How often does Ontario expect a narcotic reconciliation?

The Ontario College of Pharmacists expects narcotics and controlled substances to be reconciled at least every six months, at minimum twice a year. NarcCount tracks the interval and keeps the records continuous.

How long do I have to keep the records?

In Ontario, pharmacy patient and dispensing records, which include your controlled-substance dispensing, must be kept at least 10 years (O. Reg. 264/16 s. 21), longer for a minor. Federally, narcotic and controlled-substance records must be kept at least 2 years (Narcotic Control Regulations s. 40.1; Food and Drug Regulations Part G s. G.03.010; Benzodiazepines and Other Targeted Substances Regulations s. 75).

What actually causes a variance like the one on this page?

Most often a record that was filed after the count was taken, so the count was checked against records that were not complete yet. Import the missing record and the variance is recalculated from it.

Does NarcCount replace my dispensing system or the NMS?

No. NarcCount is a reconciliation and recordkeeping tool. Your dispensing software and its real-time Narcotics Monitoring System submissions continue as they are; NarcCount checks your physical inventory against your records.

Do I have to switch everything at once?

No. Import your history and run your next count in NarcCount to confirm it reconciles before you retire your old process.

Where is my data stored?

In Canada, in our database provider's Canadian region (ca-central-1), with access restricted to your pharmacy's authorized users.

Narcotic reconciliation · Canada

Reconcile your narcotics in minutes, not days.

NarcCount calculates expected inventory from your purchase, dispensing and destruction records, flags every discrepancy, and produces inspection-ready reports — purpose-built for Canadian pharmacies.

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Reconciliation · Sep 2026

1 to review

DILAUDID Hydromorphone HCl 2 mg

exp 480 · cnt 480

SUPEUDOL 5 Oxycodone HCl 5 mg

exp 312 · cnt 312

KADIAN Morphine sulfate 100 mg

exp 1,000 · cnt 994

−6

3 items · 1 varianceReport ready →

Data hosted in Canada Keep your history when you switch OCP & Health Canada workflows

01 · The pour

A count begins on the tray.

Someone tips the stock bottle out, counts what is physically there, and writes a number down. That part is yours. Everything after it is arithmetic — and arithmetic is what gets done at the end of a long shift.

Units on the tray: 1,786
Products: 3
Interval: 182 days

Sample data · not a live pharmacy. Every product is real and marketed, verified against Health Canada’s Drug Product Database.

02 · The count

994 capsules — 19 sealed bottles, and one with a mark on it.

KADIAN Morphine sulfate 100 mg · DIN 02184451, supplied in white plastic bottles of 50. So 994 counts out as 19 full bottles and 44 loose in the 20th — the one crossed in marker, because it is open and it is not full. This is the half of a reconciliation no software can do for you, and the half everyone assumes is the hard part.

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Open994

994

Counted, witnessed and written down at 08:40 on 2026-09-02.

03 · The reconciliation

What the records expect, against what the shelf held.

Expected on hand is the prior count, plus everything bought, minus everything dispensed and destroyed since. NarcCount pairs it off against your count one unit at a time, and shows you what is left over.

One KADIAN 100 mg capsule — clear shell, creamy-white pellets, four black bands. DIN 02184451. Each mark below is one of these.

1,006 carried + 250 bought − 232 dispensed − 24 destroyed = 1,000 expected

−66 doses of a controlled substance with no record accounting for where they went. On paper that is a loss report. In practice it is almost never one — keep scrolling.

Expected1,000

Counted994

994 paired off. 6 did not.

04 · The answer

One record, two clocks.

A destruction of 6 capsules, witnessed, reference DEST-2026-0912. It happened on 2026-09-01, inside the interval. It was entered on 2026-09-03, after the count was taken. On the day, it was not yet in the window — which is the commonest cause of a narcotic variance there is.

Event date

2026-09-01

Count taken

2026-09-02 08:40

Entered

2026-09-03 11:05

KADIAN reconciled before and after the late-entered destruction
KADIAN Morphine sulfate 100 mg	Destroyed	Expected	Counted	+/−
On the day of the count	24	1,000	994	−6
With the late record included	30	994	994	0

The prior count on 2026-03-04 and this one on 2026-09-02 are 182 days apart — inside the six months the Ontario College of Pharmacists expects.

Run your next count in NarcCount See a reconciliation worked end to end

What you get

Everything you need to reconcile with confidence

Automated reconciliation

Expected on-hand is calculated from your purchase, dispensing and destruction records — so the math is done for you, and reconciliations that used to take hours take minutes.

Discrepancies, surfaced

Variances are flagged instantly and ranked, with one-click drill-down into the exact transactions behind every number.

Both clocks on every record

The date a transaction happened and the date it was entered are both retained, so a record filed after the count — the commonest cause of a phantom variance — is visible instead of invisible.

Inspection-ready reports

Generate a clean, printable reconciliation report or CSV for any count on demand — ready for college and Health Canada review.

Bulk import

Upload purchase, dispensing and destruction exports straight from your dispensing software. Unknown DINs are added automatically.

Built for Canada

Designed around CDSA and provincial college requirements, with your data hosted in Canada.

See it in action

Every variance, explained at a glance

A real reconciliation in NarcCount: expected on-hand computed per drug, discrepancies flagged, and one-click drill-down into the exact transactions behind every number.

01Open the countEvery count you have taken, with the date and whether it still needs a second signature.
02Read the summaryItems counted, discrepancies, shortages and sign-off state, before any scrolling.
03Expected, per drugPrior count, plus purchases, less dispensing and destructions — computed for every drug in the count.
04The variances, flaggedTick “Discrepancies only” and the count collapses to the drugs that did not balance.
05One click on the numberEvery figure behind the arithmetic is a link, not a footnote.
06The transactions behind itThe exact records, already filtered to that drug and to the reconciliation window.

narccount.ca — Q3 quarterly narcotic count

Real screens, captured 2026-09-06 on the Maple Demo Pharmacy sample tenant. Scroll to walk through it.

Built for compliance

Built around the rules you’re held to

NarcCount is designed around Canadian controlled-substance requirements, so a reconciliation is something you can hand to a reviewer with confidence.

OCP reconciliation requirement

Ontario pharmacies must reconcile narcotics and controlled substances at least every six months. NarcCount tracks the interval and keeps the records continuous.

OCP fact sheet

Health Canada loss & theft

A loss or theft of a controlled substance is reported to Health Canada's Office of Controlled Substances within 10 days of discovering it. NarcCount helps you catch and document them.

Health Canada guidance

CDSA recordkeeping

Built around Controlled Drugs and Substances Act recordkeeping — a clean, retrievable audit trail per drug, ready for college or inspector review.

NarcCount supports your reconciliation process; it does not replace your professional judgment or regulatory obligations.

Ontario · AIMS Program

Every Ontario pharmacy needs an incident management platform by January 1, 2027.

Every pharmacy needs a medication incident reporting platform, quarterly CQI meetings, unique logins for registered staff and a self-assessment every two years. NarcCount does all of that in the same account you reconcile narcotics in.

The AIMS module is free. Not free for a year — free. No end date, no per-user fee, no card at sign-up. Reconciliation is the part we charge for.

AIMS for Ontario pharmacies Designated Manager checklist

Three steps

How it works

Import your records

Upload (or sync) your purchase, dispensing and destruction data.

Enter your physical count

Count your narcotics and key in (or upload) the quantities on hand.

Review & file

NarcCount reconciles instantly. Investigate variances, then export the report.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How often does Ontario expect a narcotic reconciliation?: The Ontario College of Pharmacists expects narcotics and controlled substances to be reconciled at least every six months, at minimum twice a year. NarcCount tracks the interval and keeps the records continuous.
How long do I have to keep the records?: In Ontario, pharmacy patient and dispensing records, which include your controlled-substance dispensing, must be kept at least 10 years (O. Reg. 264/16 s. 21), longer for a minor. Federally, narcotic and controlled-substance records must be kept at least 2 years (Narcotic Control Regulations s. 40.1; Food and Drug Regulations Part G s. G.03.010; Benzodiazepines and Other Targeted Substances Regulations s. 75).
What actually causes a variance like the one on this page?: Most often a record that was filed after the count was taken, so the count was checked against records that were not complete yet. Import the missing record and the variance is recalculated from it.
Does NarcCount replace my dispensing system or the NMS?: No. NarcCount is a reconciliation and recordkeeping tool. Your dispensing software and its real-time Narcotics Monitoring System submissions continue as they are; NarcCount checks your physical inventory against your records.
Do I have to switch everything at once?: No. Import your history and run your next count in NarcCount to confirm it reconciles before you retire your old process.
Where is my data stored?: In Canada, in our database provider's Canadian region (ca-central-1), with access restricted to your pharmacy's authorized users.

Ready to retire the count book?

Move your narcotic reconciliation onto a system that does the math for you.

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Integrations

Works with the software you already run

Import purchase, dispensing and destruction records straight out of your existing system. Step-by-step export instructions for each:

Not listed? Any CSV export works — see the upload guide.

Guides

Answers for Canadian pharmacy teams

Plain-language guides on reconciliation, recordkeeping and inspections. Every regulatory figure names the Act, regulation or college it comes from.

Guide: a narcotic reconciliation, worked end to endOne drug, one six-month window, the numbers written out — and three real causes of a variance worked through to zero.Read →

What to do after a narcotic discrepancy
A controlled substance didn't reconcile. Here's a calm, methodical way to find the cause — and know when a loss actually has to be reported.
How often to count narcotics in Ontario
Ontario's OCP expects narcotics reconciled every six months. Nova Scotia and PEI monthly; Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Newfoundland every three.
Health Canada narcotic loss and theft reporting
A loss or theft of a controlled substance is reported to Health Canada within 10 days of discovering it. What to gather, who submits it, and where the form is.
CDSA recordkeeping: what to keep and how long
At least 2 years federally (three regulations, one per drug class); at least 10 years in Ontario (O. Reg. 264/16 s. 21). What to keep, and in what form.
Preparing for a narcotics inspection
An inspector may ask to see how you manage controlled substances. A little preparation makes it routine — here's a practical checklist.
Is a narcotic discrepancy reportable?
Not every count discrepancy is a reportable loss. What decides it is whether you can explain the variance, not whether it came out high or low.
How Long a Pharmacy Keeps Records in Canada
In Ontario, pharmacy records are kept at least 10 years (O. Reg. 264/16 s. 21). Federally, controlled-substance records are kept at least 2 years.
Controlled Substance Count Frequency in Canada
Narcotic reconciliation intervals by province, from monthly in Nova Scotia and PEI to twice a year in Ontario, and how to run each count well.
Drug Diversion in a Pharmacy: Signs and Response
What drug diversion inside a pharmacy looks like, how to tell it from a record error, the patterns worth watching, and the controls that deter it.
Narcotic Log Book Template for Canadian Pharmacies
The columns a narcotic log book needs, a worked page of entries, what separates a good entry from a weak one, and how to correct a mistake.
Methadone Accountability Log for Pharmacies
How pharmacies keep a methadone balance in mL: a worked daily log, normal measurement variance, pump calibration checks, and witnessed and carry doses.
Perpetual Inventory System Example for Pharmacies
A worked perpetual inventory example for a narcotic, the formula behind it, why balances drift, and how to keep a spreadsheet version honest.

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