The saving is the arithmetic around it.
- A dollar value on an inspection, a penalty, or a diversion. We could multiply a fine by a probability we invented and add a large number to the total. Every calculator that does this is doing that. We are not going to.
- That the hours convert straight into money. An hour a pharmacist does not spend counting is only worth their wage if they spend it on something billable. It is presented as the value of the time, on a panel labelled medium confidence, and it is the panel you should trust least.
When the arithmetic is the slow part
NarcCount is controlled-substance reconciliation software for Canadian pharmacies. It computes the expected on-hand balance for every controlled drug from your recorded purchases, dispenses and destructions, flags each variance against the quantity you counted, and drills through to the transactions behind it. Each finalised count records who counted it and any second person who also checked it, and edits and sign-offs land in an append-only, hash-chained audit log — so a finalised reconciliation can be produced for a reviewer or an inspection months later.
Questions
›Does reconciliation software replace the physical count?
No, and no Canadian pharmacy software may claim it does. The Ontario College of Pharmacists does not accept a perpetual-inventory figure in place of an actual physical count. What software removes is everything around the count: computing the expected on-hand balance from your purchases, dispenses and destructions, flagging the variance, drilling into the transactions behind it, and producing the record. This calculator only ever counts that part.
›Where do the wage figures come from?
Job Bank Canada's Ontario median hourly wage for each occupation, read on 2 September 2026: pharmacists (NOC 31120) $53.85, pharmacy technicians (NOC 32124) $26.45, pharmacy assistants (NOC 33103) $19.50. All three are 2023–2024 reference data updated 19 November 2025, from the Labour Force Survey. Every figure links to the page it was read from.
›Why is “hours per count” something I have to enter?
Because nobody has published an honest number for it, including us. We checked our own production database: of 56 counts across three pharmacies, only ten have a measurable span, and the two genuine ~100-item counts read 1,412 and 1,383 minutes — which is wall-clock from the first item entered to sign-off, spanning overnight, not hands-on time. Putting 23 hours on a public page as “how long a count takes” would be a number any pharmacist could demolish in one sentence. So it is the one figure you supply.
›Why show payback in months instead of an ROI percentage?
A return percentage is a ratio, and whoever builds the calculator chooses the denominator — which is how software vendors publish four-figure ROI numbers. Months to pay for itself is not gameable in the same way, and it is the unit a pharmacy owner already thinks in when approving a subscription.
›What if it says break-even?
Then that is what it says. At assistant or technician wages on a short count, the time case is genuinely close, and the calculator tells you so instead of quietly clamping the answer to zero. The reason to buy reconciliation software at those numbers is the record — a reconciliation you can produce for an inspector, with the variance and its resolution attached — not the labour.
›How often do Canadian pharmacies have to count narcotics?
The Ontario College of Pharmacists expects controlled substances to be reconciled at least every six months. Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island are stricter: narcotics and controlled drugs are reconciled monthly. Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Newfoundland & Labrador generally require reconciliation every three months. If you operate in more than one province, hold yourself to the strictest cadence that applies, and confirm the current requirement with each provincial college.
›Do you store what I enter?
Not unless you ask us to email you the summary. The sliders run entirely in your browser and the figures live in the page's own address bar, which is also how you can share a result. If you do ask for the email, we store your address, the magnet you came from, and whether you opted in to anything further — and if you did not tick the box, you get that one summary and nothing else, ever.
Keep reading
This calculator is an estimate for planning purposes, offered as general information rather than legal, financial or professional advice. NarcCount supports your reconciliation process; it does not replace your professional judgment or your pharmacy’s regulatory obligations. For authoritative requirements, refer to the Ontario College of Pharmacists, your own provincial college, and Health Canada.