PIMS Writeback allows Inventory Ally to automatically send supported inventory updates back to your Practice Information Management System with the Inventory Ally Essentials tier. Currently available for: ezyVet, VetSpire and Digitail PIMS.
This article walks through the complete Writeback setup process, including enabling the feature, creating Writeback mapping rules, configuring synchronization options, and reviewing Writeback history.
Depending on the Writeback settings you enable, Inventory Ally can writeback:
Inventory counts or approved quantities
Uploaded order history
Cost increases over 5%
Lot and expiry information back to supported PIMS integrations
Before configuring individual inventory items, ensure your hospital has access to PIMS Writeback, which is available with the Essentials tier.
Important: PIMS Mapping and Writeback
PIMS Mapping connects line items in PIMS sales data—such as products listed on an invoice—to the corresponding products in Inventory Ally. This mapping allows Inventory Ally to correctly associate PIMS sales activity with the appropriate inventory items.
PIMS Writeback works in the opposite direction. It sends activity recorded for mapped Inventory Ally items back to the corresponding products in PIMS, helping keep PIMS inventory quantities accurate and aligned with Inventory Ally.
Together, these features reduce the need to manually adjust inventory in PIMS to match Inventory Ally.
This video walks you through how to set up PIMS Writeback and configure Writeback mapping rules in Inventory Ally.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Sign in to your Inventory Ally account.
2. Go to Integrations.
3. Choose your Hospital.
4. Select your PIMS integration.
5. Open your hospital's PIMS settings and configure the default Writeback behavior.
Note: Hospital-level Writeback settings determine the default behavior for all Writeback mapping rules. You can choose whether new mapping rules automatically enable Orders, Quantity, and Cost Writeback, or whether those options remain off by default so each inventory item can be configured individually. This gives you more control over which items write back to your PIMS.
6. Open PIMS mapping tool, select the Writeback mapping rules tab, and click Add (+) button to create a new Writeback mapping.
7. Map the Inventory Ally item to the corresponding PIMS product.
For each rule, confirm the following:
The Inventory Ally item matches the correct PIMS product.
The unit of measurement (UOM) matches how the item is tracked in the PIMS. For example, if the product is tracked by tablet, use tablet; if it is tracked by bag, use bag.
If the item is batch-tracked or lot-tracked, enable Lot and Expiry so Inventory Ally can capture this information during receiving and write it back where supported.
Note: Always verify unit of measurement and mappings before enabling Quantity Writeback. Incorrect mappings can cause inaccurate inventory adjustments.
8. Configure the PIMS Writeback settings for the mapping rule.
Available settings may include:
Quantity writeback writes inventory count changes back to PIMS as quantity adjustments when a count is entered or an estimated quantity is approved.
Orders writeback writes uploaded orders back to PIMS as inventory adjustments.
Cost writeback writes updated costs back to PIMS when the unit cost increases by more than 5%, helping maintain accurate pricing and protect hospital margins.
Important: You can turn off writeback without deleting the mapping rule. When Writeback is disabled, the mapping remains in place, but Inventory Ally will not synchronize inventory updates for that item until you enable Writeback again.
9. Click Add mapping rule.
Note: If the hospital-level default Writeback behavior is set to Off, you can still create the rule, but Writeback will not run until you select the relevant Writeback options for that item.
This video shows you how to review PIMS Writeback history to confirm successful synchronization and review failed Writebacks.
10. Go to the PIMS mapping rules tab. Select the required entry from the list, and click the History button.
11. Review the PIMS Writeback history to verify successful synchronization.
The history displays details such as the Product ID, Writeback Date, Status, Type, and Destination. For example, if you enter a quantity of 34 in Inventory Ally, the history may show that the quantity was written back to ezyVet as a quantity adjustment.
If a Writeback fails, the failure is recorded in the history so you can review the affected product, destination, and Writeback type while troubleshooting.
What writes back to my PIMS?
When enabled for a mapped item, Inventory Ally can write the following supported updates back to ezyVet:
Inventory counts entered in Inventory Ally
Approved estimated quantities
Uploaded orders
Quantity adjustments
Waste activity, where supported
Cost increases over the current threshold of 5%
Lot and expiry details for applicable batch-tracked or lot-tracked items
Final notes
After completing these steps, Inventory Ally will automatically synchronize supported inventory updates with PIMS like ezyVet, VetSpire, and Digitail based on the Writeback options you've configured. Use the PIMS Writeback history to confirm successful synchronization and review any failed Writeback attempts if troubleshooting is required.