Before states started making medical and then recreational cannabis legal, growing marijuana tended to be a small, family affair. It was an opportunity to live on and take cues from the land, and not be governed by a corporate boss or Uncle Sam. The fear of operating an illegal business was tempered by the relative ease of existing outside the legal and regulatory system. Then, the weather was the biggest unknown variable; now, in addition to contending with mother nature, marijuana businesses must also face mountains of ever-changing regulations at the local and state level and, when it is inevitably made legal in all 50 states, the federal level as well.
While laws legalizing the growing and sales of cannabis have been a long-anticipated and welcome change for most in the industry, they are not without their struggles and frustrations. The cost of compliance is high, and the process is confusing at best and maddening at worst. The regulatory requirements are burdensome. And the competition from corporations is growing, putting many smaller operations at risk.
The end result, for many, means more hours at the computer and less time in the greenhouse; more time tracking products and sales for compliance and traceability and less time developing new ideas; more time deciphering volumes of regulations and less time to relax and enjoy life.
If this feels familiar to you, as it will for many working in small and medium-sized businesses in the industry, there is a simpler way to operate while ensuring constant compliance with all relevant regulations.
Cannabis Focused Backoffice Technology
There has long been a need for a comprehensive software solution built for the cannabis industry. Software that can simplify tracking, processing, and financial management in a single, configurable, easy-to-use platform. Most small and mid-size cannabis companies use multiple inefficient systems like QuickBooks and Excel that take ages and don’t fully meet their needs. These systems are frustrating because they were built for a different type of business. They require Macgyver-style workarounds and, because the different systems don’t speak to or interact with each other, result in bottlenecked production lines and hours spent replicating data into local and state regulatory databases. Even the most diligent people worry they will miss something, and no one wants to spend hours in an office just to lay awake at night anxious about whether the work was done correctly or sufficiently to satisfy inspectors.
What has been missing from the cannabis industry is a “hub and spoke” style of software. In this model, all of the data goes into a “hub,” which is the main database, and it spokes out to connect to all other systems. This kind of model is an “all in one” solution that covers accounting, sales, order management, inventory, manufacturing, regulatory compliance, and more and is known broadly as an ERP (or “Enterprise Resource Planning”) solution.
Learn more about Cannabis ERP Solutions
For example: if floor workers are producing prerolls, they input the relevant information (the registration tag numbers of the organic material they start with; how many grams were used to generate how many prerolls; if there was waste and if so, how much and from what registration tag; you get it). That information goes into the hub. The hub then transmits that information to the system that tracks inventory. It also pre-stages the information in all relevant regulatory systems. Currently, most cannabis business administrators have to manually duplicate all of that data from one system into another, which can take hours; a hub and spoke model turns it into a 15-minute process of review and approval before clicking “submit” and going about your day. A hub and spoke model also tells you when and where those prerolls are shipped, and, if they’re in a store whose sales you track, you’ll know when they were sold as well. And along the way, new registration tags are automatically generated at each required stage, making traceability a dream.
TigHC Was Made for Your Business
This kind of integrated, automated software solution is not too good to be true: it exists, and it’s called Tigunia Herb Commerce, known as TigHC. This holistic software solution was built exclusively for the cannabis industry – seed to sale – based on the hub and spoke model. It’s easy to implement and easy to use. It’s affordable, trustworthy, and well-liked by people who are already using it. And no, it’s not too good to be true.
Of course, a solution that solves so many problems but breaks the bank isn’t a solution at all. Tigunia is a small business that supports other small businesses, and their pricing reflects that. For a modest monthly licensing fee, you can eliminate as much as 80% of your overhead work. TigHC is constantly updated with new regulations, and all updates are included in the cost of your subscription.
Each business has different needs, so Tigunia customizes every implementation and can work with whatever budget a business has available. Simple, straightforward implementations can take as little as a few weeks and are very affordable; complex, custom systems take longer and cost more, but for businesses with highly specialized needs, a customized solution is worth its weight in green. It doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing approach, either; Tigunia staff are always available to help clients with any request, and it’s easy to reach a real person in real time. (No, really. Incredibly experienced and knowledgeable IT staff are available via phone and email 24 hours a day.)
Small businesses in the cannabis industry can and should thrive in the ever-growing legal marketplace, and TigHC helps those businesses compete at a higher level with less work and less stress. It’s high time to relax and enjoy the business you’ve worked so hard to build and grow, and TigHC can help.