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Cutting Through the Clouds with Integrated Point of Sale for CBD and Vape Shops

June 26, 2024 / 8 minute read / By Nick Borowitz

Cutting Through The Clouds with an Integrated Point of Sale System for CBD and Vape Shops

With increasingly strict regulations governing vape shops and CBD sellers, using the right point of sale system is crucial to not only increase sales, but maintain compliance on all levels.

It feels like every day, new laws pass, making it more difficult for CBD sellers and vape shops to conduct business. But where many retailers use home-grown POS systems, integrated point of sale software tying together register transactions, various payment methods, managing loyalty reward points, and tracking in/outbound movement of merchandise, vape, and CBD shops can cut through the fog for a streamlined store.

More issues arise on the home-grown POS software front. Depending on available resources, vape or CBD stores might use a program built by a friend or family member that does the bare minimum.

Inventory needs manual counting against daily transactions. Card and cash transactions have to line up for a perfect till. And since 3rd-party reward processors might have unreliable integrations, hoping customers receive their points stays at the back of every retailer’s mind.

To address these unique challenges, we’ll break this blog into three sections:

Handling Transactions at the Point of Sale In and Out of the Vape Shop
Managing Vaping, Smoke, and CBD Store Inventory for a Large Merchandise Assortment
Processing Payment Methods for High-Risk Retail Industries

Handling Transactions at the Point of Sale in and Out of the Vape Shop

When customers enter a vape shop, they want to be able to pick out their preferred products and quickly checkout.

The retailer is ready to scan the ID, the products and hit checkout. The same expediency can work for CBD and vape shops that use a hybrid point of sale system. This allows the freedom to make sales anywhere inside the store, at off-site events like trade shows and alternative-lifestyle expos, and to process transactions through an eCommerce website.

Mobile Point of Sale for CBD and Vape Stores

Because some smoke and vape shops have a modern, sleek display room aesthetic, using mobile kiosks throughout makes it easy for customers to browse products before interacting with staff. Customers using an eCommerce website for vape and CBD shops want an equally smooth experience where it’s easy to move through sections, pages, and categories in a way that makes sense.

Technology	Purpose
Mobile Windows-Based POS Tablets	Employees can assist customers right on the floor. They can quickly look up the information needed if there is a question.
Mobile Credit Card Readers	Card reader attachments for mobile devices can be used in-store and brought to off-site trade shows for sales processing.
Expanded Payment Options	Not all customers use cash, so being able to accept cashless payments like taps, mobile payments, and other digital wallets is important.
Customer Information Capture	Customers can sign up for loyalty rewards and memberships on mobile tablets, offering more opportunities for future conversions.

Pro Tip:

Because Vape and CBD shops often sell CBD in its raw flower form (i.e: buds,) implementing a weight scale hooked directly to the POS terminal can speed up the weighting process from scale to checkout. The issue with using separate scales, like pocket scales, leads to scales often being improperly calibrated or not reading out enough weight when the flower is being purchased in quantities that don’t round to the nearest whole number.

Learn More: 5 Benefits of an All-in-One POS System for Your Retail Store

Managing Vaping, Smoke, and CBD Store Inventory for a Large Merchandise Assortment

Proper inventory tracking is crucial because of the vast variety and selection that a single vape or CBD store can sell. A comprehensive inventory management system is necessary for any smoke and vape shop.

Stores must know where every bottle of vape juice is, where every cone and paper product is on a shelf, where novelty accessories are placed, and where their flower products stand as far as supply by weight.

Optimizing the inventory and merchandise management process is simple too, with the right tools and POS integrations.

Method	Purpose
Physical Inventory Counts	Conduct regular physical inventory counts to ensure accuracy and schedule them at regular intervals, like weekly or monthly. This is doubly important for raw materials, such as CBD flower or kratom.
Inventory Reconciliation	Utilize a rollback feature in the CBD/vape POS retail software. After completing cycle counts, adjust inventory levels to reconcile any discrepancies and align records.
Product Categorization	Tagging and barcode printing is easy with large buttons on the POS screen. They are customizable to create and print barcodes quickly. This makes auditing sales more straightforward and prevents shrink.

Inventory Management for CBD and Vape Stores

Explore: How to Handle Large or Complex Product Catalogs in Your Retail POS System

These processes are further streamlined with the right tools. Returning to a considerable variety of merchandise that CBD, vape, and smoke stores might sell, using scan devices will be much quicker than hand-punching SKU numbers into a register and pushing buttons repeatedly.

Scan Device	Benefits	Drawbacks
Portable Data Terminal(PDT)	Sturdy and built for wear-and-tear Ideal for high-volume inventory Data transmission via wireless connection Advanced data entry functionality	Prohibitively expensive for small businesses Needs device updates for proper functionality Data transmission via wireless connection Costly if repairs are needed or outright replaced
Mobile Device with Attachments	Affordable for most businesses Suitable for small to medium inventories Scanner attachment choices are plentiful Fast uptime since only need to download an app to get going	Often have to attach device to computer to upload data Consumer-grade devices are often less durable Data transmission via wireless connection Limited functionality to only primary duties within a vape or CBD store

Pro Tip:

Since the merchandise offerings of CBD and vape retailers is large, using a 3-D product matrix can be a huge time-saver when sorting through inventory. The products sold often have container size, liquid strength, product weight, menthol and non-menthol variances in vape juice flavor, CBD strains, and weight. The 3-D product matrix can help retailers break these down by category and which is best applicable to which type of product.

Processing Payment Methods for High-Risk Retail Industries

Vape, CBD, and smoke shops fall into a unique category known as “high risk” payment processing. Similar industries within this category include gambling, gaming, and, to some extent, alcohol sales.

This is why these types of retailers need special payment processing partners with POS integration. These provide affordable pricing for the retailers and carry a low risk while ensuring that both retailer and processor don’t run the issue of experiencing excessive payment disputes.

Learn More: How AltruPay Helps Retailers in High-Risk Industries Offer More Payment Options

In conjunction with a processing partner, using an effective accounting software integration to the POS can be a significant relief to vape, CBD, and smoke shops. Because of the nature of these stores, it’s safe to say that many of them may be using different accounting methods or a popular service such as QuickBooks Online or Sage 100.

By integrating your accounting software with your POS, you can simplify and automate reporting, taxes, and general business ledger management.

Affordable Pricing:
Specialized payment processing partners often offer competitive rates and can be more favorable than generic processing fees, helping merchants save on transaction costs.
Accurate Records:
Integration ensures that all transaction details are accurately captured and stored, which is crucial for resolving any payment disputes quickly and effectively.
Error Reduction:
By integrating payments with POS systems, the potential for manual errors is significantly reduced. This leads to more accurate financial records and reporting.
Faster Checkouts:
Integrated payment solutions speed up the checkout process, reducing wait times and enhancing the overall shopping experience for customers.
Custom Tax Setup:
The retail and accounting software should enable the setting up of taxes for various shipping destinations, covering both store taxes and non-taxable sales.
Itemized Tax Breakdown:
Reporting features should provide insights into taxable and non-taxable sales, breaking down tax rates by jurisdiction. Detailed reports should itemize taxes, showing what was and was not taxed.

This can be further down for specific purposes:

Accounting and ERP Integration	Purpose
General Ledger	Manage your financial records directly within the POS system. Keep track of income, expenses, and overall business health.
Accounts Receivable	Handle customer payments, outstanding balances, and credit transactions seamlessly.
Receipt Printouts	Print receipts for past transactions, email AR statements, and manage payments via your POS back office software.

Learn More: 5 Benefits of Integrating Accounting Software with Your POS System

With accounting integrations, and by extension, payment processor connections, vape and CBD shops are able to improve the customer experience by offering a no-frills and straight-forward payment process.

These POS system and payment processing integrations also allow for enhanced security through the terminal for the customer’s payment information and merchant’s system.

Processors that integrate with a POS system also ensure that the system complies with PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), protecting customer data and reducing the risk of security breaches. And the time savings for the merchant by having payments integrated with the retail system is significant- each and every day.

Pro Tip:

Beyond having sales data immediately available for viewing and analysis, retailers must ensure their reporting software is accurate. An easy-to-navigate interface with extensive functionality from a POS system provider that can fine-tune your reporting should be at the top of the list. A bonus is retail software with a custom report designer, in which you can create any report, financials and otherwise, on the fly to help better track store performance.

Pushing Through the Future Fog of the Vape and CBD Industry

In the same way that the laws surrounding vape, CBD, and smoke store retail change, other restrictions are also starting to lift.

The customer base grows with mainstream acceptance of these industries becoming widespread. By implementing only a few of these strategies, retailers who choose payment processing partners with POS integration benefit from streamlined operations, cost savings, enhanced accuracy, reduced risk of disputes, and an improved customer experience.

Product offerings are growing daily, and just as fast as vendors close down, new ones open their doors and product catalogs for stores to take advantage of. The industry as it looks now will be vastly different in one year, five years, and even ten years down the line.

Are you ready to future-proof your CBD, vape, and smoke shop?

Explore CBD and Vape POS Solutions

Cutting Through the Clouds with Integrated Point of Sale for CBD and Vape Shops

With increasingly strict regulations governing vape shops and CBD sellers, using the right point of sale system is crucial to not only increase sales, but maintain compliance on all levels.

Handling Transactions at the Point of Sale in and Out of the Vape Shop

Pro Tip:

Managing Vaping, Smoke, and CBD Store Inventory for a Large Merchandise Assortment

Pro Tip:

Processing Payment Methods for High-Risk Retail Industries

Affordable Pricing:

Accurate Records:

Error Reduction:

Faster Checkouts:

Custom Tax Setup:

Itemized Tax Breakdown:

Pro Tip:

Pushing Through the Future Fog of the Vape and CBD Industry

Retail Resources You May Be Interested In…

Top 5 POS Systems for Small Businesses

How Retailers Can Navigate Through An Endless Sea of Customer Types

How To Price Wholesale Inventory: A Complete Guide For Wholesalers

About Celerant

Learning Center

Partners

Cutting Through the Clouds with Integrated Point of Sale for CBD and Vape Shops

With increasingly strict regulations governing vape shops and CBD sellers, using the right point of sale system is crucial to not only increase sales, but maintain compliance on all levels.

Handling Transactions at the Point of Sale in and Out of the Vape Shop

Managing Vaping, Smoke, and CBD Store Inventory for a Large Merchandise Assortment

Processing Payment Methods for High-Risk Retail Industries

Pushing Through the Future Fog of the Vape and CBD Industry

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Retail Resources You May Be Interested In…

Top 5 POS Systems for Small Businesses

How Retailers Can Navigate Through An Endless Sea of Customer Types

How To Price Wholesale Inventory: A Complete Guide For Wholesalers

About Celerant

Learning Center

Partners