How to Pick the Right Cannabis POS System for Your Dispensary

Whether you’re setting up your new dispensary for a grand opening or fed up with your current point of sale, picking the right cannabis POS system is a decision that should not be made lightly. There are a few factors to consider when shopping for your new dispensary point of sale, and it’s important to identify the specific needs of your retailer before making your choice.

Medical or Recreational

One of the first things to consider is the type of business license you possess. If you are licensed for medical marijuana sales as opposed to adult-use sales, your needs will be slightly different. Medical marijuana dispensaries will need to use a cannabis POS system capable of uploading, storing, and verifying medical recommendations/state ID cards.

Another important distinction is that sales tax and purchase limits can be different for medical marijuana patients state by state. It’s imperative that your dispensary point-of-sale system has a way to customize the tax tiers and purchase limits based on the type of customer being served. It’s possible that your shop caters to both recreational and medical marijuana consumers. Be sure to pick a point-of-sale system that can handle all types of customers.

Automated Integrations

Selecting a cannabis POS system that offers automated integrations can make a world of difference when it comes to compliance, e-commerce, online directories, and marketing tools. Compliance is often the top priority for most cannabis retailers so utilizing a POS software that integrates with your state reporting system will save time and resources. Makes sure that invest in a point of sale that has a fully managed integration so all your sales are reported in real-time. This will prevent you from exporting your reports to then upload them to the compliance software.

Every dispensary understands the value of using online directories like Weedmaps, Leafly, and Potify, but constantly updating menus to reflect the current inventory can be tedious. This is why it’s crucial to install a cannabis POS system that updates your menus automatically. In addition to these websites, it’s essential for larger operations to have their own e-commerce web store where customers can order delivery or pick-up online.

Marketing Capability

Cannabis retailers are always looking for ways to improve customer retention. After all, building a customer database takes time and you want to ensure your clientele come back hopefully with friends. This is why implementing a comprehensive marketing strategy is so critical to the success of your business. Picking a cannabis POS system that can easily integrate with your existing SMTP email service will be sure to engage existing customers.

Alerting customers of more immediate limited time deals is easy with a POS software that supports SMS marketing campaigns. Messaging your clientele should be simple, and integrating with a service like Twilio makes these campaigns effective and affordable. It’s important to use SMS campaigns sparingly as too many might be off putting to customers and result in them blocking future campaigns.

Cannabis Delivery

Expanding your dispensary by adding marijuana delivery service can be challenging but an elite cannabis POS system is capable of handling both. Using a software than can switch to a dispatcher mode will help you manage your fleet to optimize delivery times. Drivers should be able to use their smartphones to accept orders, navigate to each location, and process transactions seamlessly.

Advanced delivery features like smart order assignment can only be found in a superior cannabis POS system such as IndicaOnline. Smart order assignment automatically suggest the best driver for each order based on a preset delivery time frame. This will go a long way in improving delivery time for your customers and encourage them to use your delivery service more often.

Staff Training

When investing in a new cannabis POS system you want to ensure that your dispensary staff can quickly learn how to operate the software. Minimizing downtime is imperative to keep your business running smoothly. The nice thing about iPad based POS systems is they are incredibly intuitive and staff can learn basic functionality in a matter of hours not days.

It’s also nice to have the ability to set staff permissions for the different roles at your dispensary. This way your receptionist can access only the features needed to check-in customers or patients. Budtenders, managers, and marketing associates will all have their own specific roles and features they can access according to their daily job duties.

Monthly or Yearly Subscription

When evaluating the price of a cannabis POS system it’s important to see whether or not you’ll be locked into a year long contract from the very beginning. It might be worth finding a dispensary point-of-sale software that offers a free trial and month-to-month payment options so you can really see how it works within your business model.

IndicaOnline offers both a free 14-day trial and month-to-month no-contract subscription plan. If you find that it is a good fit, you can always upgrade to an annual plan and even save a little money. Schedule a demo to see how IndicaOnline’s cannabis POS system can benefit your business.