Optical store inventory: count frames, contact lenses, solutions and accessories by barcode
By mise · Updated October 15, 2026
Quick answer: an optical store (optician's in the UK) controls inventory in three blocks: frames, where each model, color and size is an item; contact lenses, counted by box with the expiry date recorded; and solutions, cases and accessories, counted by barcode. Count the frame boards weekly, the lens drawer monthly, and compare two counts to see what is missing and which frames have sat for over a year.
Scan the barcode on the frame tag, the lens box or the solution bottle, or snap a photo: mise's AI finds the product and brings it back categorized. In an optical store that means counting six hundred frames on the boards in a morning and seeing, in money, which ones have been there longer than a year.
An independent optical store has 400 to 1,200 frames on the boards, a drawer of contact lenses in dozens of powers, and a shelf of solutions and accessories. Frames are the most expensive stock per unit and the easiest to lose track of; lenses expire. This guide covers what to count, how, and what mise does.
What an optical store counts
| Block | How to count | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Frames (optical and sunglasses) | Barcode on the tag; one item per model, color and size | Owned versus consignment; age |
| Contact lenses (daily, monthly, trials) | Barcode on the box; one item per power when you need it | Expiry; trials given away |
| Solutions, drops, cases | Barcode | Expiry; high turnover |
| Ready readers, clip-ons, chains, cloths | Barcode | Small, near the door |
| Lab consumables (demo lenses, screws, nose pads) | Own item or barcode | Consumed, not sold |
Most frame tags carry the manufacturer's barcode. Where they do not, your own barcode label works, or you add the frame once by hand with a name and a photo. Consignment frames (owned by the supplier until sold) go in their own location, so their value never mixes with yours.
Frames: the board count
- Number the boards and the drawers: each is a zone. The lab tray and the repairs box are zones too.
- Scan every tag. The frame comes up with model, color and size; type the quantity, usually one.
- Chase the gaps before accepting them. Half the "missing" frames are in the lab waiting for lenses or in a repair envelope.
- Look at the age. A frame on the board for 18 months has cost you its price and the space of one that would have sold. Return it to the rep if your terms allow, or mark it down.
Every count is stamped with date, time and who counted; two or three practices sit in one account as separate locations. See dead stock.
Do it in mise
- Scan the barcode on the frame tag, the lens box or the bottle, or snap a photo: mise's AI finds the product and brings it back categorized (name, brand, photo, group and category).
- Count the boards as zones with your team, each on their own phone with their own permissions; consignment frames in their own location.
- Expiry date on lenses and solutions; trials and expired boxes as stock-outs with a reason.
- Minimum stock on solutions, cases and the powers you dispense weekly, and a reorder list in PDF, Excel, WhatsApp or email by supplier.
- Invoices in XML, Excel or CSV; history per frame to see its age; export to Excel and PDF.
7 days free, no card needed.
Contact lenses and solutions: expiry dates
Boxes of lenses and bottles of solution carry a date. Record it on the item at receiving and shelve with FEFO, first expired, first out. Once a month, review what expires in the next 90 days: sell it to the patients who use that power, or return it if your terms allow.
Trial lenses handed to a patient are stock that left the shop. Record them as a stock-out with a reason (trial) so the month-end gap is clean and you know what trials cost. Expired boxes are written off the same way. See FIFO and FEFO.
Where an optical store loses money
- Frames nobody can find: in the wrong tray, at the lab or at another branch. The count finds them; without it they are reordered.
- Theft of sunglasses from open displays in summer.
- Aged frames: a third of the boards is often more than a year old.
See inventory shrinkage and ABC analysis.
The counting routine and the reorder list
| Section | Frequency | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Frame boards, one wall per week; sunglasses in season | Weekly | Value, misplaced frames, age, theft |
| Contact lens drawer | Monthly | Expiry; double orders |
| Solutions, accessories, lab consumables | Monthly | Expiry; reorder |
| Whole store | Quarterly | Stock value and shrink |
Set a minimum stock (par level) on solutions, cases, cloths and the lens powers you dispense every week. Below it, the item turns red and goes onto the reorder list with the quantity short; the list exports as PDF or Excel, or opens in WhatsApp or email ready to send, split by supplier. Invoices import as XML, Excel or CSV. See par level and cycle counting.
What mise does in an optical store, and what it does not
In short, everything in the "Do it in mise" box above, with no limit on items, counts or scans.
Scan each tag and the frame comes up with model, color and size; the aged frames come out in money. 7-day free trial, no card.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I count frames that have no barcode?
Print your own barcode label for the tag, or add the frame once by hand with a name and a photo. From then on it is scanned like any other.
How do I keep consignment frames separate?
Put them in their own location inside the account. They are counted like the rest, but their value never mixes with the frames you own.
Does it tell me which frames are old?
Each frame has a movement history with the date it arrived. At the count you see what has not moved in 12 or 18 months.
How do I record trial lenses?
As a stock-out with a reason (trial). The month's trial cost comes out on its own and is not mistaken for a loss.
How much does mise cost?
7 days free, no card needed, to try it in your store.