Are you getting ready to start using METRC? Maybe your state just legalized cannabis, or maybe regulators have decided to implement the tracking software later in the game. Either way, you need to get on board to stay compliant and keep your license. There’s no sandbox or practice mode when you start using METRC, so getting it set up correctly from the beginning is going to make you and your employee’s work life so much easier.

Let’s start with the basics…

Good Data In, Good Data Out!

Get ready for a lot of data entry. You and your team are going to have to enter every physical movement, every added pesticide, every product alteration… everything into METRC. METRC is the digital mirror of what’s going on in real time in your facility. Enter the information correctly and timely, and you’ll be glad you did. You’ll be able to see where everything in your facility is located, who last touched it, and its entire history. Regulators will love you for doing it right the first time and every time after. 

Measure Twice, Cut Once.

The “guessing game” doesn’t tend to work out very well, and can create a lot of confusion, drama, and data cleanup in the long run.

Getting to 100% Confidence

It’s definitely a lot to learn – new vernacular, regulations, and software all at the same time. Here’s the good news – there are so many resources to help you! Indica Consulting’s METRC experts, integrated compliance software, employee training programs from the Cannabis Industry Institute… skip the guesswork, reach out to those resources, and make sure you know how to enter the data correctly. Cut corners and you could be looking at errors that lead to fines, fees, loss of license, and in some cases, even jail time.

1. Designate a METRC Admin (or two)

While owners absolutely need to understand what’s going on in METRC, there still needs to be an employee or two onsite who are in the trenches every day. An inventory specialist or somebody who has previous experience with METRC is ideal. The system changes often based on consumer feedback, so continued education through a consulting company is advised.

2. Order Your Tags: Plant vs. Product

Plant tags are waterproof RFID tags that are affixed to all living, viable plants of a certain size after the immature phase (this size varies by state) all the way through the growth cycle until they are harvested and grouped into a “harvest batch.”

Plant Tag (Source: Flowhub)

Package tags are used as transitory tags. This means that anytime the product changes form it is assigned a new tag, drawing an invisible line in the system from one package to the next so we can see the evolution of the product throughout its life cycle. Package tags also are used as the shipping label for the final product, allowing the RFID technology to track the location of the physical product. All cannabis flower or products must be associated with a package tag representing the production batch.

3. Take a detailed inventory (and we mean detailed)

Get organized – we emphasize it enough. Inventory is the most important thing you can do to prepare for METRC. Having a solid, accurate inventory of the products in your facility will allow you to easily transfer your data from live counts to digital initial batches.

4. The Admin Dropdown menu – Employees

You’ve already determined who is going to your Admin, and they should already be (or get ready to become) very familiar with the options on this dropdown. 

First, you’ll want to add the employees who are going to be using METRC and determine what permissions you’ll want them to be able to access. Maybe they just need to view the list of inventory and not have the ability to adjust it – make sure you’ve set them up correctly. 

Even if the state requires their own METRC training and provides resources like YouTube videos, you still probably want to look for outside consultants and training programs to get the deep-dive knowledge you need.

5. The Admin Dropdown menu – Strains

STRAINS MUST BE CREATED BEFORE YOU CAN CREATE ITEMS. “Strains” will be available in all license types but are mainly used by cultivators. If you’re a processor, creating strains allows you to make strain specific items for your flower-based products.

6. The Admin Dropdown menu – Items

Items are essentially your product skus. Each product defined by its unique characteristics, like flavor, will be its own item in METRC. For example, if you have five gummy flavors, you will need five different gummy items differentiated by flavor. If each flavor comes in 2 potencies, you’ll be entering 10 items into METRC. Each combination of unique characteristics must be its own item.

For example…

7. The Admin Dropdown menu – Locations

A location in a cultivation facility is how you organize plants you’d like to group together for bulk actions. For example, if I want to add the same nutrient to all your OG Kush veg plants at once instead of having to manually enter it into each plant, you would assign all OG kush veg plants to the same location. They can be set up by room, row, light, etc.

For processors, dispensaries, and other license types, locations are a way for you to track where your inventory is physically located. Keep this information up to date at all times.

8. Integrate Your Technology

Does your management system integrate with METRC? Your Inventory system? Point of Sale software? Do you have barcode and/or RFID scanners? Get up to date. Many companies use separate inventory management or similar software so they have a second set of data to compare to METRC, while other cannabis operators choose to use software and hardware that integrate directly into the system. Integrations and hardware can make your life a whole lot easier. Make sure to order and update any hardware or supporting platforms you want to use with METRC before you go live. At minimum, we recommend a barcode scanner for a much easier time entering tag numbers in METRC. If you have a large inventory, RFID scanners can come in really handy, too.