Money, Taxes & Banking

If you put personal money into your dispensary, you must classify it correctly: loan or investment. If you don’t, repayments can look like hidden income, undisclosed ownership, or improper transfers. This guide explains the difference in plain English, with real examples and the minimum documentation NY cannabis operators should have.

Most NY dispensaries underestimate working capital. This page shows how to calculate the real number using payroll, inventory cycles, taxes, and volatility.

Reordering too early traps cash. Reordering too late loses sales. This page shows how to set reorder timing using sales velocity, lead time, and the 30 day NY wholesale credit window so you stay in stock without creating a payment crisis.

Cash management is not just a security issue. Banks monitor pickup frequency, vault balances, reconciliation patterns, and armored transport contracts. This page explains what they look for and how to avoid red flags.

Choosing the right legal structure protects your personal assets from lawsuits, tax issues, and enforcement actions. This page explains how entity separation works in cannabis and why keeping business activities legally distinct reduces long-term risk.

This page explains how IRS 280E increases taxable income for cannabis retailers and impacts cash flow.

If your dispensary accepts debit cards or uses a POS system connected to a card network, you must comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). These rules apply regardless of cannabis legality at the state level.

Inventory looks like growth on your menu and your balance sheet, but it is cash you cannot use. When product sits too long, overbuys pile up, or SKUs multiply without turnover, your bank account shrinks even if revenue stays strong. This page explains how inventory traps liquidity, how to measure turnover and days on hand, and how to control purchasing before it becomes a cash crisis.

When dispensary owners use personal bank accounts for business expenses or move money between accounts without documentation, it creates audit risk and weakens legal protection. This page explains how commingling happens in real life, how regulators view it, and how to keep your finances clean and defensible.