Receiving cannabis inventory is the process of ordering product from a licensed distributor, verifying the delivery and its paperwork on arrival, accepting the transfer in Metrc, and building a purchase order in your POS before anything reaches the shelf. Do those steps out of order and you get the three problems every operator knows: inventory discrepancies, audit exposure, and product you cannot legally sell.
The cannabis industry keeps expanding, and with it the demand for well-organized, efficient dispensaries. Operating a dispensary means delegating tasks to a team of professionals who can handle a range of responsibilities. The best way to do that is by curating your own cannabis dispensary standard operating procedures, or Cannabis SOPs, and communicating those guidelines to your entire staff. New team members especially appreciate well-documented step-by-step instructions to reference during onboarding.
This is a complete guide to product intake and deliveries in Metrc states, covering ordering, security, paperwork, receiving through Metrc, and building the purchase order. Every step is written so a new hire can follow it on their first shift.
In This Post
- Order Products
- Schedule the Delivery with the Distributor
- Delivery Procedures
- Count and Inspect All Products from the Distributor
- Final Inspection of the Invoice and Sign Off
- Confirm Payment Terms
- Receive the Inventory Transfer in Metrc
- Create a Purchase Order at Point of Sale and Begin Selling
- How Meadow Keeps Your Dispensary Compliant
- Cannabis Inventory Receiving FAQs
All six states Meadow serves run on Metrc: California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York. The workflow below applies in each of them, though the specific manifest and paperwork requirements vary by state.
Order Products
The first step in receiving cannabis inventory is ordering product from licensed distributors. Make sure you are stocking licensed brands that meet the requirements set by state and local government agencies. Cannabis products must pass a quality assessment, be lab tested, meet child-resistant and general packaging requirements, and be tracked in Metrc.
Once those products and brands are verified, place your initial order with your distributor. Ordering based on reliable data is critical whether you are a new dispensary or an experienced buyer.
Your First Orders as a New Dispensary
For new dispensaries, it is essential to choose brands carefully, accounting for the competition and the local market. When you are launching, you have an idea of your customer but you do not yet know who your audience will actually be. Review what other brands and price points are available from dispensaries and delivery services nearby, and use that to make educated guesses about what to stock first.
To create a balanced menu, understand the customer base and demographics you serve, and select brands and distributors that meet their needs. Research the products available locally and compare them against your target demographic. Make sure the products you order align with your brand identity.
Do not overstock at the beginning. Purchase only enough for the initial orders until sales increase. After that first purchase, monitor sales with analytics and ordering velocity tools to identify your best performing products, then use that data to make sure you never run out of them. All POS systems are different. With Meadow, you have access to that data within a few clicks.
Ordering Cannabis Products for Your Dispensary
For experienced dispensary buyers, you have the benefit of existing data. Rely on sales transactions and current inventory levels to make informed decisions about what has historically sold, how quickly, and at what margin. All of it is viewable at a glance in Meadow's inventory velocity tool. Cannabis retailers should be stocking shelves against real-time, accurate sales data, not instinct.
With Meadow's premium velocity feature, you can check the speed at which products sell and avoid over-purchasing or tying up money in slow-moving inventory. Tracking velocity in real time gives you a clear picture of how each product is performing, so you can optimize inventory management instead of guessing at it.
Schedule the Delivery with the Distributor
Scheduling the arrival of inventory matters, but so does recording what you ordered and when it is expected. Maintaining an accurate, up-to-date record of inventory on order is essential to running the floor well, and it saves your staff the headache of planning a day around a delivery nobody logged.
Delivery Procedures
Verify the Identity of the Delivery Driver Upon Arrival
Keep a sign-in book for drivers so you can monitor who enters and exits your shop. It is a simple, effective way to confirm that deliveries were made on time by authorized personnel, and it gives you something to reference later if a discrepancy surfaces. Most dispensaries have a policy of assigning drivers a guest badge to stay compliant with their state cannabis control agency. Issue the badge, and make sure the driver signs in.
Security Measures
Dispensary safety is critical when checking in a delivery, especially if cash handling is involved. Can anyone walk into your shop if they claim they are dropping off a delivery? Verify the identity of the delivery person and set a policy for having security present while product is counted. Staff training and inventory monitoring matter here too. Prioritizing security protects your staff, your customers, and your business from preventable losses.
Read more: How to Build a Dispensary Security Plan
Confirm Required Paperwork
Cannabis is an intensely regulated industry. Before receiving a delivery, refer to your state and local regulations. Most delivery rules involve required paperwork covering transporter details and Metrc tag information.
California, Michigan, Massachusetts, and New Jersey all require a shipping manifest that includes information about the cannabis being transported, along with the names and registration numbers of the dispensary agents involved. All four require transporters to hold a valid license issued by the regulatory authority overseeing cannabis in that state. They must also use a manifest meeting state-specific requirements, which generally include the businesses involved in the transport, the personnel, the date and time of departure and arrival, the quantity and description of the products, the license plate and vehicle description, and the route. Each of these states requires transporters to comply with Metrc. If the driver does not have the proper paperwork on hand, you cannot compliantly receive the product.
These states also require Certificates of Analysis, or COAs, to be uploaded to Metrc for transparency, and Metrc tags must be used to track the movement of the cannabis. Make sure the driver has these documents prepared on arrival, and that they are accurate.
Count and Inspect All Products from the Distributor
Take your time here. The quality assessment is one of the most important steps in the process. Inspect and count the product to confirm the Metrc paperwork is correct. Once confirmed, make sure the Metrc manifest, the invoice, and the physical quantities all match.
More on Quality Control
Things to look for during your quality assessment:
- Check for any damaged packaging.
- Verify the packaging meets child-resistant requirements and other state-regulated standards.
- Confirm the product's expiration date. Set a standard in your SOP for how close to expiration you are willing to accept a product. The closer it is to expiring, the less time you have to sell it and make margin before it has to be destroyed.
Following these steps keeps your dispensary compliant with state law and puts safe, high-quality product in front of your customers. Never receive a package in Metrc without confirming these details first. Doing so puts your dispensary at risk.
Read more: 5 Reasons Your Dispensary Inventory is Inaccurate
Final Inspection of the Invoice and Sign Off
Once you have inspected and verified the product, confirm the cost per unit is accurate and matches the agreed-upon rate. Check that no additional product has been included that could throw off your inventory counts. This step prevents compliance and accounting problems later.
If any vendor reimbursements or credits are due, make sure they appear on the invoice, and notify the supplier of any discrepancies. Both the driver and your employee need to sign the Metrc manifest, confirming receipt of the product and acknowledging that all checks and inspections are complete. Done consistently, this is what keeps inventory counts accurate, your dispensary compliant, and the supply chain intact.
Confirm Payment Terms
Next, determine whether payment is due for the received product. When handling cash payments, signed paperwork is a must for transparency and record-keeping accuracy. A money counter streamlines the process and reduces errors. If you are on net terms with your supplier, schedule a payment pick-up as soon as possible to avoid service interruptions. Update your records and accounting system to reflect the payment, and confirm it aligns with the received product's cost and quantity.
Receive the Inventory Transfer in Metrc
After completing all checks and inspections, confirm that the electronic Metrc transfer matches both the manifest and the physical inventory before you receive it. This is what keeps inventory counts accurate and your dispensary compliant. If anything does not match, contact the supplier immediately. Once everything reconciles, use Metrc to intake the products into your point of sale software.
This is the step where the wrong software costs you. If your POS makes you export a CSV, reformat it, and upload it by hand, every delivery becomes an opportunity for a discrepancy, and every discrepancy is an audit risk you created yourself. Meadow's Metrc integration is direct, with no CSV uploads at any point in the receiving process. See how the receiving workflow actually runs.
Create a Purchase Order at Point of Sale and Begin Selling
Now that you have received the transfer in Metrc, associate that package with a product in your point of sale. Confirm your products hold your shop's margin, record cost per unit accurately, and build the purchase order.
Meadow's Metrc integration simplifies inventory management, streamlines compliance, and lets dispensaries intake products quickly. Create a purchase order directly from an incoming transfer and leave no packages behind. Record payment terms as COD, Net15, Net30, or custom. Once entered, a badge reflects unpaid, upcoming, and overdue invoices, and you can filter those to fit your accounting workflow. Upload external invoices for your own records.
How Meadow Keeps Your Dispensary Compliant
With Meadow, dispensary owners can rest easy knowing inventory is handled, from accurately recording transactions to flagging when it is time to reorder. Our cannabis POS gives you the tools to stay current on what is moving, so your business never misses a beat.
- Cut the manual labor out with Meadow's Metrc integration. If you have been using a system with clunky workflows built for another regulatory environment, it is time to upgrade to a fully compliant system with no CSV uploads, ever.
- Built-in safeguards ensure streamlined sales, inventory accuracy, and protection against overselling.
- Fewer inventory discrepancies thanks to tools like cycle counts, which help you track inventory and maintain compliance while reducing losses and avoiding audits.
- Active account monitoring to ensure package accuracy and avoid false negatives.
- Accurate Metrc UID labeling using Meadow's proprietary labeling system, built for package-specific accuracy.
- Keep track of every inventory item and make sure Metrc packages are being sold correctly, with ease.
Cannabis Inventory Receiving FAQs
What paperwork do you need to receive a cannabis delivery?
At minimum, a shipping manifest that meets your state's requirements, a valid transporter license, and the Metrc tag information for the packages being delivered. In California, Michigan, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, the manifest generally must include the businesses involved, the personnel, departure and arrival times, the quantity and description of the products, the vehicle description and license plate, and the route. Certificates of Analysis must also be uploaded to Metrc. If the driver does not have this documentation on hand and accurate, you cannot compliantly receive the product.
What should you check before accepting a cannabis delivery?
Count the product and inspect it before anything else. Confirm the Metrc manifest, the invoice, and the physical quantities all match. Check for damaged packaging, verify child-resistant and state packaging requirements, and confirm expiration dates against the threshold set in your SOP.
Can you receive a Metrc transfer before counting the product?
No. Never receive a package in Metrc before confirming the physical count, the manifest, and the invoice all agree. Accepting the transfer first means you have attested to quantities you have not verified, and correcting it afterward creates the discrepancy trail auditors look for.
Which states require Metrc for receiving cannabis inventory?
All six states Meadow serves run on Metrc: California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York. Manifest contents, transporter licensing, and COA requirements vary by state, so confirm the specifics for your market.
Who signs off on a cannabis delivery?
Both the delivery driver and your receiving employee sign the Metrc manifest. That signature confirms receipt of the product and acknowledges that all checks and inspections are complete, which is why it comes last rather than on arrival.
Ready to Take the Risk Out of Receiving?
Receiving is where inventory accuracy is won or lost. Every manual step between the manifest and your POS is a place for an error to enter your count, and errors in your count are what turn a routine inspection into a problem.
Meadow's direct Metrc integration removes the manual steps: receive the transfer, build the purchase order from it, and start selling, with no CSV uploads anywhere in the process.
More Resources for Dispensaries
- Cannabis Inventory Management Tips for your Dispensary
- 5 Reasons Your Dispensary Inventory is Inaccurate
- Cannabis Dispensary SOPs: Opening Procedures Checklist
- Cannabis Dispensary SOPs: Closing Procedures Checklist
- How to Build a Dispensary Security Plan
Be sure you compare this SOP template with all local and state regulations in your area to ensure compliance. Regulations are always changing; please continue to check your workflows against the rules in your region.
