Make sure you have the right systems in place.
A well designed Accounting Software will help keep track of where you have been. A well designed Cannabis Seed-to-Sale Software will help you know what you have, where it is located and where it goes. The right ERP Software will tie all of your data together, past and present, helping to guide you into a future of growth and control. Viridian Sciences is the Cannabis Seed-to-Sale ERP built on a World-class financial engine.
Growing businesses often face the question of whether QuickBooks is enough or if they need a more robust and integrated Enterprise Resource Planning solution (ERP).
Each solution serves a different purpose, although there is some level of basic overlap. Let’s look at both, and see where each makes sense. Viridian Sciences is an integrated, Seed-to-Sale ERP built on the SAP Business One system (SAP Business One supports more than 60,000 organizations across more than 150 different countries).
Here’s the cheat sheet for what’s to come:
Head to Head: QuickBooks vs. Viridian Sciences ERP
When comparing QuickBooks with Viridian Sciences ERP, let us start with the intended purpose of each software solution.
QuickBooks is an accounting/bookkeeping solution for SMBs. With QuickBooks Enterprise there is add-on functionality such as limited inventory management, customer reporting and sales functionality, among other features. Companies choose QuickBooks for bookkeeping as a core offering, and QuickBooks does it well as the leading SMB accounting solution. When a business chooses QuickBooks, it is purchasing the solution primarily because it needs accounting software.
Viridian Sciences is a fully integrated business suite customized for the Cannabis industry providing a complete seed-to-sale ERP platform built for Cultivators, Processors, Distributors, and Retailers. Viridian Sciences has been developed for the Cannabis industry to provide Automated Regulatory Compliance Reporting, Process Automation & Scalability. When it comes to Regulatory Compliance Reporting the data is dynamically passed from the Viridian Sciences system to the State compliance system (METRC, Bio Track), which limits or eliminates the need for manual double entry of information, lowering the possibility of errors.
Viridian Sciences provides a full financial-based cannabis ERP system by utilizing the power SAP Business One which comes with robust GAAP compliant accounting functionality built by the same company that helps run large enterprises such as Coca-Cola and British Petroleum. That said, Cannabis businesses don’t choose Viridian Sciences on the basis of accounting: They choose Viridian Sciences as the platform that will run their Cannabis business end-to-end, now and their continued growth. Truth be told, you can bolt on functionality to QuickBooks, extending the software beyond accounting and that will work for some companies.
Viridian Sciences’ real-time transparency into all business processes allows you to manage your cannabis business end-to-end from anywhere, with the great efficiencies. Have true visibility into supplier, customer and internal transactions and trends to better plan for future demand and growth.
Flexibility
For basic accounting, QuickBooks is a market leader for a reason: It has all that a business needs for bookkeeping when first starting out. If a business has typical accounting needs, QuickBooks does the job well. If this is where you find your business, stick with it.
If a business has more complex accounting needs or requires advanced elements such as validatable audit trails, multi-currency support, customized reports, inventory valuation methods, GAAP compliance or integration with industry specific third-party software, you may find that QuickBooks performs less well and often requires manual or complex workarounds.
The Viridian Sciences Seed-to-Sale Software is built for cloud-based delivery allowing the system to be run through any modern web browser. Access your business whenever and wherever you need to regardless of location or device (phone, tablet or computer).
With 100 pre-built reports, including financials, sales, purchasing, production, banking, inventory, human resources, clients hit the ground running, knowing that custom reports can be developed quickly and easily as needed with information relevant to specific business areas and needs. Print, e-mail or publish reports online.
Viridian Sciences has been built for the Cannabis industry and can be configured to work with the unique business processes or special use cases that drive your business. To improve efficiencies and limit human errors, there is a built in path for integrating to major third-party solutions, because running your whole business means going beyond the ordinary.
Scalability
QuickBooks is built for small businesses. So when transaction volumes are low and there are less than 30 users interacting with the system, no problem. As a business grows, however, performance will suffer. QuickBooks was not designed for larger and fast-growing businesses. A one-man business or a small company can use QuickBooks and get what they need. Businesses with a fast growth plan and trajectory will find they need more flexibility to adapt to growth and changes in their business.
Viridian Sciences replaces the need for multiple single-purpose softwares, bringing one single source of truth and data to the whole company. Benefit from saving time, money and resources trying to purchase, train on and maintain multiple systems, let alone trying to get them all to share data in real time. The Viridian Sciences’ platform utilizes a fully GAAP-compliant system, SAP Business One which is built to handle much more robust transactions and user volumes; it accommodates from 5 up to 500 users and is designed to support businesses with high transaction volumes. Where do you see your Cannabusiness growing?
As your company grows, your system can scale along with it whether it is additional functions such as Fixed Assets, and Project Costing or adding locations, the Viridian Sciences framework can handle all your needs now and in the future. Are you planning on having multiple operating companies? Financials can be automatically consolidated from multiple databases to provide information for the investment holding company.
Business-Specific Functionality
As a general-purpose accounting solution, QuickBooks makes sense. A wide range of businesses rely on the software, and it is built with general-purpose accounting functionality in mind. Businesses that need no more than basic accounting are set.
For businesses that operate within industry-specific regulations for example
State Compliance reporting and FDA requirements, or companies that may be considering a future that includes going public or being acquired, may find running QuickBooks is not enough.
Viridian Sciences prides itself on being a world-class Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution for the cannabis industry. Its real-time transparency into all business processes allow you to manage your cannabis business end-to-end, Seed-to-Sale regardless of which industry verticals you operate, Cultivator, Manufacturer, Distributor or Retail, and any combination there of.
Worried about implementation timelines and making the transition? Viridian Sciences ERP comes pre-loaded with the standard set of Items and bills of material required to run a complete end to end seed to sale process which can be further enhanced based on requirements. We include a standard chart of accounts geared towards the cannabis industry and 280e.
Strain Tracking, Seed & Clone Propagation, Harvesting, Drying, Curing, Processing and Packaging, Warehouse reporting, Material requirements planning, Track-ability and Compliance are some of the best in class in-built features of Viridian Sciences ERP. Learning more about the strains of cannabis or hemp that you are producing will allow you to produce more yield, quicker, at higher levels.
Conclusion
QuickBooks may make sense for startups or small businesses that want a fast and simple bookkeeping system. When an organization is planning for a future that includes rapid and continued growth within a highly regulated industry such as Cannabis, an industry specific integrated business system will provide the robust platform to support and accelerate that growth. Viridian Sciences delivers a complete and scalable Seed-to-Sale ERP solution built for the Cannabis Industry.