Cannabis is always changing- change is truly the only constant when it comes to cannabis. From natural industry evolution to nationwide inflation and political progress, it is nearly impossible to stay up to date on all of the changes across the board. We did say nearly impossible, which means we have some key tips to staying up to date on one key factor in your business- your software. No matter what element of the business you’re in- retail, cultivation, manufacturing, consumption, and anything in between, compliance-based software is absolutely essential. Here’s what to look for to make sure your essential needs are met and exceeded so you can succeed.  

Staying Plugged In 

While it may seem standardized, some POS systems don’t play well with others. POS systems have to go beyond the transaction and be a living entity that works well with other platforms. Directory or menu pages like iHeartJane, Leafly, Weedmaps and more have become absolutely essential to building your brand’s SEO, awareness, and driving that final sale. To elevate that thought, being able to connect to delivery or click and collect partners drives a clear CTA to close the sale to your customers. These can easily be added with API integrations and these platforms are built to be user-friendly, making them a key partner in your sales strategy today.  

Solution-Based Software 

The key to getting yourself set up for tomorrow is partnering with a program that can check every box you have, and that means thinking outside the POS box. ERP-based solutions provide exactly that- Enterprise Resource Planning (a.k.a., ERP) for every touchpoint of your business. While many POS providers certainly include API integrations with other services like marketing or menu partners, ERP goes beyond that to also service teams like finance, supply chain, distribution, and all process management. Some POS systems may have additional features, but a comprehensive suite of products that make everything so easy to integrate across all teams drives streamlining process and driving progress.  

Avoid Expensive Errors 

One of the largest pain points of cannabis is compliance. Unlike nearly any other industry, cannabis is tracked literally from seed to sale and with that comes an incredible amount of specific steps, paperwork, regulations, and more to follow for fear of facing fines. Specific regulations vary by element of the industry (I.e., cultivation, retail, distribution, etc.), by state, by county, sometimes even by city which makes the rules difficult to track. It’s become commonplace for operators to appoint compliance officers specifically to ensure that all business procedures are done with compliance in mind, sometimes even appointing a person or small team dedicated to just single pillars of the business. While these compliance minded companies are absolutely doing their best to play it safe and avoid fines or losing licensing due to errors, there are ways to lighten the mental load of risking falling out of compliance. ERP solutions that have compliance-minded safeguards built in are a low risk way to operate with peace in mind. When exploring software solutions, be sure to ask if the provider has compliance software built in to ensure they can trust their processes are all compliant. Investing in software that keeps you safe is worth its weight in gold (or at least, really justifies that implementation time).  

Software is absolutely essential to your business, and so is making sure that software is working as hard as you and your team are. We kept all of these in mind as we built 365 Cannabis, a comprehensive ERP software built for cannabis operators today who will be running cannabis empires tomorrow. If you’d like to learn more about how 365 Cannabis can help you year after year, click here to get started.