Software Review: MJ Freeway, Medical Marijuana Point of Sale System

MJ Freeway is a cloud based point of sale system for the medical marijuana industry to facilitate patient records, transactions, inventory control and other aspects of a dispensary’s business.

I have worked in the retail industry for the majority of my working career and have come across numerous point of sale systems. Up to this point, all the software was loaded locally onto the terminal at the registers. This is my first experience with a cloud based point of sale system, and I have to say, I am impressed and disappointed at the same time.

MJ Freeway is impressive because a user can pull up a patient’s information on any terminal at any time and modify the order. This is helpful when applying multiple discounts or when a patient’s records need to be updated. Since the PoS exists virtually and is not native on any terminal, tablets or smart phones can be used, really anything with a browser and an Internet connection. The flexibility and ease of use are impressive.

My disappointment with MJ Freeway comes in the form of lag time and crashes. It’s not really MJ Freeway’s issue either. The Internet is just slow sometimes. There is nothing worse than getting the hourglass when trying to find items in the inventory menu, or when you click on a coupon, or when you look at the screen wrong, or sneeze. There are times during the day when the system works flawlessly and other times the system is crawling.

I would like to suggest the following solution: There should be a native version of the software that can be installed on the terminal that spools and sends data to the internet in larger packets. Inventory and patient data could be synced running in the background to stay updated. Having the software locally installed could also allow a dispensary the opportunity to continue serving patients in the event of an internet connection problem.

I am impressed with MJ Freeway’s flexibility and user interface, and in a perfect world lag would not exist and I would not be disappointed. The reality is that computers lag. I am curious to see what is going to happen as more states allow the sale of marijuana and dispensaries need software solutions. Will MJ Freeway reign as supreme ruler, or will a larger, more national brand take over the market? Will there ever be a self-serve register, frequent buyer loyalty cards, or a way for customers to order online? The ever-evolving weed business keeps me on the edge of my seat.