Marijuana dispensaries and cannabis retailers across the US must always make compliance a top priority, in order to stay in business and avoid legal hassles such as fines, lawsuits, and license revocations. Failure to remain compliant with industry regulations has cost many marijuana and cannabis dispensaries their lifeline.
One of the key elements of compliance, in this regard, involves setting up a point-of-sale (POS) that is designed specifically for cannabis retail. Such a POS would maximize reliability while ensuring that cannabis sale requirements are met and documented. Additionally, the need for a stringent ID Checking Policy, one that incorporates an effective tool like an ID Scanner for Age Verification is more important than ever. From a compliance and business responsibility standpoint, marijuana outlets are heeding the need for driver license scanners. There are a few key automated features that need to be present in the dispensary POS system of a cannabis retailer.
The Importance of a Cannabis Compliant POS
An intuitive, efficient, and reliable point-of-sale system is one of the essential tools that businesses need, in order to succeed in the cannabis retail sector. A POS system that was designed specifically for the cannabis industry would help dispensaries create a legal safety net while at the same time increasing efficiency and customer satisfaction.
All of these factors, taken together, would contribute to the growth and development of the business while preventing the financial losses caused by lawsuits and fines. After all, in the 21st century, there really isn’t any excuse not to take advantage of the cutting-edge technologies designed specifically for the purpose of ensuring compliance in the cannabis industry.
5 Essential Technologies for the Cannabis Industry
As mentioned above, a cannabis compliant POS system can significantly boost the bottom line of a marijuana dispensary, by automating certain tasks and consequently saving time, money, and other resources. Smart technology used at the point of sale that can improve your bottom include:
ID Scanner for Age Verification
When it comes to selling cannabis, the random ages across North America varies from 19 to 21. Every US state and the Canadian province of Quebec has a legal age requirement of 21, while Alberta’s age requirement is 19. To prevent the sale of cannabis to underage customers, identification and driver’s license cards are the standards for age and ID verification.
Visual verification alone can be time-consuming and error-prone, especially with the recent proliferation of fake IDs. Therefore, a high-quality ID Scanner for age verification scanner is smart business practice. It’s a valuable tool that helps to automate the ID checking process by providing a layer of security, validating the Age and ID status of the cardholder, and documenting the transaction. This ensures compliance is taking place 100% of the time and your license is safeguarded. Frankly, no insurance policy provides this type of coverage.
A reliable ID Scanner for age verification that operates stand-alone and provides the basic features of verification and documentation is a necessity for all marijuana retail outlets. Using a driver’s license scanner does not mean employees can now fall asleep at the wheel. It should be used as an integral tool to assist and empower employees to work smart and take the guesswork out of the equation. They can instantly identify expired, altered, and suspicious ID/DL cards within seconds.
It may appear that the more features an ID Scanner have to offer, the more value or performance it has. On the contrary, the best ID scanners for age verification operate stand-alone and off-line with simple features and less focus on data storage and manipulation. Less is more in terms of ease of use and minimizing cost.
ID Scanners for Age Verification will ensure your business can effectively comply with the ever-changing marijuana legal age and ensure your business is compliant and your license is protected.
Purchase Limit Alerts
Over-selling of cannabis is another common compliance violation for which dispensaries tend to get their licenses canceled. Each state has limits on the amount of cannabis flower that a particular customer can purchase and possess at a given time.
Therefore, retailers must ensure that they do not sell customers more cannabis than is legally allowed in their area. A POS system with automated purchase limit alerts can help enforce these regulations and prevent mistakes that could prove costly for the business in the long run.
Hours of Operation Compliance
Most states in the US mandate that cannabis transactions can only occur during certain legally authorized hours of the day. Selling cannabis to customers beyond the legally sanctioned hours of operation could lead to fines, license cancellations, and other types of penalty.
Therefore, cannabis dispensaries must invest in a high-quality age verification scanner with a special, ‘programmable store hours’ functionality. This would automatically prevent any transactions at the dispensary outside the legally approved hours of operation.
Reporting and Compliance Integration
The Marijuana Enforcement Tracking Reporting & Compliance (METRC) is a cloud-based compliance management solution that needs to be integrated with the automated POS system for maximum operational efficiency. Most cannabis-compliant POS systems are already integrated directly with METRC at the time of installation, for the purpose of automated compliance reporting.
METRC integrated POS systems allow dispensaries to automatically report their daily inventory, adjustments, and sales to the federal or state track-and-trace system. This kind of integrated and automated reporting system helps cannabis dispensaries save time and increase efficiency while remaining totally compliant with local and federal laws.
Sales and Inventory Reports
Automated, cannabis-compliant POS systems also provide sales and inventory reports, analytical data on the average price per sale, as well as monthly and yearly sales quantities. In some states, cannabis retailers need to track certain metrics with regard to their business.
Therefore, a robust and comprehensive suite of automated sales and inventory reports can prove very useful for maximum legal compliance. Such an automated system would be able to record and produce all sales and inventory data at a moment’s notice, preventing any confusion and delay in the process.
In Conclusion
Keeping the above factors in mind, investing in smart technologies can work to build best practices in streamlining every transaction so compliance is met easily and effectively. Both a compliant POS system and an ID Scanner for Age Verification are essential tools to assist marijuana dispensaries to stay in business and improve standing in their communities.
