Dutchie allows you to define standard flower equivalency calculations by purchase limit category and customer type, which are then used to automatically populate flower equivalencies for products and inventory. It also gives you the flexibility to manually edit flower equivalencies for individual items.
This saves time and reduces compliance risks by eliminating the need to manually calculate and enter flower equivalency values.
Notice
Dutchie does not provide compliance advice. Merchants are responsible for their own compliance. Internal and external Dutchie compliance documentation has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or compliance advice. Dutchie provides tools that assist in compliance in many optional configurations. Merchants should consult their own tax, legal and compliance advisors to determine how best to configure Dutchie compliance settings and, in general, how best to operate within the cannabis industry.
Things to know
- Automatic flower equivalency calculation is available in all states that use flower equivalencies to enforce purchase limits or track allotments, such as Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, and Vermont.
- To enable this feature, go to Settings > Location and check the box for Use Flower Equivalency Definition. All existing flower equivalency values are preserved when this feature is enabled, and automatic calculations are only applied when you choose to apply them or when you edit related fields. Read on for details.
- Managing flower equivalency calculations requires the following user permissions in the Maintenance section:
- View Flower Equivalency Definition
- Edit Flower Equivalency Definition
- Flower equivalency calculations are shared among all locations in your LSP.
Set up flower equivalency calculations
To get started, go to Settings Taxes & compliance, select the Flower equivalency tab, and click Add.
Purchase limit category and customer type
Select the Purchase limit category and Customer type (Medical, Recreational, or All) that this calculation should apply to. In this example, we’re setting up a calculation for solid edibles that applies to all customers.
Note that the names of purchase limit categories in Dutchie may vary from what your state calls them. For example, the "Combined Inhalable" category in Dutchie corresponds to what some states call "Cartridges."
Select All if:
- You have only one location in your LSP, even if that location is recreational/adult use only.
- You have both Medical and Recreational locations in your LSP, but your state has one equivalency rule for all customer types.
Create separate calculations for Medical and Recreational customers only if your state has different equivalency rules based on customer type, such as in Colorado. In this case, you should have separate recreational and medical flower equivalency fields, which will each auto-populate based on the applicable calculation.
If you need to set separate med and rec flower equivalencies but don't have these separate fields, go to Settings > Location and enable Use both Med and Rec Flower Equiv. Next, go to Products > Configure > Fields to make sure Med flower equivalent and Rec flower equivalent are both set to Show in all three sections – Catalog, Package Detail, and Receive Inventory. Note that you can also make these fields Required if Cannabis, though this will require flower equivalency entries for flower products as well (in which case, use the same value for grams/concentration and flower equivalency).
Based on
Review your state’s flower equivalency rules to determine whether the calculation for the selected purchase limit category should be based on Grams/concentration, Package net weight, or Potency, as this varies by state. Flower equivalency for solid edibles, for example, is typically based on grams/concentration.
Category amount, equivalent flower amount, and ratio
What is the total amount (often the total purchase limit) and unit of measure that a customer can buy in from purchase limit category, and what is your state’s equivalent flower amount? In our example, the state defines 16 ounces (or 453.59 grams) of a solid edible as equivalent to 1 ounce (or 28.35 grams) of flower.
Once you’ve entered a category amount, equivalent flower amount, and selected units of measure for each, the Ratio is automatically calculated based on the equivalent flower amount divided by the category amount.
In this example, the flower equivalency of a solid edible product will be calculated by multiplying the Grams/concentration value by this ratio.
Calculated flower equivalencies can be manually overridden, but will automatically recalculate if the “based on” field is edited.
Assign product categories to purchase limit categories
Because flower equivalencies vary by purchase limit category, your product categories in Dutchie must be associated with the correct Purchase limit category for the system to determine which calculation to apply to which products.
If a product category is not associated with a purchase limit category, or the purchase limit category does not have a defined flower equivalency calculation, flower equivalencies for products and inventory in that category won’t calculate automatically and must be manually entered.
How calculations are applied to products and inventory
When creating or editing Catalog products or inventory packages, the flower equivalent field is automatically calculated according to what is entered in the “based on” field:
| If the flower equivalency calculation is Based on: | The Catalog-level Flower equivalent field recalculates when you enter or edit: | The Inventory-level Flower equivalency field recalculates when you enter or edit: | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grams/concentration | The Catalog-level Grams/concentration field | The Inventory-level Grams per concentration field | This is a required field at both the Catalog and Inventory levels |
| Package net weight | The Catalog-level Net weight field | The Inventory-level Net weight field |
Because package net weights often vary, calculated flower equivalency based on package net weight will also vary at the Catalog and Inventory levels. You can make Net weight a required field for cannabis products under Products Configure Fields. |
| Potency | The Catalog-level THC content field | The THC field in the lab results (if available) or, as a backup, the Catalog-level THC content field. |
The flower equivalent in this case is technically based on the Inventory-level Potency field, which is not editable because it’s derived from THC lab results. When creating new products, you can use the THC content field to get an estimate of flower equivalency based on potency. You can make this Catalog-level field required for cannabis products under Products Configure Fields. |
Only Inventory-level flower equivalency values are used for purchase limit enforcement and allotment tracking. Catalog values are only used as defaults.
Pre-existing products and packages
For products created or packages received before automatic flower equivalency calculations were enabled for your LSP, the existing user-entered flower equivalency is preserved unless and until the applicable “based on” field is edited.
Editing flower equivalency calculations themselves will not affect any existing flower equivalencies.
However, when you first set up a flower equivalency calculation, the calculated flower equivalency is automatically applied to any applicable products or packages with a blank flower equivalency field. This also happens if you reassign a product with a blank flower equivalency field to a different product category with a defined calculation.
Apply calculations to all products or packages
Users with the Edit Flower Equivalency Definition permission have the option to overwrite all existing flower equivalencies at the Catalog or Inventory level. This can be useful when setting up flower equivalency calculations for the first time, or when your state changes its flower equivalency definitions.
- Go to Settings > Taxes & compliance > Flower equivalency.
- Click the ellipsis (...) next to a calculation that you want to apply to all products and/or inventory.
- Select Apply to Catalog to apply the calculation to all associated products, or Apply to Inventory to apply the calculation to all associated packages. This will overwrite all existing flower equivalencies for the products/packages associated with the purchase limit category.
Delete flower equivalency calculations
Deleting a flower equivalency calculation does not remove any flower equivalency values at the product or package level. This only means that the calculation will not be applied to new products or inventory.
To delete a calculation:
- Go to Settings > Taxes & compliance > Flower equivalency.
- Click the ellipsis (...) next to a calculation.
- Select Delete.