HP Enters Cannabis Enterprise Software Market With Flowhub

HP is reportedly stepping into the cannabis industry with a new partnership to provide businesses with financial management software, according to The Washington Post.

Reports on Friday (April 13) said HP is collaborating with Flowhub to develop software for legal cannabis companies. The tools will offer point-of-sale (POS) hardware and software, as well as other business management tools. According to the publication, Flowhub will provide compliance, regulatory and reporting support for cannabis companies.

The partnership was first reported in The Cannabist, which noted HP will be linking marijuana businesses with its ElitePOS hardware. Flowhub’s compliance software will be integrated into that system.

“The largest amount of friction in the [cannabis] industry today is the lack of understanding around compliance for dispensaries,” said Kyle Sherman, chief executive officer of Flowhub. “I think this will simplify the decision-making process for them.”

Flowhub provides POS and other financial services for cannabis companies, including the ability to accept cards — a challenge for businesses in the industry, considering financial service providers are reluctant to serve these firms because marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

According to The Cannabist, Flowhub’s collaboration with HP signals the industry’s shift toward enterprise-grade hardware and devices.

In a statement to Bloomberg last week about the partnership, HP said that “retailers across a wide range of industries use our hardware in their store operations. Our retail solutions are widely available and used by all sorts of customers as they see fit to meet their business need.”

The Washington Post noted that HP is likely going after a massive financial opportunity as the legal cannabis space expands in the U.S. The publication cited data from Cowen & Co. that forecasted regulated cannabis sales would increase from $6 billion in 2016 to $75 billion over the next 12 years.