Best Compliance Software for Dispensaries

Compliance software is important for most businesses and especially important for cannabis dispensaries. Compliance software can help dispensaries stay on the right side of cannabis laws. It also helps with the overall management of the business. Fortunately, today there are several companies to choose from. 

The Best Compliance Software for Cannabis Dispensaries 

When determining which compliance software to use, there are a few factors to take into consideration. You’ll want to consider the size of your business to ensure that you’re getting the appropriate amount of features and services. You can also consider the pricing for each software and your preference for the software functionality.

Flowhub

Flowhub was founded in 2015 and supports over 1,000 cannabis dispensaries. The company’s goal is to make cannabis accessible through its powerful compliance and retail management software so modern dispensaries can grow and flourish. Flowhub is also a founding member of both the Cannabis Trade Federation (CTF) and the U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC.)

Pricing: Pricing is based on your business size and the services you want. You can book a demo to learn more, and you must get a custom quote from a Flowhub representative.

Functionality: Flowhub’s platform offers just about everything a cannabis dispensary needs, from an instant ID verification and check-in system to inventory management and mobile analytics. The platform also offers a point-of-sale system that allows for online order fulfillment and anonymous guest checkouts. Overall, the platform is easy-to-use, intuitive and allows dispensaries to serve customers efficiently.

Good for: Flowhub is a highly customizable solution that can serve boutique, enterprise and franchise cannabis retailers.

Pros:

• Offers cannabis-specific compliant inventory-management system
• Easy-to-use and intuitive platform
• Offers several services that benefit cannabis customers and business

Cons:

• A lot of fine print and fees to sort through
• You must speak with a representative to get a pricing quote
• Late fees if you don’t pay your balance in full by the first day of each month

Cova Software

Cova Software has deep roots in retail technology, allowing it to better understand how to build a system that’s 100% compliant. It uses traceability software that allows dispensaries to generate reports and audits that might be required by the government. It can also help the government track sales from suppliers through its direct connection with Metrc.

Pricing:

• Boutique dispensaries with a single location: $349 + $60 for one workstation
• Established “Powerhouse” dispensaries with single or multiple locations: $549 + $40 per workstation up to four workstations
• “Enterprise” multistore retailers or franchises: custom pricing

Functionality: Each Cova plan provides the essentials, including secure data backup, 99.99% uptime and offline mode, 4/20 high-volume tested performance and automated compliance. It also includes customer support, offline mode, unlimited users and transactions and reports and dashboards. The Powerhouse package also provides access to add-on features such as menu boards, express checkout, e-commerce and delivery.

Some of the other features included in Cova’s packages include real-time inventory management, flexible loyalty programs, a built-in ID scanner and Leafly and Weedmaps integrations. The custom Enterprise packages include everything from the other packages along with priority application programming interface (API) technical support, custom enterprise resource planning (ERP) integrations and a dedicated customer service manager.

Good for: Dispensaries of all sizes, from boutique startups to franchises

Pros:

• The software integrates with government reporting systems such as BioTrack, Leaf and Metrc.
• Cova’s dashboards are completely customizable, allowing you to generate detailed reports based on the data you need.
• Cova offers a free consultation and personalized demo.

Cons:

• Cova states that its pricing has a launch fee as well as monthly fees, but it does not specify whether the fees listed on the website are the launch fees or monthly fees.
• Cova is only available in select states, including Colorado, Washington, California and Michigan.

Simplifya

Simplifya was founded in 2016 in partnership with the Vicente Sederberg LLP  law firm. The platform is user-friendly and designed to stay compliant with both state and local regulations. The company’s goal is to help its customers understand the landscape of cannabis compliance and take the steps to ensure that employees understand the rules. Simplifya is currently available in 21 states, including New York, California, Florida, Illinois and Nevada.

Pricing: Individual audits typically run from $500 to $5,000. If the audit identifies issues, remediation costs can be several times more than the audit cost.

Functionality: Simplifya offers compliance-specific services, including self audits. The compliance software can help dispensaries ensure they are compliant to protect both their licenses and their business. Other services include a compliance document management program, a license and renewal tracker and an enforcement platform. 

Good for: Any size dispensary, financial institutions, consultants and lawyers

Pros:

• Self-audits as often as quarterly
• Remediation support if audits reveal problems
• Free demo

Cons:

• No point-of-sale  (POS) software
• Must do demo to get pricing

Viridian Sciences

Viridian Sciences is a cannabis seed-to-sale software with a compliant and secure platform. The company has implementation consultants who help customers get the most effective solutions for their businesses. Viridian Sciences offers a live webinar on its website you can view to see how the product works.

Pricing: Customized based on the business

Functionality: Viridian Sciences offers a compliant POS system that helps distributors manage every part of the business. This includes automated financials and tracking to ensure compliance requirements are followed. It also provides marketing campaign management and customer relationship management (CRM) as well as document access management. Additionally, the software allows distributors to connect their software to third-party e-commerce providers.

Good for: Any size distributor. Viridian Sciences also offers products for producers, processors and distributors.

Pros:

• You can watch a demo of the product without reaching out to customer service
• Offers robust customer service support
• Supports additional state mandatory reporting requirements

Con:

• No pricing information online because all pricing is customized based on the business

Greenbits Inc.

Greenbits is the POS system powered by Dutchie, a technology platform that provides e-commerce, payments and other systems for the cannabis industry. The company started in 2017 in partnership with threel dispensaries in Bend, Oregon. It’s grown to have over 5,000 cannabis dispensary partners.

Pricing: Pricing information is not available online

Functionality: Greenbits is a POS system that helps dispensaries handle transactions from checkin to checkout. It has an intuitive design with automated traceability and compliance. Dispensaries can use the software to control inventory and gain insights to improve sales and product performance. Greenbits can also be integrated with Dutchie’s payments software.

Good for: All sizes of dispensaries

Pros:

• Greenbits can be integrated with other Dutchie software to enhance the dispensary’s performance and efficiency.
• The company offers specialized customer support seven days a week.

Cons:

• Pricing information is not available online.
• You have to combine Greenbits with other Dutchie platforms to get the full benefits.

The Benefits of Compliance Software

You might be wondering why dispensaries — or any business — should use compliance software. Some businesses might try to save money by not using compliance software, but there are several benefits to consider before you forego it..

Benefit No. 1: Reduces risk

Using compliance software can help reduce your dispensary’s risk of doing something that does not meet compliance requirements. Without compliance software, you could be at risk of losing your license or having your dispensary shut down for being noncompliant.

Benefit No. 2: Added security

Compliance software often has built-in enhanced security measures to ensure your business’s operations are following the best cybersecurity protocols. This can help protect both your business and your customers.

Benefit No. 3: Improved performance

Compliance software can take some of the weight off of your shoulders by tracking the small details such as regulatory deadlines and required renewals. It can also help you keep track of your inventory and pull reports about the performance of your products. Most cannabis compliance software is customizable to your business, so you can work with the platform to get the best results.

Do All Dispensaries Need Compliance Software?

The short answer to this is yes, all dispensaries need compliance software. Most states that regulate cannabis require dispensaries to have a cannabis compliance software system in place. Even if your state doesn’t, you should have compliance software to ensure you’re staying up to date with the latest regulations. Compliance software can also help retailers in the CBD industry stay compliant.

Frequently Asked Questions