Pharmacy chart of accounts
A pharmacy claims payment from Services Australia for the PBS prescriptions it dispenses, buys most of its stock on wholesaler accounts and uses up bottles, labels and packing supplies behind the dispensary counter. This chart gives those parts of a pharmacy's books accounts beside the general chart.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 15 Oct 2026
What this industry adds
- When PBS medicines are claimed online, Services Australia pays the pharmacy each week, and the pharmacy knows what it will be paid before it supplies the medicine. PBS claims not yet paid holds those amounts until the payment arrives.
- Services Australia sends a payment advice with the details of its payments, and weekly interim reconciliation statements and a final statement when each claim period closes come through the dispensing software, so the balance of PBS claims not yet paid can be checked against them.
- Wholesaler credits due tracks credits the pharmacy has asked its wholesalers for on returned, expired or damaged stock, until the credit note comes through.
- Dispensing and in-pharmacy services use up supplies that aren't sold as stock: Dispensing containers and labels, Dose administration aid packing supplies, and Clinical service consumables for the gloves, swabs and needles used in services such as vaccinations.
- Locum pharmacist fees keeps invoices from pharmacists engaged as contractors to work dispensary shifts.
Download the chart
The general accounts and this industry's accounts in one CSV file, in code order, which opens in any spreadsheet program.
Download the CSV fileThe accounts this chart adds
| Code | Account name | Type | What goes in it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-1500 | PBS claims not yet paid | Asset | Amounts claimed from Services Australia for PBS prescriptions the pharmacy has dispensed, until the payment reaches the bank |
| 1-1510 | Wholesaler credits due | Asset | Credits the pharmacy has claimed from wholesalers for returned, expired or damaged stock, until the wholesaler issues a credit note |
| 5-1100 | Dose administration aid packing supplies | Expense | Blister packs, sachet rolls, seals and backing cards used to pack patients' medicines into dose administration aids |
| 5-1200 | Dispensing containers and labels | Expense | Medicine bottles, ointment jars, dispensing labels and prescription bags used when filling prescriptions |
| 5-1300 | Clinical service consumables | Expense | Gloves, swabs, needles, plasters and other supplies used up in services such as vaccinations and blood pressure checks |
| 5-1400 | Locum pharmacist fees | Expense | What locum pharmacists invoice as contractors for the dispensary shifts they cover |
Illustrative example only: these rows show the method and are not sourced data.
What goes in each column
- Code: A number that sorts the account into its group: 1 for assets, 2 for liabilities, 3 for equity, 4 for income, and 5 and 6 for expenses.
- Account name: The name that appears in your books and reports.
- Type: Asset, Liability, Equity, Income or Expense, which decides whether the account appears on the balance sheet or the profit and loss statement.
- What goes in it: The transactions to record against the account.
How to use it
- Post the amounts payable on the pharmacy's PBS claims to PBS claims not yet paid, and clear them when Services Australia's payment reaches the bank, using the payment advice to see what it covers.
- Check the balance against the weekly interim reconciliation statement and the final statement for each claim period, and list any differences for the dispensary to follow up.
- Enter each credit claim in Wholesaler credits due with the return reference, and match it to the credit note before the wholesaler's statement is paid.
- Code bottles, labels, packing supplies and clinical consumables to their own accounts, so they stay apart from the front-of-shop stock bought for resale.
- These accounts follow the pharmacy's own money. Your accountant can say what further accounts the way the pharmacy is owned calls for.
The chart is a CSV file, which opens in a spreadsheet program. It is not set up for importing directly into any particular accounting software, so check the format your software expects before you load the accounts into it.
Related pages
Related terms
Sources
- Key financial terms
business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 15 October 2026, released 9 July 2024. Checked 15 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
- Submit PBS claims for pharmacy
Services Australia. Current at 8 July 2026, released 8 July 2026. Checked 16 October 2026.
Services Australia, © Commonwealth of Australia Licence: CC BY 4.0.
- Get PBS claim statements
Services Australia. Current at 30 June 2025, released 30 June 2025. Checked 16 October 2026.
Services Australia, © Commonwealth of Australia Licence: CC BY 4.0.
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