Cannabis operators in the midst of determining software requirements for their cannabusiness are finding broad misconceptions about the available software options and the purposes of each. In fact, even cannabis insiders often use industry terminology interchangeably which continues to create confusion among operators.
A “seed-to-sale” system sounds like just what the budtender ordered, but is it?
What is seed-to-sale software?
Seed-to-sale software was introduced to give cannabis companies the ability to track their marijuana products throughout their lifecycles from planting the seed through to its final transaction and purchase by the end-user. Seed-to-sale software is great for state and federal tracking regulations, but is it a full-featured business application that manages traceability while streamlining the warehouse operations and eliminating the manual workarounds created by complex cannabis accounting?
Not even close.
Seed-to-sale systems are well-known for offering traceability, basic inventory controls, and security measures for meeting regulatory compliance to cannabis entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, while tracking and compliance are a top priority, cannabis companies have many other variables to consider.
Due in large part to widespread legislative inconsistencies that plagued the cannabis legalization processes throughout the United States, many cannabis companies have found themselves with a mishmash of solutions that were cobbled-together to address business challenges as they surfaced.
It’s not uncommon to see operators with a seed-to-sale system to manage cannabis tracking, a cannabis POS system for retail sales along with an off-the-shelf solution like Quickbooks for accounting. What about warehouse operations, HR functions, quality assurance, and production control? Supply and demand planning, customer service and did someone say Quickbooks for cannabis accounting?
The resulting headache leaves cannabis operators with few features and even fewer integration possibilities. A single source of truth is needed for a cannabusiness to boost overall efficiency, increase productivity, and provide ready-access to business insights for decision-making.
When most of these systems claim to be robust solutions for cannabis operations, few really are. Successful companies operating in the cannabis industry know it takes more than a seed-to-sale software system to build and scale a profitable cannabusiness.
Is there a single source of truth for the cannabis industry?
Seed-to-sale technology offers basic inventory and compliance features but falls short of delivering the targeted functionality that we see with authentic ERP (enterprise resource planning) applications.
Cannabis ERP touches every part of the marijuana supply chain, from cannabis inventory to warehouse management, shipping, receiving, logistics, and more. With a purpose-built system to protect the entire operation, a cannabusiness can eliminate the various manual, disconnected processes prone to human error.
Cannabis accounting is as complex as it gets so operators often struggle to grasp specific federal and state cannabis accounting guidelines. GAAP/accrual accounting is required for absorption/cost accounting to comply with 280e/471. Tax section 280E, for example, is the federal statute that prevents a cannabusiness from taking tax deductions or credits against the Schedule I controlled substance. Even without the obstacles of cost, accrual, and absorption accounting, the 471 and 280E tax rules can be painful.
Cannabusinesses Need Cannabis ERP
As a cannabusiness begins to grow, disparate technology solutions will affect the operator’s ability to control the integrity of the company’s data for reporting and compliance purposes.
Today’s growing cannabis companies are faced with many complex business challenges and need an all-in-one software solution for continued growth. These organizations turn to Sage Intacct for their cannabis ERP and cloud accounting.
Sage Intacct’s cannabis enterprise resource planning (ERP) software delivers a single source of accurate and up-to-date business data to cannabis companies. By integrating a purpose-built system that supports your specific cannabis industry needs, you get real business data and intelligence tools to reveal noncompliance issues, manage complex cannabis accounting processes as well as the cannabis supply chain.
e2b teknologies financial management package that delivers automation and accounting controls to keep your cannabis operation audit-ready and positioned to scale. Contact us to learn how we can bring improved business performance to your cannabis organization.
