Online orders for your medical store: the complete guide to partnering with InstaMG
A complete guide for chemists: how InstaMG brings online orders from nearby families to your medical store, with no stock sync, no riders and daily payouts.
Your customers haven't stopped trusting their neighbourhood chemist. They've started ordering from their phones. InstaMG sends online medicine orders from families near your pharmacy straight to your counter, and takes care of the app, the delivery and the payment. You keep your licence, your shop name and your pharmacist's judgement.
This guide covers everything a pharmacy owner needs to decide: how an order reaches you, what you earn and when you're paid, what stays in your control, how the monthly storefront upgrades work, and exactly what you need to sign up. We're onboarding pharmacies in and around Noida Sector 150 now, ahead of our launch in November 2026.
InstaMG for pharmacies, at a glance
- Orders from customers near your shop go to every partner pharmacy nearby at once. You accept the ones you can fill.
- No inventory integration, no website and no delivery staff needed.
- Every order is paid online before it reaches you. Payouts run daily, settled to your bank the next day.
- A small commission on completed orders only, and no upfront fee to join.
- Top partners on the monthly leaderboard get a storefront upgrade: new signboards, standees and in-store improvements.
- Every pharmacy must pass drug licence verification before activation.
Already convinced? Register your pharmacy and our partner team will call you to get started.
Why local medical stores miss out on online orders
Families around Noida Sector 150 already order groceries, food and household essentials from their phones, and medicines are going the same way. When a customer orders medicines online, the order goes to whoever is on their phone, not to the chemist downstairs who has known them for years. You don't lose that sale because of your stock, your prices or your advice. You lose it because ordering from you takes a phone call.
Taking online orders on your own is harder than it looks:
- WhatsApp and phone orders need someone free to answer, check stock and reply, usually while the counter is busy.
- A delivery boy costs a salary on slow days as well as busy ones, and one rider can only be in one place.
- Cash on delivery means change, follow-ups and orders refused at the door.
- You only reach people who already have your number. New families moving into the sector never find you.
InstaMG is built for exactly this gap. Customers get the convenience of an app, and the order goes to a licensed pharmacy in their own neighbourhood.
What InstaMG is, and what it isn't
InstaMG is a technology platform, not a pharmacy and not a franchise. It connects people with licensed local pharmacies and registered doctors. Every medicine is sold, invoiced and dispensed by a partner pharmacy. InstaMG doesn't sell medicines, and doesn't run its own stores, warehouses or dark stores.
That's a deliberate choice. We grow local pharmacies. We don't compete with them. The neighbourhood pharmacist already has the licence, the stock, the trained staff and the trust of local families. What's missing is a simple way to reach customers who now expect to order online, and that's the part InstaMG provides.
Here's how partnering with InstaMG compares with the other ways a medical store usually tries to grow:
| InstaMG partner | Doing it yourself (WhatsApp and your own rider) | Pharmacy franchise | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New customers | Families near you who order on the InstaMG app | Only people who already know you | Comes with the franchise brand |
| Your shop's name | Stays yours | Stays yours | Usually changes to the franchise brand |
| Upfront cost | No upfront fee to join | Rider salary, phone line, your time | Usually a franchise fee and a fit-out |
| Ongoing cost | A small commission on completed orders only | Fixed salaries, even on slow days | Royalties or fees, depending on the brand |
| Delivery | InstaMG arranges it | You hire and manage riders | Depends on the brand |
| Collecting payment | Paid online before the order reaches you | Cash or UPI that you chase | Depends on the brand |
| Prescription decisions | Your pharmacist, with the prescription attached to the order | Your pharmacist | Your pharmacist |
How an InstaMG order works, step by step
Every order is handled in the InstaMG Partner app, on an Android phone or iPhone at your counter. Here's the journey of a single order:
- Your phone rings. When a customer near you orders, the Partner app rings like an incoming call, even when the phone is locked. The order goes to the partner pharmacies around the customer at the same moment.
- You see the items, and what the order pays you, before you accept. Check your shelves, then decide.
- Accept the whole order, or just the items you have. The first partner to accept gets the order. If you can supply only some items, accept those. The customer has already chosen whether to wait, remove missing items or split the order with another pharmacy.
- Your pharmacist checks the prescription. For prescription medicines, the prescription is attached to the order: a photo, a PDF, or an e-prescription from a registered doctor. Your pharmacist verifies it before anything is packed, exactly as at your counter, and can refuse if it's unclear or incomplete.
- Bill it your way. Bill in the Partner app, or keep using your own billing software. If the final bill is higher than what the customer paid, they approve the difference before you pack. If it's lower, the difference is refunded to them.
- Scan and pack. Scan each pack as it goes into the bag. The app checks it against the order, so a wrong medicine or strength is caught at your counter, not at the customer's door. It learns a product's barcode the first time it's confirmed.
- Hand over with a pickup code. A delivery partner collects the sealed bag and enters the order's pickup code, so it only leaves with the right rider.
- The customer tracks it home. Your pharmacy's name and drug licence number are shown on the order, and the customer follows it live to their door.
Our goal is to deliver most eligible orders in around 30 minutes, depending on pharmacy availability, distance and prescription requirements. The part you control is how quickly you accept and pack, and that's what separates the busiest partners from the quiet ones.
For the customer's side of the same journey, read how InstaMG matches an order with the nearest pharmacy.
Where the orders will come from
The InstaMG customer app is designed to bring you repeat customers, not just one-off orders:
- Prescriptions read by AI. Customers upload a photo or PDF of their prescription, and our AI reads it and adds the medicines to their cart. The order reaches you with the prescription attached and the items already matched, and your pharmacist still verifies it.
- A free doctor review when there's no prescription. If a customer orders a prescription medicine without a prescription, a registered doctor reviews the order in a short call or chat, at no extra cost to the customer. If it's clinically appropriate, the doctor issues an e-prescription before the order reaches pharmacies. These are sales a counter would otherwise have to turn away.
- Doctor consultations from ₹299. When a doctor on InstaMG prescribes medicines, the e-prescription goes straight to pharmacy matching.
- Refill reminders and one-tap reorders. Customers set dose reminders from their orders and get a nudge before a chronic medicine runs out. Reordering takes one tap, so regular medicines become regular orders.
- Scheduled orders. Customers can book a 1-hour delivery slot for later today or the next two days. The order reaches pharmacies ahead of the slot, so you can plan around it.
- Orders for family. Children order for parents across the city, with the parents' address and phone number for the rider.
- Hindi and English. The full customer app is available in Hindi, so older customers can order without help.
We launch in Noida Sector 150 in November 2026, and families on the waitlist get access first. Pharmacies that join before launch are part of the network from the very first order. Register your pharmacy.
You stay in control of your shop
Joining InstaMG doesn't mean handing your shop over to an app. You decide what you take on.
- Passing on an order is free. Each order goes to several partners at once, so if you're out of a brand, short on an item or busy at the counter, let it pass. There's no penalty for passing before you accept. Releasing an order after you've accepted it is different, because the customer is counting on you. That's covered by a separate, transparent policy with exceptions for genuine reasons, which our partner team explains before you go live.
- Your hours, your switch. Set your opening hours and the store goes offline automatically at closing. You can go offline any time from the Store tab, and no orders reach you while you're offline.
- No flood of orders. If you already have several orders in progress, new orders go to other partners until you catch up.
- Your pharmacist makes the clinical calls. Prescription checks and refusals stay with your pharmacist. You can suggest a substitute, such as a generic with the same salt and strength, but the customer sees both side by side and decides. A substitute is never given without the customer's approval. Read more about generic and branded medicines and what makes a prescription valid.
- Your team can help. The owner can invite counter staff to the Partner app, so orders don't depend on one phone.
- Open late? Stand out. Participating pharmacies that are open overnight will be badged in the customer app, where available, so families looking for medicines at 1 am know who's open.
- See what's working. The Performance screen shows your last 30 days: accept rate, average time to accept, prescription check time and how often orders were ready on time. Item history shows the items you most often couldn't supply, so you can decide what to stock.
Getting paid: commission, daily payouts and taxes
Every order is paid online before it reaches you, by UPI, card or netbanking. There's no cash on delivery to collect, no change to carry and no order refused at the door because the customer wasn't home with cash.
- Commission: InstaMG charges a small commission on completed orders only. There's nothing to pay on orders you pass on or orders that are cancelled, and no upfront fee to join. Our partner team shares the exact rate before you sign.
- Daily payouts: Each day's delivered orders are added up into one payout, settled to your bank account the next day.
- A clear statement: The Earnings tab shows the net amount coming to your store, every order that earned, and each deduction line by line.
- Taxes: Like every online marketplace in India, InstaMG must deduct TDS under section 194-O of the Income Tax Act (currently 0.1%) and collect GST TCS under section 52 of the CGST Act (currently 0.5%) on sales made through it. Both are shown on your payout and deposited against your PAN and GSTIN, so you can claim them when you file.
If no bank account is on file yet, payouts are held safely until you add one.
The monthly leaderboard: storefront upgrades for top partners
Every month, the top partner pharmacies on the InstaMG leaderboard get their shop upgraded to improve the experience for customers who walk in, too:
- A brand-new signboard
- Standees for the shop front and the counter
- In-store upgrades
A sharp storefront tells the whole neighbourhood that your pharmacy is fast, modern and online, and it works on the people who walk past as well as the people who order.
Illustrative designs of an upgraded partner storefront. Your pharmacy's name stays on the board.
Our partner team explains how the leaderboard is worked out when you onboard. In the meantime, the Performance screen in the Partner app shows how you're doing on the things customers notice most: how quickly you accept, how fast prescriptions are checked and how often orders are ready on time.
What you need to join
You need:
- Your retail drug licence numbers (Form 20 and Form 21), and the legal name exactly as it appears on the licence
- Your GSTIN, if the shop is registered for GST
- Each registered pharmacist's full name and State Pharmacy Council registration number
- The shop's bank account for payouts: account holder, account number and IFSC
- The owner's mobile number, used to log in to the Partner app with an OTP
- A smartphone at the counter, Android or iPhone, for the Partner app
You don't need: an inventory or stock-syncing integration, a catalogue to maintain, a website, your own delivery riders, or an upfront fee.
How onboarding works, step by step
Onboarding takes days, not weeks.
- Register your pharmacy. Fill in the short form with "Pharmacy" chosen, or meet an InstaMG field agent at your shop.
- Get a call from our partner team. We confirm your store details and answer your questions, including the commission and the release policy.
- An agent visits your store. They take photos in the InstaMG Agent app at your shop: the signboard, shop front, counter, the drug licence on display and the pharmacist, plus your fridge if you'd like cold-chain orders such as insulin. Photos are taken live at the store, never uploaded from a gallery.
- Confirm your bank details and the partner terms in the Partner app.
- We verify your licence. Every pharmacy must pass drug licence verification before activation. If anything needs fixing, we tell you exactly which part.
- Go live. Set your opening hours, invite your counter staff and get ready for orders from launch day.
Is InstaMG right for your pharmacy?
You're likely a great fit if:
- Your pharmacy is in or around Noida Sector 150 or its adjoining sectors, where we launch first
- You hold a valid retail drug licence and have a registered pharmacist on duty while you're open
- You can pack an accepted order within minutes, alongside your walk-in customers
- You'd rather grow your orders than hire riders or pay a franchise fee
- You stay open late, or would like to (late-night orders are where partners stand out)
New to the idea? Our shorter overview, own a pharmacy in Noida Sector 150? How partnering with InstaMG works, covers the basics in five minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Is InstaMG a pharmacy franchise?
No. InstaMG is a technology platform, not a franchise. There's no franchise fee, your shop keeps its own name and licence, and you pay a small commission only on orders that are completed through InstaMG.
Does InstaMG sell medicines or run its own dark stores?
No. InstaMG doesn't sell medicines and doesn't run its own stores, warehouses or dark stores. Every medicine ordered on InstaMG is sold, invoiced and dispensed by a licensed partner pharmacy in the customer's neighbourhood.
Do I need to sync my inventory or change my billing software?
No. There's no inventory integration and no catalogue to maintain. You see each order's items when it comes in and accept only what you have. You can bill in the Partner app or keep using your own billing software.
What if I only have some of the items in an order?
Accept the items you have. Before ordering, the customer chooses whether to wait, remove missing items or split the order with another pharmacy, so a partly available order can still be completed.
Is there a penalty if I don't accept an order?
No. Each order goes to several partner pharmacies at once, so passing on an order before you accept it carries no penalty. Releasing an order after accepting it is covered by a separate, transparent policy with exceptions for genuine reasons, which our partner team explains before you go live.
How much does InstaMG charge pharmacies?
InstaMG charges a small commission on completed orders only, with nothing to pay on passed or cancelled orders and no upfront fee to join. Our partner team shares the exact rate before you sign up.
When do I get paid?
Payouts run daily. Each day's delivered orders are added up into one payout and settled to your bank account the next day. The Earnings tab in the Partner app shows every order and deduction.
Are TDS and TCS deducted from my payouts?
Yes, as on every online marketplace in India. InstaMG deducts TDS under section 194-O of the Income Tax Act (currently 0.1%) and collects GST TCS under section 52 of the CGST Act (currently 0.5%). Both are shown on your payout and deposited against your PAN and GSTIN, so you can claim them when you file.
Who delivers InstaMG orders?
InstaMG arranges delivery. A delivery partner collects the sealed order from your counter, enters the order's pickup code at handover, and takes it to the customer, who tracks it live.
Can my counter staff use the Partner app?
Yes. The pharmacy owner can invite counter staff to the Partner app, so orders can be accepted and packed by whoever is on the counter.
Which pharmacies can join InstaMG, and where?
Licensed retail pharmacies in and around Noida Sector 150 and its adjoining sectors can join first. You need a valid retail drug licence, a registered pharmacist, a bank account for payouts and a smartphone for the Partner app. More areas of Noida and Delhi NCR follow after launch.
How do pharmacies get a storefront upgrade?
Every month, the top partner pharmacies on the InstaMG leaderboard get their shop upgraded with a new signboard, standees and in-store improvements. Our partner team explains how the leaderboard is worked out when you onboard.
Register your pharmacy before launch
InstaMG launches in Noida Sector 150 in November 2026, and the pharmacies that join now are the ones customers order from on day one. Register your pharmacy and our partner team will call you to get your store onboarded. It takes two minutes, and there's no upfront fee.