What is an ERP?  

ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning, and is a platform that streamlines a company’s operations, efficiency, data, and finance. The ERP becomes the internal hub for all moves made within the buisness. Major companies utilize ERP to ensure that every aspect of their organization across all locations are connected, tracked, and accounted for. Massive corporations like Ford, Under Armour and Coca-Cola all utilize ERP systems, and specifically use Microsoft-based ERP systems. The biggest draw for companies to implement an ERP is scalability- ERP systems are built for long term growth.  

What is a Cannabis ERP? 

A cannabis ERP has all the same functionionality that large scale organizations utlize, but also includes features for compliance. The ERP connects cultivation, production, manufacturing, distribution, and retail along with the most important aspect of cannabis- compliance. Any self-respecting cannabis ERP removes the need for QuickBooks or other standalone finance platforms because ERP inherently includes financal support. Metrc and BioTrack intergrations are also embedded within cannabis ERPs to ensure compliance at every step of the plant life’s process from planting the seed to hitting the customer’s exit bag.  

What is Seed-to-Sale? 

Seed-to-Sale is a term that gets used a lot in the cannabis space and may appear interchangable with POS, or even ERP, at times. Seed-to-Sale is typically used as a compliance system and POS to organize and hold all the operator’s information. This is helpful however, Seed-to-Sale does not integrate finance platforms forcing users to utilize QuickBooks or other finance platforms. While some Seed-to-Sale software programs may be more robust than others, overall they are limited by: 

• No finance management  

• No or extremely limited support for manufacturing or processsing  

• No cross-departmental integration 

• Reporting that only pertains to specific transactions or tasks, not representative of the entire buisness suite of functionality  

A Seed-to-Sale software focuses on regulatory compliance, but doesn’t offer the resources for scalability. 

What are the Major Differences Between ERP and Seed-to-Sale? 

Seed-to-Sale is a regulatory platform for compliance and limited reporting. It works for dispensaries as far as inventory and retail sales tying into state regulatory platforms. ERP is a data powerhouse that connects every aspect of an operation, vertically integrated or not, across all locations and becomes the central source of truth for business decisions. A Seed-to-Sale delivers a summary of what happened, while an ERP delivers context of why things happen and what to plan for in the future. 

Who Should Use a Seed-to-Sale vs. an ERP?  

Seed-to-Sale is a great option for single location retailers. A standalone dispensary needs a compliance tool to ensure they’re in line with Metrc, BioTrack, or whatever regulations in their area are needed.  

ERP is a great option for vertically integrated companies, multi-location and multi-state groups, and companies primed to scale their operation. Cultivators, manufacturors, producers, and retailers are able to make use of an ERP to align their entire organization, including financials.  

ERP users are able to replace multiple disconnected business tools like separate Seed-to-Sale, inventory platforms, manufacturing softrware, accounting software, and loose spreadsheets and pulls all data into one unified platform. ERP reduces human error by eliminating double entry across serveral touchpoints.  

Not every operator needs an ERP to survive; many are viable candidates for a simple Seed-to-Sale software. The operators looking for growth, streamlined operations, and a single software partner to track every COG, every BOM, every invoice, every penny moved through the organization need to be looking at an ERP.  

Ready to look into ERP software options for your cannabis business? We have a comprehensive guide for selecting the right cannabis ERP for your operation.

The post Cannabis ERP vs. Seed-to-Sale: Key Differences & Benefits Cannabis Operators Need to Know appeared first on 365 Cannabis.

Let’s look at what that means for cannabis operators. 

What is Changing for BioTrack States? 

BioTrack’s state partnerships are now wihtin the Metrc umbrella. Currently, BioTrack manages state compliance systems for: 

• Arkansas 

• Connecticut 

• Delaware 

• Hawaii 

• Florida 

• New Hampshire 

• New Mexico 

• New York 

• North Dakota 

• Virginia 

Illinois was previously a BioTrack state, but began onboarding all operators to Metrc earlier in 2025, citing the desire to utilize Metrc’s “RFID technology that offers real-time visibility into product movement—from cultivation to sale.” They elaborated on the switch by stating that “this switch allows regulators and businesses alike to reduce manual data entry, track compliance more accurately, and respond faster to discrepancies or recalls.” 

As of July 1, 2025, Illinois is officially a Metrc state. 

As of the Metrc/BioTrack announcement, there are no public plans to move BioTrack states off of BioTrack and onto Metrc. These contracts, however, are owned by Metrc and the move from BioTrack to Metrc is a reasonable possibility.  

What is BT Government? 

To assist with the acquisition, BioTrack’s state regulation branch has been segmented into its own entity, BT Government. BT Government, as stated by Metrc, “will support the delivery of regulatory technology to state partners.” The BT Government division be overseen by BioTrack’s current Chief Operating Officer, Moe Afaneh, while still being connected to Metrc via the acquisition. In the interim, BT Government operating somewhat independently will allow Metrc and BioTrack to work together managing the existing BioTrack state regulatory contracts.  

What will BioTrack Do Now? 

Within the Metrc press release it is stated that “BioTrack will expand its focus on commercial cannabis solutions, including ERP and POS platforms.” BioTrack currently operates the cannabis ERP system Alleaves and had acquired MJ Freeway in 2024. Interestingly, MJ Freeway has been the state regulatory system for Pennsylvania since 2017. Pennsylvania operators have expressed issues with the platform, which may lead to changes on the horizon especially as their adult-use bills get closer to realization.  

Does the Metrc/BioTrack Merger Change Anything for New York? 

New York is a unique situation because it was currently in the process of onboarding operators to BioTrack’s Seed-to-Sale system for operator regulation. In November 2024, New York’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) stated that they were preparing for the mandatory intergration of BioTrack for cannabis license holders. The original timeline saw all New York operators being fully integrated between August 1, 2025 to October 1, 2025.  

On August 5, 2025, the same day the press release was issued by Metrc, the OCM announced that the BioTrack integration deadlines are paused. Their bulletin to all New York cannabis license holders stated that they “must evaluate systems implications for both the agency and licensees and determine the extent to which this development affects STS (Seed-to-Sale) integration in New York.” 

Is Anything Changing for Metrc States? 

Metrc currently operates in the following states: 

• Alabama 

• Alaska 

• California 

• Colorado 

• Colorado Industrial Hemp 

• District of Columbia 

• Guam 

• Illinois 

• Kentucky 

• Louisiana 

• Maine 

• Maryland 

• Massachusetts 

• Michigan 

• Minnesota 

• Mississippi 

• Missouri 

• Montana 

• Nevada 

• New Jersey 

• Ohio 

• Oklahoma 

• Oregon 

• Rhode Island 

• South Dakota 

• US Virgin Islands 

• Virginia 

• West Virginia 

Through the BioTrack acquisition, we do not anticipate these states experiencing any changes to their regulatory system or practices.  

How Does This Affect Me? 

For now, this acquisition does not change any day to day operations for any cannabis license holders.  

For our 365 Cannabis partners, our team is hyper-vigilant to all changes in the industry and are constantly ensuring that every step our partners take is within current compliance. No matter what turns the industry may take, 365 Cannabis customers always receive the best possible support to ensure their success.  

To learn more about 365 Cannabis’s commitment to excellence in cannabis, please reach out to our team. 

The post Everything to Know About the Metrc and BioTrack Merger appeared first on 365 Cannabis.

Why “Best of Breed” Cannabis Tech Stacks Are Failing You – And What to Do About It 

I love my job. I love talking to operators about how to win, and I do it ALL DAY. These conversations with operators (hopefully ) then turn into work sessions for new customers.  

I love WATCHING my customers win. 

For years, cannabis operators have been told they need to choose: either invest in niche, cannabis-specific tools built for their sector—or adopt a sprawling enterprise ERP designed for traditional industries. The result? Many teams end up stitching together a #FrankensteinMonster and a dozen other point solutions into a tangled mess they call a “tech stack.” 

Here’s the hard truth: if your cannabis operation is running on a patchwork of disconnected apps, you’re not scaling. You’re surviving. 

I want to talk to YOU about why that Canna-Tech stack you’re building might be your biggest liability: 

1. Data Silos Everywhere 

Each single purpose solution runs its own database. Inventory counts in Canna-Tech inventory system don’t reconcile with financials in QuickBooks. Compliance reports pull from yet another silo. Real-time visibility for reporting? Forget it. 

2. Integration Nightmares 

Yes, APIs exist. But integrations between these small platforms are fragile, limited, and often require costly middleware or manual exports. Every new tool you add increases complexity exponentially. 

3. Surface-Level Functionality 

Sure, some Canna-Tech handles RFID and METRC reporting well. Cultivation specific websites might give you decent cultivation tracking. But when you need serious financial controls, advanced manufacturing, or multi-site supply chain management? These tools just aren’t designed to handle it. Don’t forget, all these tools started as a METRC skin! 

4. Support Headaches 

With multiple vendors, who do you call when things break? One app blames the other. Your IT team spends more time managing tickets than improving operations. 

So my favorite question to ask is: What if you didn’t have to choose between specialist tools and enterprise power? What if you could have both? 

365 Cannabis is built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central — a global ERP backbone supporting finance, inventory, supply chain, and compliance from a single source of truth.  

But it’s not just a generic ERP: 

• Cannabis-specific functionality is layered in by industry experts and operators. 

• Compliance tools evolve alongside regulatory changes. 

• Cultivation management and retail ops are native, not bolted on. 

• Power BI reporting gives real-time visibility across your operation. 

• Microsoft’s platform means scalability, security, and innovation baked in. 

Why Choose Microsoft + 365 Cannabis Over Can-Tech? 

• One System, Not a Stack: Finance, ops, compliance, and cultivation, unified. 

• Global Platform: Microsoft continuously invests billions in the ecosystem. 

• Real-Time Data: From seed to sale to financials, all in sync. 

• Single Vendor: No finger-pointing, just clear accountability. 

• Industry Depth: Cannabis expertise built into the ERP—not just in sidecar apps. 

Stop Building Fragile Tech Stacks 

Stacking Canna-Tech, and homebrewed spreadsheets on top of QuickBooks isn’t a long-term strategy. It’s a stopgap. And it’s holding you back. 

With 365 Cannabis on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, you’re not choosing between best-of-breed or best-of-suite. You’re choosing the best of both. 

Ready to upgrade? Let’s talk. 

The post ‘Best of Breed’ is failing you appeared first on 365 Cannabis.

These restrictions require dispensaries to think outside of the box, research and understand ever-changing trends, and act fast on the opportunities that remain.

Below are seven dispensary advertising ideas that are simple yet effective.

Roll in Some More Green with These Brilliant Dispensary Marketing Ideas

1. Create experiences worth sharing

This one should be obvious. Dispensaries are subjected to a ton of local and state laws restricting or eliminating advertising options. Nonetheless, you can turn your marketing focus entirely to the experience you’re providing to your customers.

If you’re running a dispensary with a purely transactional relationship, you’re missing out on a much-needed customer retention strategy.

Dispensaries are the new Starbucks, popping up on just about every corner. If you’re not doing something that differentiates you from the dispensary across the street, you’re automatically losing.

Experiences don’t have to break the bank and are often small tweaks to staff and store flow. Some of our favorite in-store experiences include activities during the wait time, friendly and knowledgeable budtenders, and complimentary refreshments.

2. Web Presence

The ball is in your court on your private website, where you control the conversation and legally engage your audience.

Driving traffic can be more difficult than you think. With so much competition, it’s easy to get lost in the crowd. Dispensary SEO is the most effective way to increase traffic and exposure. Constantly publishing content, and optimizing your site for user experience are practical tactics. And, collecting customer data will keep you at the forefront of your market.

3. Quality Social Content

The most popular social media platforms don’t allow ads from cannabis-related companies. The best alternative to ads is publishing useful content instead.

Dispensary Twitter and Instagram accounts often rank higher than certain web pages brought up in Google searches. Creating social content that contains keywords you want to rank for allows you to rig the system.

4. Online Reviews

As a business owner and consumer, you understand how important online reviews are for your dispensary marketing. A 2019 local consumer review survey from BrightLocal found that:

• 82% of consumers read reviews for local businesses 
• Consumers read an average of 10 online reviews before feeling able to trust a local business
• 53% of consumers will only use a business if it has 4 or more stars
• 89% of 18 to 34-year-old consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations
• 97% of consumers read businesses’ responses to reviews

Word of mouth and personal recommendations are the primary sources of traffic for local businesses. Additionally, it is the fastest way to get new customers, especially for advertising-restricted industries. Create dispensary experiences that encourage, amplify, and escalate reviews and referrals.

5. Reward Loyal Customers

Dispensaries face a lot of limitations on how they can engage potential new customers. This makes it even more essential to retain and upsell the ones you’ve already got.

A loyalty or rewards program can foster long-term relationships with your dispensary, increasing the value of every customer.

The most important part of loyalty is communication. Ask for an email address in the checkout line for an e-receipt, and allow them to opt-in for promotional emails, newsletters, product updates, and tips. A great, low-friction strategy is to install tablets that let customers complete orders and fill in information themselves, right at the register.

6. Partner With Other Local Businesses

Dispensary marketing can work well if your business can partner with other local businesses that are cannabis-friendly. This tactic puts your dispensary in front of a warm audience that already engages with a specific product/service that complements your own.

Local restaurants, breweries, and even advocacy groups like NORML can drive traffic to your storefront. This tactic requires push-and-pull marketing. You must make sure you are promoting the other businesses if you expect them to be promoting yours.

7. Community Involvement

Show support for your community by hosting charity drives and volunteering at events. Charities are always looking for community partners to help raise funds and collect goods. Hosting a food, clothing, or toy drive shows your customers that you care. This also works well to get your staff out in the community.

Whether it’s a park clean-up or volunteer day at a shelter, this is a great opportunity to wear your branded swag, get photos for social media, and involve your staff and customers in an impactful way. You can also offer discounts to customers who donate items and volunteer time to drive traffic.

Manage your Cannabis Dispensary Marketing Efforts

365 Cannabis offers ERP software with built-in POS dedicated to the cannabis industry. If you want your cannabis brand to shine, make sure your technology supports all of your sales and customer loyalty efforts.

If you’re a dispensary, a grow operation, or any other cannabis-related business, we’re your one-stop cannabis software shop that’s just a short email or phone call away. Let’s get started with a demo!

The post 7 Dispensary Marketing Ideas for More Sales appeared first on 365 Cannabis.

To maximize the benefit from your current seed to sale tracking system, it may help to take a step back and examine how your people, processes, and system could improve.

After evaluating your current situation, you ultimately might decide to implement an ERP system. Although this sounds like a draining task, there are ways to maximize your seed to sale tracking system in the short-term while setting your new cannabis ERP up for success.

Make the Most of Your Seed to Sale Tracking System With These 7 Tips

Training

Every employee that will be using your seed to sale tracking system must receive thorough training. Hands-on training that is, ideally, conducted by your software provider is crucial to maximizing your return. Check with your software support team to see what ongoing trainings they can offer your current and future employees.

Dedicated Resources

It is critical to make sure that someone in the company is trained as the system “guru”—the go-to person for onsite questions and troubleshooting. This person can answer general questions, help find solutions, and relay important information back to the vendor. 

Having a dedicated resource within your company ensures that common questions are addressed company-wide, operations are not halted while waiting on your software vendor, and employees are not going against standard operating procedures.

Process Mapping

Establish process maps to ensure consistent data entry, easy training, and accessibility. Documentation written by your software provider is great for basic how-to refreshers but will be generic to functionality.

Keeping your own updated documentation that includes your companies’ best practices and operating procedures ensures that information is not forgotten or lost when someone leaves the company. The information can be easily shared with other employees.

Future Proof

Once your people and processes are in place, it’s time to evaluate the system itself.  While your seed to sale tracking software may be housing your data properly, is your vendor updating the system to meet current and future cannabis industry needs?

ERP vendors invest heavily in consistently improving their solutions with consistent functionality improvements, service packs, and various updates that allow users to benefit from emerging technologies, evolving regulations, and industry best practices. If you’ve invested in seed to sale but haven’t received updates, ERP can future-proof your cannabusiness.

Scalability

As the cannabis market matures, companies that can’t scale are quickly becoming stagnant or worse, closing shop. One of the easiest ways to ensure your business is ready to scale is ensuring your software supports growth.

Can your seed to sale software handle more than one state or country compliance tracking system? Multi-location? Multi-language? Multi-currency? Tax code? If your business is expanding, but your software is hindering growth, it may be time to check out ERP.

Functionality

The core of your seed to sale software tracking system should house all business-critical functionality. Integrations are useful as add-ons, but should not be relied on for core business activities. Standard cannabis operations, such as cultivation, processing, inventory, and retail should be built into the core of your seed to sale tracking software.

This is where ERP comes into play. Cannabis specific ERP houses a built-in financial system, standard seed to sale functionality, and the ability to customize the system to your unique requirements.

Measure ROI

Seed to sale software is an investment with direct and indirect ROI. To ensure you are getting the most out of your system, it is important to identify time and money savings, job function and process improvements, and overall growth.

Invest in a Practical Seed to Sale Tracking System

Implementing the above best practices can help cannabusinesses ensure they’re getting the maximum value from their current seed to sale tracking system.

However, fixes to your current system may not resolve issues with functionality, scalability, and overall growth.  If a new system is the better option for your business’s needs, the above steps will help you implement and build a solid foundation and future-proof your new cannabis ERP system.

Contact 365 Cannabis today if you have any questions about maximizing the value of your seed to sale tracking system or would like to see the unmatched benefits of cannabis-specific ERP.

The post 7 Ways to Maximize a Seed to Sale Tracking System appeared first on 365 Cannabis.

In most states, local governments have selected regulatory cannabis systems that require cultivators, manufacturers, distributors, and dispensaries to report everything from plant weight to harvest waste to retail labels, etc.

However, these state systems don’t help cannabis business owners run an efficient business. This is where seed-to-sale software comes in.

Seed-to-sale software systems promise to keep your business compliant and optimize your operations; however, they often fail in delivering on these promises.

Your business may need more than just a seed-to-sale software. Here’s why:

Absence of a Financial Core 

Seed-to-sale software lacks the accounting aspect of business operations software along with a plethora of other functionalities related to finance.

In most cases, a seed-to-sale vendor would integrate with another accounting software, like QuickBooks, to enable financial data to push/pull between the two systems.

The problem with integrating your finances lies in the instability of some integrations and the lack of industry-specific features.

Cannabis companies face strict regulations, and without a reliable financial system in place, they are one misstep away from a lapse in compliance. 

Lack of Traditional Logic

Much like the legal cannabis industry, seed-to-sale software is a relatively “new” product. Most of these platforms are proprietary software systems that are built from the ground up, sometime within the last ten years.

While it is great to see the cannabis industry creating jobs, this isn’t necessarily a good thing for cannabis companies because it results in products lacking key functionality that comes from traditional cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and retail software.

Not Built to Scale Across Multiple States

Due to the ever-changing world of cannabis, many seed-to-sale software companies choose to remain within a specific locale where they have experience and understanding of local regulations.

This could mean bad news for companies that plan to scale and expand into multiple states or internationally. 

Reliance on Disparate Systems

Traditional seed-to-sale software isn’t equipped with accounting software, point of sale (POS) software, menu boards, or customer relationship management (CRM). This leaves its users to look elsewhere to satisfy their other needs.

Most seed-to-sale systems do allow integrations into their platforms; however, these integrations can be unreliable, and the bills from using multiple platforms add up very quickly.

Choose a cannabis ERP software that grows with you

These shortcomings all boil down to one simple truth. seed-to-sale software helps businesses stay compliant, not competitive.

Cannabis companies face steep competition. Without the ability to track product performance, create products through MRP, measure financial performance, rely on their software to provide the most accurate organizational data in real-time, etc., they will quickly fall behind their competitors. This is where cannabis ERP can step in and provide value to cannabis companies.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software far exceeds seed-to-sale software in terms of functionality and long-term sustainability. Combining traditional supply chain management capabilities with cannabis-specific functionality, ERP delivers cannabis businesses with an all-encompassing solution. This eliminates the need for businesses to use separate systems for each department. ERP software allows cannabis businesses to manage their entire operation in one synergistic system.

Conclusion

365 Cannabis is an ERP solution with functionality specifically tailored to the challenges and requirements of the cannabis industry. Built on Microsoft Dynamics Business Central, 365 Cannabis combines traditional supply chain management capabilities with cannabis-specific functionality for a complete solution.

The module-based ERP is robust. This setup allows cannabis businesses to use the system in its entirety—from financials, cultivation, processing, CRM, distribution, to retail—or consume modules individually with the option to add more as they scale.

Move beyond compliance and gain a competitive edge. Request a demo with 365 Cannabis today.

The post 4 Shortcomings of Seed-to-Sale Software appeared first on 365 Cannabis.