--- title: "Counter Sales (No Encounter)" description: "How to bill a registered patient for pharmacy refills or a walk-in lab test without opening an OPD or IPD encounter — the two organization settings that enable it, who can use the Counter Sales menu, and where the sale lands in the ledger and reports." date: 2026-10-21 lastModified: 2026-10-21 category: "billing" author: "Dr. Umesh Bilagi" beta: false --- ## Overview Every invoice normally belongs to an encounter. A patient who comes back for a medicine refill, or walks in for a single blood test, has no open encounter — and previously could not be billed at all. **Counter Sales** bills a **registered patient** with no encounter. One menu covers both business lines: | Sale | Voucher type | Ledger credited | Setting | |------|--------------|-----------------|---------| | **Pharmacy sale** | `INVOICE_P` | Pharmacy | Allow pharmacy counter sales without an encounter | | **Lab sale** | `INVOICE` | OPD | Allow lab counter sales without an encounter | The two settings are independent, so an organization can allow pharmacy counter sales and leave lab counter sales off (or the reverse). ## Turning it on 1. Open **Admin → Organization → Settings** for the organization. 2. Under **Invoice Options**, tick **Allow pharmacy counter sales without an encounter** and/or **Allow lab counter sales without an encounter**. 3. Save, then **log out and log back in**. The flags are copied into the session when you sign in, so a toggle only reaches the menu and the billing screens after a fresh login. When at least one setting is on and the user's role is permitted, **Counter Sales** appears in the sidebar. When both are off, the menu is hidden and the billing screens reject a sale that has no encounter. ## Who can use it The **admin**, **director**, **accountant**, **receptionist**, **receptionist accountant** and **pharmacist** roles can open Counter Sales. Inside the screen, only the sale types that are switched on are offered. A pharmacist can also register a new customer at the counter, so a refill does not have to wait for reception. ## Making a sale 1. Open **Sidebar → Counter Sales**. 2. Search by **UHID, mobile number, first name or last name**. Results show UHID, name, age/gender and mobile. 3. Press **Pharmacy sale** or **Lab sale** for that patient. 4. Pick the items as in a normal invoice. There is no encounter, so the encounter block is replaced by **Counter sale**. 5. Leave **Consultant** blank to attribute the revenue to the hospital (**Hospital / direct** in MIS), or type or pick a doctor to attribute it to that consultant. 6. Pick the **Payment mode** — **Cash**, **Digital (UPI / Card)** or **Bank transfer** — then the **Payment account** within that mode (for example the counter cash drawer or the UPI collection account). Payment is compulsory on a counter sale; see below. 7. Save. The bill prints normally, stock is deducted for pharmacy items, and the receipt is written with the invoice. If the patient is not registered yet, press **New patient**, register them, and the screen returns to Counter Sales so the sale can continue. ## Payment at the counter A counter sale is paid at the point of sale. The invoice and its **receipt** are saved together, so a walk-in can never leave with goods and an open receivable. - **Full amount only.** The receipt is written for the invoice total; the server takes the amount from the bill, not from the form, so it cannot be underpaid. - **One transaction.** If either the invoice or the receipt fails, both roll back — there is no half-saved, unpaid counter sale. - **Cash needs a drawer.** A CASH payment must use the signed-in user's own cash drawer (`_ Cash`), created under **Accounts → Masters → Cash Access**. DIGITAL and BANK accounts are available to everyone who can make counter sales. If the list is empty, ask an admin to create Cash Access for you. - **Zero-value bills** (allowed only when the organization permits zero invoices) need no payment account. - **Refunds work the same way.** A counter credit note shows **Refund mode** and **Refund account**, and creates the matching **PAYMENT** voucher with the credit note. The printed invoice shows the payment line and a **Balance of 0**; the payment also clears the balance in **Patient Billing**. ## What a counter sale is not - **No encounter is created.** The sale has no OPD or IPD visit, so it does not appear in encounter-based reports (encounter month-wise, OPD/admission daily collections, encounter prints). - **Not shared to ABDM.** InvoiceRecord sharing needs an encounter, so counter sales are not pushed to the patient's ABDM record. - **Payor is always Self.** The payor list offers only the patient. With no encounter there is no visit through which an insurer could become responsible, so an insurance/TPA payor cannot be selected or saved on a counter sale or its credit note. Unlike encounter bills, the receipt already exists — there is no **Record Payment** button on a counter sale. - **Stock behaves normally.** A pharmacy `INVOICE_P` reduces stock; a credit note raised against it puts it back. ## Credit notes for counter sales Open the sale from the patient's billing list and use the **Credit Note** action. The credit note inherits the invoice's consultant (blank stays blank / Hospital / direct) and needs no encounter. A counter credit note also needs a **Refund mode** and **Refund account**. Saving it writes the credit note and the matching **PAYMENT** (money out) voucher together, linked to each other. ## Editing later The enable settings are checked when a sale is **created**, not when it is edited. Turning a counter-sale setting off hides the menu and blocks new counter sales, but existing ones can still be opened, edited and reprinted. An edit keeps the receipt attached to the bill. The total cannot be reduced below what has already been receipted, but raising it is allowed (the extra stays outstanding). ## FAQ **Q: Why can't I see Counter Sales in the sidebar?** A: Either neither setting is on for the organization, your role is not permitted, or your session predates the change — log out and back in after saving the setting. **Q: Can I sell to a walk-in customer who does not want to register?** A: No. Every sale, receipt and MIS figure keys off a PATIENT ledger, and the printed bill carries the name, UHID, age and gender. Register the patient at the counter (a few seconds) and the sale stays traceable and refundable. **Q: Does a counter sale need a doctor?** A: No. The Consultant is optional. Left blank, the revenue is reported as **Hospital / direct** in MIS Profitability → Consultants. **Q: Where is a lab counter sale booked?** A: As a normal `INVOICE` credited to the organization's OPD ledger. There is no separate lab voucher type or numbering series. **Q: The Payment account list is empty — what now?** A: The screen only offers DIGITAL and BANK accounts plus your own cash drawer. Ask an admin to create **Cash Access** for you (or a DIGITAL/BANK account for the organization) under **Accounts → Masters**.