Free Perpetual Inventory Log For Controlled Substances
A perpetual inventory log is the running record of one controlled substance: what came in, what went out, and what the balance should be at any moment. It is the record a physical count is checked against.
The DEA asks for a complete and accurate record of everything you receive and dispose of, and does not require a perpetual inventory (21 CFR 1304.21(a)). A running balance is what turns that record into a number you can count against. Your state board may ask for one.
What Is On It
- Date
- Reference: invoice number, Rx number, or DEA Form 41
- Received
- Dispensed
- Destroyed or disposed of
- Returned to stock
- Balance
- Entered by, and notes
When You Reach For It
- Continuously, as each transaction happens, not reconstructed at count time.
- One sheet per drug, per strength, filed behind the count it supports.
- Carried forward: the closing balance of a full sheet opens the next one.
How often to count, and how long to keep a sheet, are answered on the count sheets hub. Every sheet prints the federal rules it relies on in its own footer, each with its 21 CFR citation. Your state board of pharmacy may require more.
More Sheets
- Log Example (Filled In) — When you want to see one done before you start.
- Narcotic Count Sheet: Shift Change — At handover, when custody passes from one person to another.
- Physical Count & Reconciliation Sheet — At every reconciliation count you schedule.
The Counting Is The Easy Half
NarcCount works out what you should have from records you already keep, by NDC. See NarcCount for US pharmacies or read the Florida inventory guide.