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Dispensary Software Adapts to Recreational Cannabis

February 23, 2018

The legalization of recreational cannabis has brought about some major changes in the way dispensaries operate. State regulations have presented some challenges for old methodology and new protocols are being implemented to stay compliant.  In order to accommodate these changes, marijuana dispensary software companies are developing new functionality. Today we’ll discuss a few new features that dispensary staff will find useful when serving recreational marijuana customers.

Patient Types

A large majority of existing cannabis retailers in California have applied for both medical and adult-use business licenses. Servicing various categories of customers requires new patient types when checking-in clientele.

IndicaOnline has created three separate patient types that customers fall into, medical with state card, medical with recommendation, and adult-use. Classifying every customer will allow cannabis retailer to apply the different marijuana tax rates to the specific type of patient. Not only is this beneficial when processing transactions but it is extremely important when submitting compliance reports to the state.

Identification Validation

Before recreational cannabis was legal every single customer was required to provide valid identification and a medical recommendation. Dispensary receptionists can now validate a customer’s age by simply scanning their ID to ensure they are 21+.

It is still possible to upload medical documentation into a patient’s profile by taking a photo, but with an influx of recreational customers this will not be as common. Using smart marijuana dispensary software will also allow receptionist to automate data entry by scanning the back of the customers drivers license.

Prepackaged Inventory

A regulated cannabis industry means that licensed retailers are only allow to purchase inventory from licensed distributors. As a result, distributors are responsible for packaging and labelling all marijuana so retailers will not need to weigh, package, and label prior to check-out.

Selling prepackaged inventory will actually expedite transaction times since budtenders will only need to scan the barcode of items to ring the up. Installing an all-in-one marijuana POS system with a built-in barcode scanner will ensure customers are in and out in no time.

Metrc Integration

California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control has decided to use Franwell’s Metrc reporting system for cannabis retailers. Licensed authorized users will be able to submit inventory and sales records using Metrc’s online portal. Regulations mandate that these reports are submitted daily so attempting to submit them manually will be extremely time consuming.

IndicaOnline’s marijuana dispensary software will be able to automate daily reporting to avoid such tedious tasks. As soon as Metrc launches their system in California, integrating your IndicaOnline POS software will be a quick and easy process. We continue to evolve our features to meet the demand of an ever changing marketplace. To start a free 14-day trial of IndicaOnline’s marijuana dispensary software, sign-up today.