Some of the tools I've written to interact with Metrc

As is usually the case, I haven't had nearly as much time as I'd like to write software for the Cannabis industry. Challenges at work have been meaty and sticky enough to require some real thought, which is both a blessing and a curse. It's great to get paid to solve programming puzzles for a living, but that doesn't always leave a lot of gas left over for the really fun stuff.

It's been just over half a year since I got certified to use the Metrc API. In that time, I've found time to write some interesting tools. And since I'm treating my work for Marijuana businesses as a hobby rather than a side hustle, I figured I'd share some information on what I've created up to this point.

While I have a lot of bits and pieces, there are two tools that are complete enough to have some production value. Both of these communicate with Metrc in real time and use Metrc as the only storage mechanism (look Ma, no database!). They're both essentially "pretty wrappers" for data entry tasks that are tedious to do in the Metrc UI. They also serve as examples of how custom forms can be created to expedite and reduce errors while entering compliance data.

The first tool is a Strain and Item Manager. As you might expect, this tool provides the ability to add, update and delete Strains and Items. But it also provides information on relationships between Strains and Items. And it shows inventory of each individual Item.

Upon opening, the licensees Strains are provided in a scrolling selector (which is a little Jquery plugin I put on my github page: https://github.com/toddrun/JqueryScrollSelector). Scrolling to a Strain opens another scroller with all the children Items. Scrolling to an Item opens a table of all the Packages for that Item, including conversions of the total weight into a variety of units of measurement.

The second tool is a Package Manager. The intent is to allow splitting, combining or just repackaging any existing Package. This was originally three separate tools, but I eventually decided to make a single interface for all three activities.

No matter what you want to do with the tool, you'll start with one or more existing Packages. You'll also need one or more unused Packages (which at this point, will just be unused Metrc RFID tag/labels). Upon opening, you're presented with a way to move part or all of one Package into another:

While you'll have to enter the "New Package" Metrc Tag value, the rest of lets you pick from your live Metrc data:

This makes it easy to take part of a Package and put it into another Package. But, what if you want to take three Packages, extract concentrate, and label the new Package of concentrate? Or, what if you want to split the Package into several smaller Packages, like converting the concentrate into batches of brownies? There are handy "+ Add" and "- Minus" buttons for this purpose.

Note the buttons won't let you have multiple Existing Packages AND multiple New Packages at the same time. This is intentional, and is designed to reduce errors. Likewise, until you have the minimum information required, there is no way to submit the form. Of course, once you can submit the form, the data goes directly to Metrc. Compliance done!

Again, these are just a couple of the tools I've put together since getting certified. I make them available for free to any licensee who wants to use them. And this is just the start. I look forward to building much more in the future. But for now . . . back to my real job!

The sad state of Cannabis software offerings

It kills me I don't have the time and resources to create an application that address the needs of the "middle market". Mid-sized wholesales, processors and producers just don't have access to the solutions they need.

To illustrate, here are some excerpts from messages I've received recently:

We need a robust inventory management system and I don't love any of the existing software providers

we switched from (company one) to (company two) with the rec flip, but so far (company two) is leaving a lot to be desired

I have talked to several of the software companies out there in the industry and I find that they are REALLY expensive and often are relying on the customers to test their beta software at a huge cost

The worst part about getting message like this has nothing to do with not being in a position to capitalize on the opportunity. It's knowing these businesses are in pain, and I don't have the ability to help. I'm hoping that some of the tools I've developed will reduce this pain, but there's so much more that needs to be done.

I'm starting to realize the market has 3 distinct types of players. There are companies small enough that spreadsheets and text files can provide all the tracking needed. There are the big players who can afford $50K - $100K per year ERP systems. But the companies in the middle are the ones who are most in need of help. These are companies that produce enough product each month that spreadsheets alone don't cut the mustard, but thousands of dollars per month cut too deep into their profit margins to be sustainable.

I still can't quit my day job. But clearly, spending my spare time trying to produce tools for a vastly underserved clientele will eventually result in a win-win situation!

Sometimes, starting over is the best thing to do.

I love that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you've been working on a feature and the code feels smooth and natural. With fewer lines than you expected, without being overly terse, and without resorting to complexity, you just know the code is "right".

But sometimes you struggle. Ideas in your mind don't translating into clean structures. And the more you forge ahead, the less you like what you're producing.

It's never fun to throw out work, especially when it represents weeks worth of effort. However, sometimes you can't refactor your way to quality. At times like this, starting over is the way to go.