Aria Biswas

Aria Biswas is head of marketing and cannabis events at Meadow, a cannabis retail software system for dispensaries.

Hall of Flowers cannabis retail sales powered by Meadow software

Hall of Flowers is changing the game for cannabis trade shows. One of the stand out experiences of the 2019 show was the ability to buy samples directly from large arena booths like Kiva, Flow Kana and Cookies to forego the long lines at the show's central dispensary.

We were very excited to power these sales through Meadow’s cannabis POS system, so we documented the 2-day show in a highlight reel featuring our partners. Check out the video to relive the show—or to see what you missed!

<figure>
<video-player url="https://vimeo.com/514141707"></video-player>
<figcaption>Highlights from the Fall 2019 Hall of Flowers show in Santa Rosa, California, where Meadow powered an upgraded point of sale experience, allowing dispensaries and brands to sell samples directly from their booths. </figcaption>
</figure>

A big shout out to our incredible parters: [Vapor Room](https://getmeadow.com/case-studies/vapor-room "Vapor Room cannabis dispensary"), [The Green Door](https://www.greendoorsf.com/ "The Green Door cannabis dispensary"), Kiva, Canndescent, Good Brands, Sherbinskis, Nabis, Ember Valley, Genius, Pluto, Calyx Peak, Dixie Elixirs, The Botanist, Packwoods, dosist, Flow Kana (Willie's Reserve, Foria, Brother Davids, Binske, Kikoko, Eel River Organics), Cookies, TriState Distribution, Continuum, Bloom Farms, Saucey Farms and Cresco.

<figure>
![Matt Barnes, David Hua, Mario Guzman, the Sherbinskis crew at Meadowlands](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/6DUiCd0GY3H66Hi6aD8Bro/172f99d048229044245b46d1a2b691cc/190926_HoF__052.jpg)
<figcaption>Former Laker turned canna-entrepreneur Matt Barnes, Mario Guzman aka Mr. Sherbinski, with Meadow CEO David Hua and friends.</figcaption>
</figure>

We'll continue to bring these elevated experiences to licensed events across California and set a new standard of excellence and trusted service for cannabis retailers and brands.

<callout>Want to be part of our California cannabis events community?
<a href="#community-email-list">Join Meadow's Community Email List</a></callout>

![Cannabis retail software at the Meadow booth](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/6kKSB5H2MKm0X8upaXslVd/9e7b44971d29c7d47ac386c6fefb85de/Meadow-s_cannabis_retail_software_on_the_Elo_hardware_system.png)

### Interested in Selling Cannabis Directly From Your Event Booth in California?
Meadow offers compliant point of sale software and iPad or Elo-based hardware packages at licensed California [cannabis events](https://getmeadow.com/community-and-events "cannabis events") across the state. Contact events@getmeadow.com to learn more about our cannabis sales event rentals and our hands-on support.

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![Cannabis retail software for licensed cannabis events in California](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/2tHcAaadblwbma59tHVVe8/6120b357ee60fa76542672e50e92dfcd/1.png)
<figcaption>Isa from the Meadow team helps a Hall of Flowers event partner get their POS system ready to roll before the show begins.</figcaption>
</figure>


Hall of Flowers cannabis trade show cannabis retail arena booth sales powered by Meadow software

Watch the video to go inside this unique California cannabis trade show

Hall of Flowers: Arena Booth Sales, Powered by Meadow

cannabis consumption lounge at Northern Nights Tree Lounge

At the Northern Nights music festival, Meadow powered sales in the historic Tree Lounge, a pop-up dispensary and consumption lounge under the trees in the heart of the Emerald Triangle. This outdoor festival weekend was a highlight of summer 2019 for the Meadow team members who were lucky enough to call this "work":

<figure>
<video-player url="https://vimeo.com/514140463"></video-player>
<figcaption>Watch this highlight reel of this unique cannabis lounge and campout music festival experience in Northern California along the Eel River.</figcaption>
</figure>

### The Cannabis Retail Experience
Booths circled the perimeter of the Tree Lounge, which gave customers an opportunity to connect face to face with representatives of the participating brands. This gave festival-goers an opportunity to learn more about the cannabis products by speaking with growers and manufacturers and brand reps.

From their own iPad, rand employees sent orders to the central pop-up dispensary in an onsite barn, powered by San Francisco dispensary, [The Green Door](https://www.greendoorsf.com/ "The Green Door cannabis dispensary"), with support from licensed distributor Filigreen. After customers paid for and received their items at the barn, they could then enjoy them in the outdoor consumption lounge before returning to the multiple music stages or jumping on a floatie on the Eel River.

<figure>
![Buddy Buddy Cannabis](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/63qJ6skaVSrUeuE5bgCs4S/a3e6421ed1288edbb660515879581eeb/Buddy_Buddy_Cannabis.png)
<figcaption>"I've tried at least 4-5 different softwares in the cannabis industry, and this is definitely the most user friendly." - Beka, Buddy Buddy brand rep</figcaption>
</figure>

<callout>Want to be part of our California cannabis events community?
  <a href="#community-email-list">Join Meadow's Community Email List</a></callout>

![Northern Nights music festival](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/2ufnkkseDzFuEc82c6hkNj/1e55e48324c1c0c898929a92765bb6c7/Northern_Nights_music_festival.png)

### Interested in Selling Cannabis Directly From Your Event Booth in California?
Meadow offers compliant point of sale software and iPad or Elo-based hardware packages at licensed California [cannabis events](https://getmeadow.com/community-and-events "cannabis events") across the state. Contact events@getmeadow.com to learn more about our cannabis sales event rentals and our hands-on support.

Northern Nights cannabis consumption lounge

Watch highlights from this unique cannabis lounge and campout music festival experience

Northern Nights Cannabis Tree Lounge, Powered by Meadow

David Hua

David Hua CEO and Cofounder of cannabis POS startup Meadow.jpg

David Hua CEO and Co-Founder of Meadow

Meadow's cannabis point of sale

__April 2016__

When we started Meadow in 2014, it was with a vision to make medical cannabis more accessible to patients in California. 

That seed of an idea soon grew into [Meadow Delivery](https://meadow.delivery "Meadow Cannabis Delivery") — what started as a medical cannabis delivery e-commerce site that quickly featured more than 45 California dispensaries and delivery partners spanning across 38% of California zip codes.

In February 2015 the business expanded to include [Meadow MD](https://meadowmd.com/ "Meadow MD"), a platform for medical cannabis doctor’s recommendations. Using Meadow MD, thousands of patients across California connected with independent physicians from the comfort of their homes.

The next branch of growth came with the launch of the Meadow Platform in November 2015, a [cannabis retail](https://getmeadow.com/blog/tags/cannabis-retail "cannabis retail") software suite for dispensaries and delivery services in California.

<figure>
![cannabis analytics and reporting](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/6xLiWoOiHo3ZchQeqvOj4Q/4a0f4d9b010b4b84a4e3595e4a1f91a3/cannabis_analytics_and_reporting.png)
<figcaption> Meadow's analytics for dispensaries and delivery services. </figcaption>
  </figure>

Today we’re incredibly thrilled to announce even more exciting news.

Meadow has closed $2.1 million in seed funding from a group of incredible investors, including David Lee, YC partner Justin Kan, Reddit CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman, Reddit co-founder and YC Partner Alexis Ohanian, Angel Investor and Entrepreneur Hiten Shah, Slow Ventures, Liquid 2 Ventures, SOMA Capital, and Poseidon Asset Management.

We’re so grateful for these investors and their belief in our business, our growth trajectory and our values.

Today we’re also announcing the launch of our Cannabis Point-of-Sale and Inventory Management systems, the newest additions to Meadow Platform.
These systems have been built specifically for cannabis businesses, incorporating feedback and best practices from patients, dispensary partners, legislators and regulators across California.

### Why Does Cannabis Software Matter?
The cannabis industry is rife with complication.

Regulations governing medical cannabis businesses can be difficult to navigate and are often in flux. Therefore, many established companies have not built tools for cannabis businesses or developed services tailored to their needs.

Some have even dropped cannabis business clients once they learned the nature of their business.

This is where Meadow comes in. We understand, appreciate and value the cannabis industry and the far-reaching medical applications of cannabis. We also have our finger on the pulse of industry regulations.

__We’re creating solutions specifically for cannabis companies.__

<figure>
![turnkey cannabis software](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/3e3cryVtcSyHMJmpyL99g9/12c042af714fe87427c545f38751ed51/turnkey_cannabis_software.png)
</figure>

<callout>“We’re replacing outdated software and tools made for other industries with technology built from the ground up for cannabis. We work closely with our partners to understand the pain points and intricacies of their operations and work with regulators to ensure legal compliance and best practices.” — Meadow CEO and Co-founder David Hua </callout>

### What Are We Going To Use the Money For?

We’ll continue to scale [getmeadow.com](https://getmeadow.com "getmeadow.com") and Meadow MD to continue to provide our patients with access to medical marijuana.

We’ve seen and experienced the benefits of medical cannabis firsthand and will continue to service our patients and partners with the highest quality products and services.

“We plan to connect the entire cannabis supply chain, from farm to flame. We have the opportunity to build technology that will become the backbone of this industry — in California and beyond — and we’re thrilled to have an incredible group of forward-thinking investors backing our mission.” — CEO David Hua

<figure>
![Meadow founders Y Combinator cannabis startup](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/2ru5B8bxmT0mOLxu3o5SHF/f948ab74ffb49c89b9db81945e819c55/Meadow_founders_Y_Combinator_cannabis_startup.jpeg)
<figcaption>The Meadow Founders at a 2014 Y Combinator event in Palo Alto. From the left: Harrison Lee, Scott A Garman, Rick Harrison, and David Hua.</figcaption>
</figure>

Here’s what some of our investors have to say:

__Justin Kan — Y-Combinator Partner & Spokesperson, Founder Justin.tv/Twitch__

> With Meadow you have the combination of the right team, with the right product, at exactly the right time. We’re coming to a tipping point. Support for marijuana legalization has hit an all-time high. At YC we see software disrupting old industries all the time. Meadow is disrupting this budding new industry by bringing the dispensaries, customers and patients all to one platform.

__Alexis Ohanian — co-founder, Reddit, Y-Combinator Partner__

> We’re just beginning to unlock the medical, social, and economic benefits of cannabis and the results are already striking. Meadow is building world-class technology for a massive industry that’s only just starting to grow — the stakes have never been higher.

__Hiten Shah — co-founder at Quick Sprout and Crazy Egg, Angel Investor__

> I invested in Meadow because I believe in the team, their mission and the medicinal benefits of cannabis. I believe in David Hua and his team’s ability to create the best software for the cannabis industry that touches both cannabis businesses and the consumers interacting with them. I’m really excited to see this industry move forward with it’s potential to improve the lives of countless people. I believe Meadow will be a big part of the industry’s future with their software skills and, equally important, their compassion for the industry and it’s consumers.

__Emily Paxhia — Founding Partner & Director of Relations, Poseidon Asset Management__

> Our decision to invest in Meadow was based on the quality of the founders who brought true technology solutions to an underserved market. We also strongly believe Meadow’s platform and strategy works well with the regulations and optimizing the B2B experience. We appreciate that the team focuses on the quality of the product and understands how critical the political process is to the growth of a company in the cannabis industry. Their passion for the industry is translated into user-friendly and elegant platforms, which make the experience for patients and customers pleasant and efficient.

__Jeff Ferguson — President and co-founder @ PipelineDB, Angel Investor__

> I invested personally in Meadow because they are doing for the emerging cannabis industry what Uber did for transportation — take control of it by building great software.

### A Rising Tide Lifts All Ships
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our investors and our patients. Thank you for your support! We’re so excited to continue to grow with this dynamic industry, and we’re grateful to provide quality medicine to our patients.

__The cannabis movement and social justice are at the core of Meadow’s values and DNA.__ We’d like to thank everyone who has joined us in advocating on behalf of cannabis. We’d also like to thank those who join us at education events — let’s continue to hone our swords together.

<figure>
![David Hua, Steve DeAngelo and more cannabis industry leaders](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/1cb49TURJ1i0b1ToDgddMb/b227229bbebfbcc3555e42268fc2040f/David_Hua_Steve_DeAngelo_and_more.jpeg)
<figcaption>David Hua, CEO and co-founder of Meadow; Steve DeAngelo, Founder and CEO of Harborside Health Center; Gavin Kogan Esq., attorney, political advocate and cannabis entrepreneur; and Emily Paxhia of Poseidon Asset Management at the Silicon Valley AgTech Conference in May 2015.</figcaption>
</figure>

__A special thanks to our teachers, mentors and partners. We stand on the shoulders of giants.__

A heartfelt thank you to: Steve DeAngelo, California Growers Association, Debby Goldsberry, the faculty at Oaksterdam, California Cannabis Industry Association, and The ArcView Group.

And a thank you to all of our partners, who are on the front lines everyday: The Apothecarium, SPARC, Vapor Room, and all of our other dispensary and delivery partners. We wouldn’t be here without you.

<figure>
![Cannabis Delivery Risk Mitigation](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/7CoWPJlucRyIjKO83qdEH3/4a2108b3c5187debe18b8a6d88238abc/Cannabis_Delivery_Risk_Mitigation.jpeg)
  <figcaption>A recent event held at Meadow on Risk Mitigation and Driver Best Practices.</figcaption>
</figure>

### Stand with us on the right side of history.

To learn more about Meadow, check us out on [Instagram](https://instagram.com/meadow.sf "Meadow Instagram"), [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/getmeadow/ "LinkedIn") & [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/c/Getmeadow/videos "Meadow YouTube").


Read more to learn about where we started

Meadow Raises $2.1 Million in Seed Funding To Grow Cannabis Retail Platform

Cannabis CPA Patrick Finnegan and cannabis Tax Attorney Regina Unegovsky shared that in 2021 the CDTFA is starting to use Metrc variance as a means of audit, which means having a cannabis retail system that keeps you fully compliant is more important than ever.

How Cannabis Dispensaries Can Avoid & Prepare for a Cannabis Audit

2021 marks three years since the launch of California’s legal cannabis market in January 2018; this milestone is triggering a wave of audits by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA), as originally reported in an article published in Marijuana Business Daily by John Schroyer titled “[California marijuana firms face more state tax audits, millions of dollars in unpaid taxes](https://mjbizdaily-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/mjbizdaily.com/california-cannabis-firms-face-more-state-tax-audits-unpaid-taxes/amp/ "California marijuana firms face more state tax audits, millions of dollars in unpaid taxes").”

The article states that “cannabis tax experts warn the industry should expect state regulators to ramp up tax enforcement, noting that several audits of marijuana businesses are already underway.”

We asked two of the tax experts quoted in the article, CPA Patrick Finnegan and Tax Attorney Regina Unegovsky, to shed more light on what’s going on with taxes, tax enforcement, and what to do in case of an audit. 

<figure>
  <video-player url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLYiXoARcGU"></video-player>
  <figcaption>In this excerpt from our webinar, cannabis CPA Patrick Finnegan shares about tax audits and the inaccuracies he's seeing in the way dispensaries are calculating their sales, local and excise taxes. </figcaption>
</figure>

The three year make California’s legal cannabis market, which equals the state’s statute of limitations for how far back auditors from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) can go to examine business tax returns. 

In this discussion, we learned that the CDTFA is increasingly reviewing Metrc accounts and using inventory variance as a means of audit up and down the California supply chain, which means having a system that keeps you fully compliant is more important than ever. While other systems let you oversell, Meadow's built-in guardrails keep you compliant with clean inventory in all of your sales channels (in-store, delivery & online). 

<figure>
  <video-player url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc_uMDx40xg"></video-player>
  <figcaption>Watch the full webinar conversation with cannabis CPA Patrick Finnegan, cannabis Tax Attorney Regina Unegovsky, and Wally Wong at Meadow.
</figcaption>
</figure>


Get insight into how to prepare for tax audits in California cannabis

Insight Into 2021 CDTFA Tax Audits & Tax Issues in the California Cannabis Supply Chain

Mellows cannabis infused marshmallows

For brand new cannabis dispensaries, planning your inventory is all trial and error. But experienced operators with data to analyze know that buying and planning the perfect mix of products is the best way to boost revenue and keep your customers happy.

In our Retail Forecasting webinar with Senior Consultant Sara Betesh, Betesh Buying Group and Cem Atli, Senior Omni-Channel Merchandise Planning Manager at MedMen, we gleaned lots of valuable insights from this expert cannabis buyer and planner team.

Below are five key takeaways when thinking about how to plan your product offerings at a new dispensary or delivery service. The future of your company depends on what sells; you want to appeal to a wide audience but ensure you're establishing a strong customer base that wants what you have to offer. 

## 5 Things All Dispensary Buyers and Planners Should Consider When Planning Your Inventory Assortment:

1. **Analyze your demographics and location to find trends**

    The tone, brand and types of products at your cannabis retail business will be set by the company; what is your target demographic? Tourists, new consumers, longtime smokers, moms who are looking for alternatives to an evening glass of wine? To create the right product mix, get to know your consumer by asking them questions, analyzing their buying behaviors, and identifying trends. Demographics and location will determine what moves fastest; each dispensary is unique in who they're targeting and who they'll serve. A cannabis delivery service in downtown Los Angeles will have a different customer base than a mom and pop dispensary storefront in Humboldt. Some consumers are more concerned around price, some care more about THC percentages, some want to support local brands and sungrown farms in their region. The dispensary buyer and planner are responsible for working together to identify  trends and connect with vendors to see what and how much of the desired product is available.

2. **Use your data and test products**

    Whether you're a new licensee or an existing dispensary operator, you'll need to actively experiment with your product mix. Finding the right products to carry is a mix of using your intuition and also digging through data as it accumulates; you have to be confident that the product you're bringing in will have demand. Start slow; if you haven't sold a product before, you won't have any data yet for that particular SKU, but you can use historical information about the category or brand to try to anticipate demand. Typically a buyer and planner look at sales history together to forecast how fast things will move and when you need to restock. Start by ordering a small amount of a new product to see if there's interest with your customers; if something sells quickly, that's a good sign and can be the baseline for your next test, whether that's increasing inventory of that SKU or testing similar products to see the demand. 

3. **Protect your core dispensary business** 

    It's good to understand who is coming in, how frequently, and what they're looking for. If you're limited on shelf space and you're still getting to know your customers, it's best to start with tried and true products that you know will move. Flower has always been king; figure out which brands you want to work with and then start adding other categories (vapes, edibles, tinctures) to build a cohesive assortment of product options that meet your customer where they are.  Is your customer interested in buying top shelf eighths once a month, or are they primarily looking to buy a single pre-roll that they come in once a week for? Some new products will sell; some won't. When you have a solid customer base, you've established top selling products, and can reasonable predict your inventory velocity, that's when there's usually extra dollars to test new offerings. Most buyers are allocated a certain amount to spend on products; look to see if your existing product categories are actually driving business, which then gives you flexibility to try out new products and increase offerings.

4. **Expand product offerings slowly to mitigate risk, and educate your budtenders and your customers**

    If, for instance, you are seeing an uptick in female shoppers and you want to develop a women's section dedicated to beauty, sleep & intimacy, you can do small tests to see if your customers are interested in these new types of products. With each new product you introduce, ensure your budtenders understand what the product is, how to use it, what the benefits are, and how to speak about it to customers. Or, if you're introducing a new line of pet products, this is an opportunity to attract a new segment of customers who might not otherwise come to your business; ensure you have proper marketing channels in place to distribute new product information. Consider the idea of related selling; if you drive one person who is a pet owner into your business for the first time, what other incremental products might they buy if they're nurtured and educated the right way? Selling one dog CBD tincture is insignificant to your business, but if that customer ends up also buying a pre-roll that they didn't expect to love, and they keep returning to shop with you, and tell their friends, that's a sustainable way to increase your business and grow your customer base. Always consider: how can I keep my loyal customers returning and simultaneously bring in new demographics to introduce them to products they'll love?

5. **Review inventory data weekly to identify inventory glut vs. opportunity**

    Get in the habit of reviewing your inventory data weekly, at the same time, to begin to identify trends. You want to look for Glut vs. Opportunity: __Inventory glut refers to anything you have an excess amount of__, and sales aren't there. This is what you want to markdown because you're wasting money on this product if you keep it around. If products aren't selling, you need to get rid of it. Work with your planner to bake in discounts and promos, and assume that not everything is actually going to sell at it's full listed price. You'll also begin to see __inventory opportunities which are products that sold out quickly__, which means that you likely left dollars on the table by not stocking enough of them. 

    "Only look at inventory data on Mondays, from the previous week," says Sara Betesh, Senior Consultant at Betesh Buying Group. "If you look at it everyday, you’re going to drive yourself crazy. Monday is reporting day. Then build your plan for the week, and execute. You can't be scared to mark products down. If the product doesn't sell, GET RID OF IT. You need the space for something else." 

Atli Cem, Senior Omni-Channel Merchandise Planning Manager at MedMen, suggests "doing sales forecasting for the year, quarter, month, and week to see trends and give yourself flexibility for things like seasonality. 

<callout>If you have an unproductive SKU on the floor, look at the previous 3 months worth of sales. Replace that one SKU with your average performing SKU, and see what that does. You will be mind-blown." -Atli Cem, Senior Omni-Channel Merchandise Planning Manager at MedMen</callout>

<figure>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QfHFuUJHVDM" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<figcaption>Senior Consultant Sara Betesh at Betesh Buying Group shares her perspective about how dispensaries should be thinking about buying inventory.</figcaption>
  </figure>

Meadow's [inventory management](https://getmeadow.com/features/inventory-management) solution makes life easier for both inventory buyers and planners. Meadow's new Velocity & Insights tools help:

- Forecast inventory demand with precision
- Maximize inventory & shelf space
- See any product performance in an instant
- Identify which products need to be moved off shelves
- Understand who your customers are, and how those demographics are shifting
- Identify growth in sales channels like delivery, pick-up and online ordering.
- Take a break from Excel reports with easy-to-read (and beautifully displayed!) data that you can customize right in Meadow Admin.
- Get answers FAST with at-a-glance analytics on any device.

Discover what dispensary buyers and planners should consider when planning an inventory assortment

5 Tips for Cannabis Retail Forecasting & Smart Inventory Buying

Meadow's connected cannabis retail system reduces labor and optimizes your dispensary operations for efficiency.

How A Fully Connected Cannabis POS System Can Save You Thousands Every Year

We get it: taxes, regulatory costs, and other hurdles inherent to cannabis retail can make margins thin.

Where dispensaries really stretch margins and make concrete gains is with operational efficiencies and smart, compliant workflows. [California has a unique set of cannabis regulations](https://getmeadow.com/blog/why-california-dispensaries-need-a-california-specific-pos-for-compliant "California cannabis regulations"), and not all software is built with workflows to make it easy to meet all of California's unique state and local requirements. 

Here are 3 reasons why dispensaries who cobble together four or five different software services to power just their dispensaries operations (POS, delivery, loyalty program, text marketing, etc) are unfortunately __not__ running as an efficient cannabis retail operation as possible: 

### 1. Loss of Valuable Customer & Sales Data
If you require three or four different software subscriptions each month to run your dispensary marketing and sales, it's likely that a couple of the platforms don't work together, and data may be getting lost or corrupted as it moves from one system to another. Your dispensary data is extremely valuable to help you understand who your customers are, what they're buying, when and where, and if you can't easily find this information (and more importantly, trust the data), your business is operating below its true revenue potential. Futher, you should be able to put that historic data to work to send targeted marketing to your customers with deals and offers tailored to their shopping patterns and preferences for the greatest ROI.

### 2. Missing Compliance Guardrails
Some cannabis POS systems have the proper guardrails in place to keep you 100% compliant in the state you operate in; others will let you oversell and go into negative inventory. In California, you are required to keep your inventory variance below 3%; if you are consistently reporting inaccurate data (or worse, not reporting data at all) you are putting your hard-earned license at risk by remaining out of compliance.

If you discover one of these [Metrc red flags](https://getmeadow.com/blog/3-metrc-red-flags-for-california-cannabis-retailers-to-watch-out-for "Metrc red flags"), it's likely you will then need to hire cannabis consultants and/or lawyers to clean up data inaccuracies and discrepancies. 

It's important to know which regulatory environment your POS system is built for. If a cannabis retail software system is designed to operate in many states and countries, it's likely a sign that the system doesn't work perfectly in any single location (at this stage in cannabis legalization, there are wildly different regulations in each legal market and most teams have not yet created region-specific compliance guardrails for every single requirement in that market).

### 3. Unnecessarily High Labor Costs
Hiring Metrc consultants to find and fix compliance errors can add up quickly, especially if your Metrc account has been out of compliance for prolonged periods of time. Often, when using multiple pieces of software to run your dispensary, your team will be expected to download CSVs from platform and reupload it into another one, which leads to more labor costs, repetitive data entry, and often, less satisfied employees. When you are deciding which software you will use for different parts of your dispensary operations, you want to evaluate what clunky workarounds may be required to pair various cannabis softwares together. 

---

__Meadow’s Connected Solution for Smarter Dispensary Management__

You could cobble together different software services, but hundreds of storefront dispensaries and delivery teams across California choose Meadow to manage their operations, grow their sales, and reduce their workload.

A fully connected cannabis POS system, designed specifically for California compliance, can truly __[save you thousands of dollars every year](https://getmeadow.com/pricing "save thousands of dollars every year")__ by:

1. Creating valuable sales and customer data
2. Funneling that data into targeted marketing campaigns from the same system
3. Helping you sleep at night knowing you're fully compliant
4. Reducing unnecessary labor costs
5. Letting your team focus their energy not on mundane data entry but on more satisfying & revenue-generating tasks

Learn more about Meadow's approach to connected [cannabis retail](https://getmeadow.com/blog/tags/cannabis-retail "cannabis retail").

<figure>
  ![Martin Olive Vapor Room dispensary Meadow cannabis POS review](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/6tjWbsNfY7bMF1c6E2ciWt/16a5710b223fbc97a40333e38847182d/Martin_Olive_Vapor_Room_dispensary_Meadow_cannabis_POS_review.png)
<figcaption>Hear more about how Martin and his team at [Vapor Room](https://getmeadow.com/case-studies/vapor-room "Vapor Room") are getting real value from using a connected, all-in-one cannabis retail platform </figcaption>
</figure>


Read more to discover how your dispensary can save thousands every year in labor costs

3 Common Operational Inefficiencies at Cannabis Dispensaries

Choosing a cannabis POS system is an important decision that goes beyond just searching for the lowest monthly fee. Each system offers a different approach to workflows that will affect all facets of your operations every single day, and it's an important decision as your POS system not only processes sales but interfaces with required Metrc tracking, and will affect how easy it is for your operation to remain compliant. 


Why California Dispensaries Need A California-Specific POS for Compliant Sales

Choosing a cannabis POS system is an important decision that goes beyond just searching for the lowest monthly fee. Each system offers a different approach to workflows that will affect all facets of your operations every single day, and it's an important decision as your POS system not only processes sales but interfaces with required Metrc tracking, and will affect how easy it is for your operation to remain compliant. 

As cannabis remains illegal at the federal level, each state-legal cannabis market has its own unique systems and regulations that operators must follow to remain compliant. In Colorado, for instance, there are two separate market systems (adult-use and medical), with separate products for these different customers groups, whereas in California, there is a single supply chain serving both types of customers with a single supply of inventory. 

Many POS systems don't account for the nuances of how products must move through these different supply chains, and have attempted to create a one-size-fits-all approach to their cannabis retail systems, which often lead to clunky workflows and complicated work arounds to make their systems work in your regulatory structure. 

To put it simply, many of the big multi-state cannabis POS systems are not designed for the California supply chain, and while they seem affordable at first, they often end up costing you more in the long run with unwieldy workflows that affect every aspect of your day-to-day, from compliance and inventory management to marketing, and sales. Smart dispensary operators in California understand the value in choosing a software that translates to fast, accurate or compliant operations.

Meadow is the only California-specific point of sale software, build just for California operators. Instead of serving the cannabis industry in many state-legal markets, since 2014 we've chosen to focus on creating the best dispensary POS solution just for California dispensaries. As a result, Meadow offers more sophisticated workflows for aspect of a modern dispensary, because it is built specifically for the nuances of California’s complicated regulatory and compliance requirements.

Many other POS systems require several additional third-party software subscription add ons to offer the same functionality Meadow includes in our set of essential tools, such as delivery, text marketing, and loyalty programs.

There are a number of reasons that set Meadow apart from generic, multi-state cannabis softwares systems:

### 1. 100% Compliant with California Regulations

When onboarding new retail or delivery operators, we often see compliance nightmares that other inexpensive multi-state systems allow to fester. Meadow is a premium product, and dispensaries who run Meadow remain fully compliant with Metrc, the state's track-and-trace system. These same dispensaries also save an estimated 20% a year in labor costs by simplifying compliance workflows that used to require tedious data entry for both the front and back of the house. With Meadow, owners reduce the need to hire consultants and lawyers to help clean up data inaccuracies and navigate audits that get flagged by using POS systems designed for other regulatory environments that create errors in California compliance.

### 2. Workflows That Save Time and Money

Because Meadow is designed solely for California, all of our features work in tandem to provide the best workflows in California cannabis. In the past, dispensary operators have had to piece together disparate pieces of cannabis software to run their businesses which creates unreliable data and clunky workflows; no other solution offers as many features and benefits in a single package as Meadow’s all-in-one system, including delivery, text marketing, and loyalty programs. In other POS systems, the cost of these third-party software subscriptions add up and don't provide the same sophistication that an all-in-one system offers. 

### 3. Cannabis Software That Evolves as Regulations Evolve

Our compliance experts are in tune with the minute changes in the constantly shifting regulatory environment of California cannabis, especially important with 2021's consolidation of the regulatory agencies. You don't want to rely on a system that is going to leave you hanging for months because they are busy building features for another state.

We work hand in hand with our dispensary and delivery customers across California to understand their workflows and what features and updates that will truly make a difference in their day-to-day operations. Other systems may not get around to making your feature requests while they build systems and workflows for other state legal markets.


Discover how a cannabis POS system built for your state regulatory structure can optimize your workflows

This cannabis retail guidebook covers how dispensaries can prepare for 4/20 marketing, inventory and omni-channel sales to maximize revenue and drive customer loyalty.

Meadow's Ultimate 4/20 Dispensary Guide

The annual 4/20 holiday creates opportunities for dispensaries to maximize revenue, build engagement and drive customer loyalty. 

Getting the maximum benefit out of this holiday requires thoughtful preparation — making sure you have the right products on your dispensary shelves, strategic discounts that don't eat into profits, budtenders informed of up-sell and cross-sell opportunities, targeted marketing and cross-promotions, and an experience that will bring customers back all year long.

Dial in your operations, inventory, sale channels, and marketing so you can focus on connecting with customers, making big sales, and having fun in the process.

## __Download Now: <a href="#420-guidebook">The Ultimate 4/20 Dispensary Guidebook</a>__

![Ultimate 4/20 Guidet](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/6K57dcWAg3HjTUVs7kM7JF/33aec0449dfe5f90d0480a1f1caf10df/Ultimate_420_Dispensary_GUide___2_.png)

__Meadow's Ultimate 4/20 Dispensary Guidebook is a 28-page cannabis retail resource that covers 3 key sections of dispensary operations on the biggest sales day of the year: __

### Section 1. Cannabis Marketing: Smarter Marketing For Bigger Sales

Rise above the 4/20 noise with promotions, messaging, and loyalty incentives that speak to your customers and drive bigger sales. We'll walk you through crafting strategic discounts, the value of customer retention, effective Loyalty/VIP programs, using CRM data to build audience segments, targeted text marketing that really works, and cross-promotions with brands. Make the most out of your marketing budget and watch your ROI grow!

### Section 2. Dispensary Inventory Management: The Right Inventory, Right in Time
Your inventory is the lifeblood of your business, so make sure to have a smart buying and stocking strategy well in advance of the biggest sales day of the year. This starts with knowing your data, like sales from last 4/20, your fastest-moving products, your high-margin products, and products you need to clear out. We'll walk you through collecting data, forecasting demand, inventory best practices, and moving out unproductive SKUs. 

### Section 3: Sales: Creating an Omni-Channel Sales Strategy
4/20 is all about moving products and delighting customers — opening up omni-channel sales at your dispensary checks all the boxes. Get in-store, online, express pick-up, delivery, and phone order experiences and flows dialed in so customers get their products quickly and easily, and you can meet the increased demand (and make it look easy!)

![Ultimate 4/20 Guidebook Preview](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/4QssCtF1NC2DLSiMRgVxsv/c63f019336eeffcdd97f70c236b83965/Ultimate_420_Dispensary_GUide___3_.png)

__Get the Guidebook Now: <a href="#420-guidebook">The Ultimate 4/20 Dispensary Guidebook</a>__

Get your cannabis retail operation prepared for the biggest sales day of the year with this in-depth guidebook

The Ultimate 4/20 Dispensary Guide

Cannabis Retail is easier with a connected dispensary POS

Modern cannabis customers expect the dispensary sales experience to be like any other retail industry — fast, easy, efficient, accessible everywhere. To fully capture every potential customer, dispensaries should offer a seamless customer experience, no matter where they're buying your products. This approach, which is designed to delight customers in every sales channel (online, via delivery, in-store, or curbside pickup) is called Omni-Channel:

*> "Omni-channel sales is a sales approach that focuses on providing seamless customer experience across all of your sales channels, whether the customer is shopping from a smartphone, a personal computer or directly in your cannabis retail store. Customer relationship management and marketing channels work together with these sales channels to improve customer experience and customer retention."*

### Why are Omni-Channel Sales So Important for Cannabis Retail?
It is important to meet your customers where they shop, as opposed to forcing them into a narrow customer journey. A [Harvard Business Review study](https://hbr.org/2017/01/a-study-of-46000-shoppers-shows-that-omnichannel-retailing-works) indicated that 73% of customers shop using multiple channels during their customer journey. Providing the customer with more flexibility throughout the ordering process leads to more sales and traffic both in your cannabis retail store and online.

Omni-channel sales also greatly improve customer loyalty. A consistent brand experience across multiple sales channels results in repeat visits to your website and/or your brick-and-mortar shop, as well as a higher rate of recommendations to friends and family. 

One of the most important aspects of an omni-channel strategy is that it allows you to make informed decisions based upon your own proprietary sales data. When you can easily see where your customers shop (online only? always for express pick-up or delivery? a mix of in-store and online?), it helps you better understand your customer demographics. Armed with more data about who your customers are and how they like to shop, you can then strategize on how to best market to these different segments of shoppers, and craft marketing campaigns to help re-engage with different segments of your customer base.

### Meadow Makes Omni-Channel Sales And Dispensary Inventory Management Simple

The true power of Meadow is in our connected [cannabis retail](https://getmeadow.com/blog/tags/cannabis-retail "cannabis retail") software; you can easily get insight into your entire operation and put your data to work to help grow your business.

With Meadow, from a single inventory reception via a Purchase Order, you instantly make products available for purchase across any or all of your dispensary sales channels: in-store, online ordering, delivery, pickup, Weedmaps, etc. If you want to offer a product as available in-store, but not on Weedmaps (i.e. a penny pre-roll next to the register), with the click of a button you can hide it from your Weedmaps menu. It's easy to decide where products will appear.

With each sale, your inventory automatically updates in every single sales channel, with no manual labor required.

Every customer who places an order has their information directly populated within Meadow's native CRM (customer relationship management software), where you can offer loyalty points or add them to a customer group for future automatic discounts. 

Over time, this collection of CRM data continues to become more valuable to dispensaries, as it gives you real data about your consumers (average basket sizes, frequency of purchases, which sales channels they use, which categories they typically buy, and more).

Where you're really able to make gains and increase your ROI is when you're able to put this historic customer and sales data to work. With a built-in [cannabis marketing](https://getmeadow.com/blog/tags/cannabis-marketing "cannabis marketing") suite in the same platform, you can segment your customers based on different layers of information like average basket size, categories, loyalty points and send targeted text marketing campaigs. These campaigns funnel customers directly back into your sales channels, helping you boost ROI and customer retention by keeping them happy and sending them relevant deals and discounts and VIP access that feels tailored to their needs and wants.

![Connected Cannabis Retail ](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/5TEYhM91BuXJi3oqOQCiLi/25d4f3ddc26d20c888ee82c1484550f4/Cannabis_Retail.png)

With Meadow's connected dispensary software, you unlock a complete set of revenue streams with in-store POS, online ordering, pick-up, and [cannabis delivery](http://getmeadow.com/blog/tags/cannabis-delivery "cannabis delivery software") in one simple-to-use platform. Smart workflows and fewer clicks to navigate the system mean everyone from budtenders to managers and accountants are happier when they upgrade to Meadow's streamlined dispensary software solution, built specifically for California's unique [cannabis compliance](http://getmeadow.com/blog/tags/cannabis-compliance "Cannabis Compliance Software") requirements.

![Green Cross Meadow Dispensary POS](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/iR7wmH4W1qWtBTt9tKTpO/279e48fbdb102cdafe9dee7835ba9d0d/Green_Cross.png)

Boost ROI and grow your dispensary using a connected, omnichannel approach to cannabis retail

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Posts tagged “Cannabis Retail”

Hall of Flowers: Arena Booth Sales, Powered by Meadow

Northern Nights Cannabis Tree Lounge, Powered by Meadow

Meadow Raises $2.1 Million in Seed Funding To Grow Cannabis Retail Platform

Insight Into 2021 CDTFA Tax Audits & Tax Issues in the California Cannabis Supply Chain

5 Tips for Cannabis Retail Forecasting & Smart Inventory Buying

3 Common Operational Inefficiencies at Cannabis Dispensaries

Why California Dispensaries Need A California-Specific POS for Compliant Sales

The Ultimate 4/20 Dispensary Guide

Omnichannel Sales: The Value of a Connected Dispensary POS for Growth

Product

Company

Social

Support