Cultivation Software: What To Know Before You Buy
If you own or are planning to start a cannabis cultivation business, you’re probably thinking about what software you need in your tech arsenal.
Doing all the work in spreadsheets, chasing people down hallways, and endless meetings isn’t the way to succeed.
So why not invest in software to help with the busy work? But wait! Before punching in your credit card, take a few tips from us.
Continue reading to find out what you should know before you make your next purchase.
What is Cultivation Software?
Cultivation software are programs for cannabis growers that help streamline operations and maximize yields.
These programs organize data points around your plants and often include ERP and supply management technology.
While the general concepts behind most cultivation software remains the same, individual software products achieve them very differently. It’s important to know what works best for your business.
Seed-to-Sale versus Supply Management
Seed-to-sale and supply management can be two distinct offering of cultivation software. The former is predominantly used for tracking plants after they leave the farm.
Meanwhile, supply management is all about supply-related operations that happen on-site. Compliance data is also an important piece to both of these.
Connecting to METRC for eases many seed-to-sale or supply-related endeavors within cultivation software. We’ll discuss more on that later in the article.
Essential Features
There are a few essential features that cultivation software should have. We did the work to put them into perspective. Check this:
- METRC-synchronization
- Accounting
- Inventory Management
- API integrations
- Search Functions
- Cloud Storage
- Data Encryption & Security
- Customer Support
Sounds about right? Check out Outspoke!
METRC Data & Compliance
METRC-sync ensures your work on any cultivation software directly mirrors what data is reported to local regulators.
You can sync software with METRC using your METRC API documentation that is just right for your business.
You are constantly reporting to the state; so why not use that data as the foundation for your cultivation software? It ensures total compliance.
API Integrations
Chances are the software you choose will likely be partnered with other technology providers. These relationships usually take form as integrations.
API integrations that aren’t related to METRC are tied to specific told shared between two technologies.
They offer added actionable advantages to cultivation software you might not get exclusively in the platform. A huge plus!
Analytics
Analytics give any cultivation software an added edge, especially in terms of reports. You can use these reports to check on the progress of your business.
Make sure to analytics when you want to review your sales, batches, and how much you are growing. You should be able to analyze your harvests to understand the efficiency of your operation.
Customer Support
Great customer support is a 100% essential to any cultivation software purchase. Employees can use the customer support function if they need any assistance.
You will feel much better knowing that customer care can support any technical difficulties or when you are not sure how the product functions.
Cultivation software maintains critical data on your business. Customer service is a must.
Employee Access & Permissions
Employee permissions keep your company focused on new cultivation software. A program with roles permissions let’s individual members focus on part of the platform they need to succeed.
You might also have contractors and other people working with you who need some form of access to the program.
Make sure that you can give limited access to people so they can see the right information. Without this security step, you could be vulnerable to data loss.
