In practice, in Irish pharmacies, the main method by which list cost prices are updated on a continuous basis is with the use of the IPU file. Therefore an Expected Mark-up % greater than zero should be assigned to all products that are updated by the IPU file.

It is equally important to emphasize that an Expected Mark-up % greater than zero should not be assigned to products unless the retail price is maintained as a result of cost price changes. In general, that means that, in most cases, the Expected Mark-up % should be set to zero for all products not updated by the IPU file.

A number of important things to know about updating your system with the IPU file.

• The IPU file is a very useful tool for updating the COST prices of ethical products and products purchased from wholesalers. By default, new Ethical products are automatically imported onto your system when an IPU update is processed.

• The Retail 365 system limits the effect of the IPU file on your Touchstore system in two ways.

  • Products assigned to certain suppliers can be blocked from being updated by the IPU file. This is done in the Supplier Setup screen. When a supplier is selected, just unitick on the button labeled “Update products for this supplier when doing an IPU upload”.

  • Certain product ranges within the IPU file can be ignored if required. This is done in the menu option “Setup >>> IPU Import Profile”. In this screen, you can highlight the product categories within the IPU file which you wish to use for updating your system.

  • There is no requirement to revisit these two settings when doing the monthly IPU update.

  • The IPU file DOES NOT contain any retail prices. It is not used, therefore, for products for which your supplier gives you a Recommended Retail Price List. These products would include most of the cosmetic agencies as well as many other ranges of products.

  • The IPU update process updates the cost prices and supplier references (the barcode which is used for ordering) of the products updated on your system. It also adds any new barcodes added to these products in the IPU file.

  • It is not recommended that all of the products in the IPU file are imported into the Touchstore system. Otherwise, your product file will include many products that you do not intend to stock. It could run into tens of thousands and make the maintenance of your product file more difficult and time-consuming than necessary.