What is stock tracking?
Stock tracking lets you manage the number of doses or appointments available for a waitlist service. When enabled, the system:
Tracks how many doses are available in your pharmacy
Automatically holds a dose for each notified patient
Stops notifying new patients when stock runs out
Shows a Stock Panel on the Waitlist Management page with real-time counts
This prevents over-notifying patients when supply is limited (e.g., notifying 200 people for 50 vaccine doses).
Stock panel overview
When stock tracking is enabled and you filter by a specific service, the Stock Panel appears on the Waitlist page, below the summary cards and the Waitlist Settings panel, showing three numbers:
Total in Pharmacy -- The total dose count (available + held)
Available to Assign -- Doses that can be assigned to new patients
Held for Patients -- Doses reserved for notified or booked patients who hold one, until their link runs out, they cancel, or the dose is given
A progress bar shows the ratio of available to held doses at a glance.
How stock changes
Event | Available | Held |
Pharmacist adds stock (e.g., 50 doses) | +50 | -- |
Patient is notified | -1 | +1 |
You book a waiting patient from the Waitlist (a dose is left) | -1 | +1 |
Notified patient books an appointment | -- | -- (they keep their dose) |
Their appointment is completed | -- | -1 (the dose is given) |
Their appointment is cancelled or they do not show | +1 | -1 |
Notified patient's link expires | +1 | -1 |
Notified patient cancels, or you remove them | +1 | -1 |
New Campaign | set to 0 | set to 0 |
Only a patient who holds a dose gives one back. A patient notified while Track Stock was off, given a booking window by phone, or booked from the Waitlist when no dose was left never held one, so nothing comes back when their link expires or they cancel.
Turning stock tracking on or off
To change the setting:
Open the service's Waitlist Settings, either:
on the Waitlist page: the Waitlist Settings panel, then Settings, or
in Settings → Services: click the Waitlist cell of the vaccine service
Under Stock, toggle Track Stock
Click Save
A service's gear in Settings → Services also has a Waitlist tab, saved with Save Changes.
When Track Stock is on
You enter the Available doses (for example 50): doses ready to offer, not counting the ones already held for notified or booked patients. Doses are whole numbers, up to 100,000
Saving adds or removes the difference you typed. A dose that another associate held, or that came back, while your dialog was open is kept
Notifications are capped to available stock -- you cannot notify more patients than you have doses for
When stock reaches zero, Notify Next cannot notify more patients until you restock
When a notified patient cancels or their link expires, the dose is returned to stock. Use Notify Next on the Waitlist page to offer it to the next patient
The Stock Panel displays current counts on the Waitlist page
When Track Stock is off
Notifications are always manual -- with stock tracking on or off, the system never notifies patients on its own
You choose when and how many patients to notify using the Notify button
The Stock Panel shows "Stock tracking is off": "Notifications are sent without stock limits. Turn on stock tracking in service settings to manage doses."
Use this for services where supply is not a concern (e.g., consultations, blood pressure checks)
Low stock alerts
When stock tracking is enabled, you can set a Low Stock Alert ("Alert at or below", default 5). When available stock drops to or below this number, an alert appears in the Notifications panel so you can restock or pause the waitlist before running out.
To change the threshold:
Open the service's Waitlist Settings
Under Stock, adjust Low Stock Alert
Click Save
The same dialog has Notification settings (Booking Window and Notify Batch Size) and the current campaign's figures.
Common questions
What happens to existing notifications when I turn off stock tracking?
Patients who have already been notified keep their held status. New notifications will proceed without stock checks.
Does turning off stock tracking reset my stock count?
No. Your stock quantity is preserved. If you turn tracking back on, it resumes with the previous values.
Does turning the waitlist off and on start a new campaign?
No. Turning the waitlist off only stops new sign-ups. Turning it back on carries on with the same campaign: the patients waiting, their place in line and the counts are kept. Only New Campaign starts over.
Why does the stock panel say "Stock tracking is off"?
This means your service is configured to send notifications without stock limits. If you want dose-level control, enable Track Stock in your service's waitlist settings.
Can I notify patients when stock is zero?
Not when stock tracking is on -- the system prevents over-notifying. Turn off stock tracking or add more stock to resume notifications.
How do I restock?
Open the service's Waitlist Settings, increase the Available doses number, and click Save. Saving does not message anyone: use Notify Next on the Waitlist page to notify waiting patients for the new stock.