Cannabis Chains and MSOs – A Cash Management System Designed For You
The Problem
Cannabis retail means one thing—operators have to manage far more cash than other retailers. That’s the reality for the foreseeable future. Large amounts of cash at the dispensary creates problems, and those problems are multiplied exponentially when we’re talking about cannabis dispensary chains or MSOs (“multi-state operators”)
The size and scale for Chains and MSOs creates problems that small cannabis businesses don’t really have:
A Cash Management System (“CMS”) solves these problems—but not just any CMS. If you’re a cannabis chain or MSO, you need a CMS designed specifically to solve these problems.
First off, though—what's a Cash Management System?
Cash Management Defined
A CMS refers to a mix of hardware, software, and ancillary services that allow a business to track, manage, and secure cash in the most efficient, safe, and cost-effective manner possible.
The hardware consists principally of smart safes (deposit-only) and recyclers (deposit and dispense). These machines allow for the super-fast deposit of cash into bank-quality safes, a counterfeit check, the automation of the counting and sorting of money, and an audit trail for every dollar earned or spent.
The software makes the hardware “smart”, connecting each location to head office, providing instant visibility into your cash position, surfacing data for optimized cash pickups, centralizing the management of passwords and access to cash, and the aggregating of information to facilitate POS reconciliation and the overall strategic management of your cash. It also enables provisional credit to support cash flow.
Service is the secret sauce – without it, the hardware doesn’t function. Other services include armored car cash pickups (also called cash-in-transit or CITs) and cleaning supplies/consumables.
Here’s a summary of the required CMS Components:
Cannabis Chains and MSOs Need a Specialized Solution
As noted above, not all CMS are created equal. A CMS may be perfectly acceptable for a single location, even one that does tremendous revenue. Like a POS, however, a CMS that works for one or two locations will be woefully inadequate when you begin adding locations, especially if they’re spread out across a state or among states.
If you’re a chain or an MSO, make sure your CMS includes the following:
Support from a national service organization that has technicians who can provide implementation and maintenance services wherever you have a dispensary.
The ABCs of Getting Started
The cash management industry is an inch wide and a mile deep—a little bit of research is not enough. You need expertise to navigate the options and to make sure you choose the right set of CMS components for your organization. A company like CashTech Currency Products has that expertise, and most importantly, it operates a national service organization that can support any retail location in the United States. Your CMS will become ungainly and inefficient if you have to work with too many local players. A CMS is supposed to reduce the work, not add to your to-do list by forcing you to manage a disparate array of service providers.
This is a summary of the process you’ll want to follow to ensure your organization gets the perfect CMS—for now and for the future:
And then enjoy the remarkable benefits of a customized CMS that will drive efficiencies, lower costs, and make working at the dispensary more enjoyable and safer.
CashTech Currency Products is based in St. Paul, Minnesota, and has been in the cash management business for over 40 years, with a client base that includes banks and financial institutions, credit unions, cash processing centers, cash-in- transit service providers, casinos, retailers, and cannabis dispensaries and growers. CashTech is one of the largest independent service organizations in North America.