Role track • Back of House
Back Of House
The operational backbone for the people who run receiving, inventory, and Metrc, where a single mistake compounds into days of audit pain. You will master the three-gate receiving SOP from truck arrival to shelf-ready, manifest matching that catches discrepancies before you sign, COA reading at the receiving dock, and the rejection protocol when product fails. From there: the full inventory operating model (velocity, turns, days-of-supply, reorder points and safety stock, cycle counts, FIFO, shrink detection, menu-velocity feedback to the floor), the Metrc operating rhythm, cash-room mechanics, internal-theft pattern recognition, and physical security.
22 lessons10.2 hours0 section quizzes6 chapters
Begin courseFree during early access
What you'll master
Outcomes you can defend.
- Run the three-gate receiving SOP (manifest, physical, COA) and reject product correctly when it fails
- Read inventory KPIs (turns, GMROI, shrink, weeks-of-supply) and act on what they tell you
- Maintain Metrc with audit-grade discipline across intake, transfers, adjustments, and waste
- Detect internal theft through exception-based reporting before shrink reaches the P&L
- Run cash-room operations and reconciliation that pass any audit
- Close the menu-velocity feedback loop between BOH data and FOH behavior
Curriculum
The full syllabus.
Every lesson, in the order we recommend you take them. Click any lesson to begin. Your progress saves automatically.
Part 01
4 lessons • 106 minReceiving
- 01The Receiving Dock: SOPs from Truck Arrival to Shelf-ReadyHow to run a cannabis receiving dock end-to-end: the three sequential gates (manifest, physical, COA), the partial-accept mechanics inside Metrc, the quarantine clearance matrix, and the discrepancy log discipline that survives a state audit.28 min
- 02Manifest Matching: What to Catch Before You SignHow to run Gate 1 of receiving like a senior inventory manager: pull the Metrc transfer before the driver knocks, verify driver and vehicle and seal in camera view, cross-check paper against the Metrc record, handle multi-stop nuance, and decide whether to accept, partial-accept, or reject before the truck leaves the dock.23 min
- 03Reading a COA: Potency, Pesticides, and the Red FlagsHow to read a Certificate of Analysis with the rigor of a lab scientist: potency math, pesticide and microbial pass/fail logic, the handful of common COA tricks vendors use to obscure quality issues, and the receiving-bay decisions that flow from each line on the page.25 min
- 04Rejection Protocols: When to Send Product BackHow to make the accept, quarantine, or reject call at the back dock with confidence: the dollar logic of rejecting in the parking lot vs. on the shelf, per-package partial-accept mechanics in Metrc, the contaminant-by-contaminant remediation rules that decide whether a fail is sendable-back or destroy-only, and the documentation that protects your license when the regulator looks twice.30 min
Part 02
6 lessons • 155 minInventory Management
- 05Category Velocity, Turns, and Days-of-SupplyHow to read inventory velocity through the three KPIs that govern every reorder decision: Inventory Turnover, Days of Supply, and Sell-Through Rate, with cannabis-specific benchmarks by category, the perishability math behind flower thresholds, and the buyer playbook that converts a velocity number into a Monday-morning action.21 min
- 06Reorder Points, Safety Stock, and the Cash-Flow Trade-OffHow to set reorder points and safety stock by SKU tier, calibrate par levels to category velocity, and read the cash-flow consequences of every replenishment decision through the lens of perishability, vendor terms, and the cost of capital in a post-280E landscape.28 min
- 07Cycle Counts, Physical Counts, and Variance InvestigationHow to run cycle counts and full physical counts in a regulated cannabis store, investigate every variance to root cause, and use the count discipline to keep Metrc honest, expose theft and process drift early, and stay below the state variance threshold that triggers a five-figure fine.26 min
- 08FIFO, Rotation, and Expiration Management for CannabisHow to keep cannabis moving in date order across the vault, the floor, and the back room: the seven-day flower clock, category-specific dead-stock triggers, the math behind when to mark down vs. destroy (accounting for 280E relief on medical operations going forward), and the weekly audit that keeps a state inspector from finding expired product on your shelf.26 min
- 09Shrink: Sources, Detection, and the Controls That Actually WorkHow to measure shrink the way an LP director measures it, where cannabis-specific losses actually originate (internal first, then waste, damage, and external), and the layered controls that move the number down without burying the store in process.31 min
- 10Menu Velocity and the Feedback Loop to the Sales FloorHow back-of-house turns weekly sell-through data and SKU velocity rankings into specific, dated instructions for the sales floor: which SKUs to push, which to bury, which to pull, and how to write the feedback so the floor actually acts on it.23 min
Part 03
4 lessons • 112 minMetrc and Compliance
- 11Metrc Day-to-Day: Intake, Transfers, and AdjustmentsHow to run Metrc as the back-of-house operating system: the four manifest types and their distinct closure protocols, the daily and monthly reconciliation cadences that catch variance early, and the adjustment discipline that keeps you off a state inspector's red-flag list.25 min
- 12Manifest Types and the Audit Cadence You Must SurviveHow the four Metrc manifest types behave across the back-of-house calendar and how the monthly, quarterly, and annual audit rhythms catch the failure modes each manifest type creates, with the variance thresholds, escalation triggers, and binder discipline that keep a license intact.23 min
- 13Labeling: Compliance, Child-Resistance, and Recall ReadinessHow a back-of-house operator validates compliant labels at intake, runs a recall lifecycle from notification to closure packet, and treats recall readiness as a quarterly drill rather than a binder on a shelf.30 min
- 14Waste and Destruction: The Manifest That Keeps You Out of TroubleHow to render, document, and destroy cannabis waste so that every gram leaving the building reconciles in Metrc, including state-specific rules across CA / CO / IL / MI / NV / OR, the seven reason codes that show up on audit, and the controls that keep waste from becoming the cover for shrink.34 min
Part 04
4 lessons • 104 minCash and Tech
- 15Cash-Room Operations: Tills, Deposits, and the Audit TrailHow a cannabis back-of-house operator runs the cash room with discipline: vault and drop-safe specs, dual-custody counts at open and close, a five-band variance escalation matrix, armored-car vendor vetting after the 2022 Empyreal seizures, and the shrinkage math that proves whether your controls are working.30 min
- 16Internal Theft Patterns and Exception-Based ReportingHow to read your POS, Metrc, and cash variance logs the way a senior LP analyst reads them: spot the five theft archetypes, run the weekly exception digest, and move from a flag to a defensible termination without burning the case in the first interview.29 min
- 17POS System Fluency: Menu Management, Reporting, and IntegrationsHow the back of house operates the POS as a control system, not a cash register: menu hygiene that keeps the floor selling, the reports that catch problems before the GM does, and the integration map that determines which third-party tools you can layer on without breaking compliance.22 min
- 18Digital Signage and Menu Sync: The BOH's Role in the Customer ViewHow the back of house owns the data integrity behind every menu board, ecommerce category page, and kiosk in the dispensary; the sync architecture that keeps a customer from ordering a sold-out SKU; and the weekly discipline that catches stale prices, ghost SKUs, and the moments when the menu starts lying.23 min
Part 05
3 lessons • 96 minSecurity and Supply
- 19Physical Security for BOH: Cameras, Alarms, Access ControlHow a back-of-house operator runs the physical security stack from the inside: the four-ring model, the camera coverage and retention math by state, the vault and dual-custody discipline, the alarm and panic-button rituals, and the access-control posture that keeps the receiving dock, vault, and Metrc terminal audit-clean.27 min
- 20Incident Response: Theft, Tampering, and Documentation DisciplineHow to run a dispensary incident from the first 60 seconds through the 72-hour regulator clock without losing evidence, breaking chain of custody, or creating a wrongful-termination case: classification, preservation, documentation, and the SOP cadence that keeps the program audit-ready between events.35 min
- 21The Supply Chain Upstream: Distributors, Testing Labs, and What Delays Your ReceivingHow the cultivator-processor-lab-distributor chain that feeds your back door actually works, what each upstream stage charges and controls, and the structural reasons your truck shows up late so you can plan receiving and Weeks of Supply targets against the real world. State-licensed medical cannabis moved to Schedule III effective April 22, 2026; recreational cannabis remains Schedule I; full rescheduling is pending a June 29, 2026 DEA hearing.34 min
Ready when you are
Back Of House starts with one lesson.
The Receiving Dock: SOPs from Truck Arrival to Shelf-Ready, 28 minutes. Pick it up here whenever you have time.
Start lesson 1