Successfully growing legal cannabis can be difficult, and we already wrote about how data can help your plants and business thrive. In this article, we focus on the different software packages that are designed for cannabis cultivators. There are 3 main types of software options for growers:

1. Regulated seed-to-sale
2. Unregulated seed-to-sale & enterprise resource planning (ERP)
3. Grow journals

Almost every state in the US, and country outside the US, requires some form of tracking via a seed-to-sale or track-and-trace software. These governments sign contracts with a single software company to provide solutions to cannabis growers in their region and then feed all that data to a central regulatory agency.

In short, regulated seed-to-sale software is required for all licensed cannabis growers in that state or region. Here are the required seed-to-sale softwares in the United States:

Metrc was created in 2013 by Franwell, a supply chain technology company with a large footprint in many industries, for the initial cannabis rollout in Colorado.  Since then it has grown extensively and is currently the system of record for:

• Alaska
• California
• Colorado
• D.C.
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Montana
• Nevada
• Ohio
• Oregon

Pros:

• Safe and reliable software trusted by many large governments
• Well-developed API for integrating with other softwares

Cons:

• Built primarily for the needs of regulatory agencies, not growers
• Does not accommodate all the data inputs desired by a cannabis cultivator

BioTrackTHC was founded in 2010 by a group of technologists and business people and won their first state contract in 2013 with the state of Washington. BioTrack is currently the system of record for:

• Arkansas
• Delaware
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Dakota
• Puerto Rico

Pros:

• Designed for business users as well as governments
• Includes more comprehensive solutions such as POS for vertically integrated companies

Cons:

• No external API for 3rd party integrations
• User interface can be confusing for some operators

Leaf Data Systems is a subsidiary company of MJ Freeway that is positioned specifically for government regulators.  MJ Freeway was founded in 2010 by a group of technology and business professionals. Leaf Data is currently the system of record for:

• Washington State

Pros:

• Designed for business users as well as governments
• MJ Freeway, parent company, offers consulting services for businesses

Cons:

• Past hacks / security lapses at MJ Freeway
• Troubled rollout in Nevada (lost contract to Metrc) as well as in Washington State

There are many more software packages beyond the three above that have been licensed by state regulators. Sometimes these companies call themselves seed-to-sale and other times they refer to themselves as enterprise resource planning (ERP) softwares.

The good news about business-oriented cannabis software solutions is that they are focused on your needs as a cultivator instead of the requirements of the state. And they usually integrated with the state’s required option so you don’t have to do double data entry.

Here are some options for unregulated seed-to-sale or ERP softwares for cannabis growers.

MJ Freeway

MJ Freeway is one of the largest cannabis software companies and is often in the news.  They provide dedicated software and consulting solutions for cannabis cultivators as well as every other vertical in the cannabis industry.

Guardian Data Systems

Guardian Data Systems has extensive software offerings for every vertical of the cannabis industry.

Viridian Sciences

Viridian Sciences bills itself as an enterprise ERP for all industry verticals and is unique in that it also offer a solution for tracking financials.

Flourish

Flourish is a seed-to-sale tracking system that also has a companion barcode scanner app for your phone.  They offer solutions for cultivation, manufacturing and processing.

Trellis

Trellis is a seed-to-sale software with a particular focus on cultivators and extractors.  They have a dedicated support fleet in California.

Agrisoft

Agrisoft is a seed-to-sale software that is a subsidiary of Kind Financial.

Mantra Logix

Mantra Logix is a software company that provides ERP solutions in other industries and has recently entered the cannabis industry as well.

365 Cannabis

365 Cannabis is Microsoft’s entry into the cannabis industry adapting it’s Dynamics 365 platform to the cannabis industry.

Leaf Logix

Leaf Logix is a vertically integrated solution with tools for cultivators, processors and a point-of-sale.

Flow Hub

Flow Hub is a technology-first seed-to-sale solution that features mobile scanning for barcodes as well as a point of sale package.

TriGrow

TriGrow is a dedicated cultivation solution that also has some grow automation features.

OptiLeaf

OptiLeaf is a software and hardward solution for cannabis cultivators that include a variety of automated sensors and other automation tools.

MotaLogistics

MotaLogistics is a comprehensive ERP and seed-to-software solution with a variety of applications for various industry verticals.

Trym

Trym is focused exclusively on cultivations and is a sophisticated software for grow management.

Grow journals are more simplified cultivation tracking software that focuses just on data logging needs of your grow.

Grow Buddy

Grow Buddy is a free garden tracking tool that’s designed by growers for growers.  It works on computers, tablets, and phones.

Grow Assistant

Grow Assistant is a dedicated desktop software (also works on iPad) designed for home and large scale cultivators.

Ample Organics

Ample Organics is the leading seed-to-sale company in Canada and has an impressive footprint.  They do not currently operate in the United States but may expand here in the future.

Web Joint

Web Joint recently raised a venture capital round and is currently in beta.