Expiry date control in your supermarket or grocery shop
Every product you throw away is money you already paid. Controlling expiry dates is not paperwork: it is one of the things that most directly protects your margin and your reputation.
Why control expiry dates
In a grocery shop, dates rule. Good control is not just about compliance, it defends the business on three very concrete fronts:
- Less waste: every yoghurt or pack that expires on the shelf is product you paid for going in the bin. Cutting that is direct profit.
- Avoiding fines: selling expired food can lead to penalties and serious trouble in a health inspection.
- Protecting your image: a customer who finds an expired product on your shelf does not come back, and tells others. Trust is lost fast.
Worth knowing: in grocery, a big share of what is lost is not theft or till errors, but product that expires unsold. It is the quietest kind of waste and the easiest to reduce.
Use-by and best-before are not the same
It pays to tell them apart, because it changes what you can do with the product:
- Use-by date: on perishables (fresh meat, fish, fresh dairy). It is a safety limit. Past that date the product is pulled; it is not sold.
- Best-before date: on tins, dry goods, biscuits. It signals a drop in quality, not safety. It can be sold afterwards, usually discounted and with a note to the customer.
The FEFO method: first to expire, first out
FEFO stands for First Expired, First Out: the first thing put out for sale is whatever expires soonest. It is the basis of all expiry control and it is very easy to apply:
Do not confuse it with FIFO (first in, first out). In grocery the expiry date rules, not the arrival order: sometimes a new batch expires before an old one, so that one goes at the front.
Rotation: let nothing fall asleep
Rotation is the speed at which you sell each product. Slow movers are what expires most. Two practical ideas:
- Match buying to what you actually sell. If a product always lingers, order less or more often. Buying extra for a supplier discount does not pay off if half ends up in the bin.
- Give slow movers visibility. A product nobody sees is a product nobody buys. Sometimes just moving it or putting it at eye level is enough.
Regular checks: the habit that holds it all up
The best method fails without routine. Set a fixed check and turn it into a habit:
A simple routine that works: fresh and dairy, a quick daily glance; tins and dry goods, a thorough weekly check. Ideally the same person, at the same time, walking the shelf in the same order. What you always do the same way does not get forgotten.
What to do with soon-to-expire stock
This is the difference between losing the whole product or recovering part of it. Do not wait for the last day:
- Discount in time. Set a clear discount a few days early. Selling on a thinner margin beats throwing it out: there you lose 100%.
- A “last units” area. Group what expires soon in a visible spot. Some customers head straight there.
- Packs and combos. Pair short-dated items with something that does rotate to move them out.
- Donation. Whatever you do not sell but is still in good shape can go to a food bank before the limit. Better than the bin in every sense.
Keeping a record
Noting what you pull and why gives you priceless information. In a month you can see which products always end up expiring, which you over-order and where you are losing money without noticing. That record turns waste into buying decisions.
How Bipe helps
Having stock control in the POS already does half the job. With Bipe, each product has its own record and its stock updates as you sell, so at a glance you know what comes in and what barely moves. For products you handle by batches, you can register incoming stock and lean on that information when planning restocks and checks. Expiry control stays your in-shop routine, but keeping stock tidy makes that routine far lighter.
Keep stock tidy and cut waste
With Bipe you control each product's stock and sell with a beep. Try it free.
Try Bipe free →Frequently asked questions
How often should I check expiry dates?
It depends on the product. Fresh items and dairy are best checked daily; tins and dry goods, once a week is enough. The key is a fixed routine, ideally the same person at the same time.
Can I sell a product on its expiry day?
A best-before date only signals a drop in quality, so you can sell after it with a note. A use-by date (perishable food) is a safety limit: that product must be pulled from the shelf when the day arrives.
What do I do with soon-to-expire stock?
Put it at the front, group it in a last-units area and add a clear discount. Selling on a thinner margin beats throwing it away and losing it all.