Best Cannabis Dispensary POS 2023

Running a cannabis dispensary is legal in some states but hasn’t been legalized on a federal level. While we do not endorse any activity that could land you in legal trouble, we do recognize the surge in popularity of cannabis-based businesses.

If you’re running a dispensary, it can be tricky to find a POS system that helps you stay compliant to local laws in addition to giving your customers a seamless experience.

That’s why we’ve chosen AccuPOS as our top POS brand. It’s a service that both businesses and customers love. And one of its specialties is cannabis.

You may be surprised to see a brand that doesn’t list its pricing info in our top spot. Pricing transparency is a huge indicator of whether a brand is going to deal honestly with its customers. And it's one of the easiest ways to know if the service is in your price range.

So why is AccuPOS so high on the list despite using a quote-based pricing system? It’s because businesses love its service. We scoured the internet and browsed countless reviews of AccuPOS, and the overall vibe is positivity toward the product and pricing, with only a few isolated negative experiences.

That said, monthly fees aren’t the only thing to consider when it comes to the price of a POS system.

Processing fees for dispensaries are generally going to be higher than with lower-risk businesses, so you should expect to pay a little more per swipe.

Also, hardware is an additional cost that many businesses may forget to factor. Sometimes hardware rentals are baked into the monthly cost, sometimes they’re not. And you may even end up paying for your hardware outright, which can be a more expensive upfront cost.

Dispensaries can have both a medical and recreational side. This means implementing a kind of bisected POS system that can manage both your recreational users and your medical users. AccuPOS’ excellent customer service makes it easy to set up the system you need.

You can confidently run your business from a POS system when you know a dedicated customer service team has your back whenever you need it.

AccuPOS has the POS features you need to successfully run your business, including a seamless integration with QuickBooks accounting. Automating your accounting saves you the hassle of additional manual data entry so you can focus on your dispensary.

AccuPOS’s crack customer service team in tandem with its POS system built around the needs of dispensaries makes for an indispensable product. You can’t go wrong with giving them a call.

Flowhub is a cannabis dispensary POS through and through. It’s not trying to be anything else. Every interface, feature, and integration is built around one thing: getting the kush to your customers.

One of their most standout features is the mobile check-in hardware. This mobile device allows you to scan the IDs of any customer that walks in your door on the spot. After doing so, the app will automatically know if they are an existing customer or if you need to create a new customer profile for them.

Additionally, the mobile ID reader has a security flag feature. This feature allows you to flag problematic customers. When those customers try to enter at a future date, the mobile reader will automatically display the flag.

Flowhub also has a large app marketplace that can be added to its POS features. If there’s any functionality you’re not getting in the base package, you may be able to get it on the marketplace.

That said, Flowhub does already come packaged with a solid group of POS features, so you may not even need anything extra. That’s what makes Flowhub a solid choice for your dispensary.

Lightspeed is a weird one for cannabis dispensary POS. Don’t get us wrong, it’s an incredible POS system, but not one designed for marijuana sales. In order to even use Lightspeed as a POS system, you have to use a third-party service called 2ACCEPT.

2ACCEPT takes care of the high-risk processing associated with cannabis sales and provides the legal compliance that Lightspeed needs to be able to offer its POS system to dispensaries.

So, why go to all this trouble just to use Lightspeed? Well, Lightspeed is one of the most powerful and modern POS systems on the market today. It’s a top contender for best POS provider, period. And almost all of its customers agree that the service is fantastic.

With Lightspeed you get so many great functionalities:

• Ecommerce tools
• Loyalty programs
• Analytics
• Accounting integrations
• Modern hardware options
• Delivery management
• Customer-facing displays
• Marketing tools
• Inventory management
• And more

With so many awesome features packed into one program, it’s hard not to recommend it. That said, it seems Lightspeed doesn’t quite have both feet in the dispensary game yet. It’s just getting started. Because of that, we’ve put Lightspeed at the bottom of our recommendation list.

If, in the future, Lightspeed takes a greater interest in dispensary POS, the only direction from here is up. And, of course, if you're already interested in what Lightspeed has to offer, it’s worth at least getting on a call.

Legal compliance is paramount in the dispensary business. Cova makes it easy to keep track of how much marijuana your customers have purchased relative to the legal limit. The software will not allow you to sell more than is legal to any customer.

This protection takes a big stress off your back so you can put your focus elsewhere.

Cova also offers mobile queueing so that your customers aren’t stuck waiting in line. They just show up to your shop and scan a QR code with their phone to be added to the digital line. Then, they can browse around your shop or run other errands while they wait for a text to tell them they’ve reached the front of the line.

Features like this show customers you value their time and convenience. You can also add value to the customer experience by offering loyalty discounts—another great feature in Cova’s arsenal.

Cova is another solid POS option. Some of its features are add-ons that you may have to pay for, so keep that in mind. But if our other options aren’t quite what you need, Cova is definitely worth a look.

IndicaOnline is a brand that does quite a few things very well, but it doesn’t quite do everything. The things it does, however, may just be crucial to the way you run your business.

Its delivery management system will automate your diver logistics and get your products where they need to go. If, for example, you’re interested in stocking up drivers with products and strategically positioning them in your city for quick deliveries whenever an order is made, IndicaOnline is your POS solution.

IndicaOnline also has a sleek and simple POS interface that gets rid of unnecessary complexity. This is, to some extent, at the expense of certain POS features. There’s no integration with Quickbooks or complicated inventory management.

But there is a powerful delivery management system, product catalogue, and processing hardware that gets the job done.

It may be a little tricky to find the right POS provider for your cannabis dispensary, but our top picks are a great place to start your search.

With AccuPOS, you get solid customer service and automated Quickbooks accounting in addition to a POS system designed for dispensaries. Our other recommendations are also fantastic:

• Flowhub makes it easy to verify and check in customers
• Cova keeps you compliant by monitoring purchase limits
• IndicaOnline allows you to run a store and delivery operation seamlessly
• Lightspeed gets you access to top-of-the-line POS functions

You're in good hands with any of these top brands.

If you’re unfamiliar with what else to consider in finding the best POS system, you should check out our ultimate guide to POS.

We examined 20 of the top dispensary POS brands on the market. These brands were vetted by comparing software and hardware options, analyzing hundreds of customer reviews, watching demonstrations of POS systems in action, connecting with the brands to answer specific questions about services, and reading case studies from actual customers.

Disclaimer

At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.