Why Should You Not Use Free POS Systems for Your Cannabis Dispensary?

As the cannabis industry goes mainstream with legalization, several companies are popping up with “free” POS systems for your cannabis dispensary. The term ‘free’ raises questions because it initially means that there would be no charges for the POS systems that are being provided. But is that even possible? Most companies promoting these things are basically marketing for their POS systems. Because a POS system cannot be completely free, it can be discounted but it cannot be for free. How will you know what are the things you would need to look for in a POS system for your cannabis dispensary? How are the proper POS systems different from these “free” POS systems for your Cannabis Dispensary? Read on to find out.

“Free” Cannabis Dispensary POS Systems

If you go for “free” cannabis POS systems, there are a few things you should be aware of. The POS system that you will get would have some limitations in it. There will be limitations in terms of usage of the system. Most of these systems are providing you a trial time period, where they let you access the basic things that can be done by point of sale systems and after a certain time period, you would have to renew your membership, this time a paid membership. However, if the system is for free, then the company would be charging you a higher processing fee, to settle the cost of the POS system. There would also be set-up and training costs.

Cannabis Industry Compliance

With the stringent rules over the cannabis industry, it becomes risky if you choose from one of the “free” POS systems. The rules and regulations in cannabis retail are quite strict. Even the paid POS systems have different levels of integration in terms of tracking cannabis. So, without proper compliance, your entire retail business would be at a risk of shutting down never to be opened again. Losing your license to just save a few bucks, would destroy your retail business.

Dispensary Tech Ecosystem

POS Systems are built to make your business grow with time. And to be particularly growing your cannabis retail, you would need to have a POS system that works seamlessly with cannabis marketplaces and the other existing software. The software would include even e-commerce and delivery applications. That is the only way your business would be able to flourish. Getting a free POS system might lead to having a questionable platform that does none of the above-said things. This would only result in your business getting stagnant. If the tech ecosystem does not have the price gun for POS system cannabis integrated properly, it wouldn’t be able to detect the cannabis being sold or stored in the inventory.

User-Compliance Interface

When you are getting a reputed POS system for your cannabis retail, you will get the best user-compliance interface that will help you to keep every detail of the product sold or stored in the inventory without a glitch. It will also help you to process your sales faster. Getting a free POS system might lead you to have frequent crashed machines and immense challenges in navigating through your sales and inventory. Not to mention, losing out on important data because the system might not back it up.

Long-term Costs of Your Ownership

If you are choosing a free POS system because the costs seem relatively lower to you, you might want to think again. Though initially the costs of the POS system might seem almost negligible to you, as time goes, the costs incurred over your ownership would increase tremendously. For a POS system that is bought with all the features installed, you will only make one time investment. For a non-paid system, your ROI would be equal to nil, whereas in case of a paid one, your business will only flourish and there is no other cost that is added afterwards.

Choosing the Correct POS System

When you are looking for a free POS system, the surety of the company staying in the market is doubtful. This is so because most companies that provide free POS systems, stay in the market for a very short-term. In that case, if they shut down, you’d have no choice at all but to again opt for another POS system. This would be wasting your time and your money. Instead of doing something which would ultimately affect your cannabis retail’s growth, select from the correct POS systems which are one-time investments.

While choosing the POS system for your Cannabis dispensary, remember to check through all these factors. Whether you choose a “free” POS system or onetime payment one, it would be your retail business which would suffer or grow. So, do your research accordingly.