Free Dispensary Compliance Audit: Find Your Biggest Compliance Gap
Only 25–27% of cannabis dispensaries are profitable. The ones failing aren’t necessarily breaking the law — they’re missing documentation, mismatched METRC records, or letting one expired employee card put the whole license at risk. Take this free dispensary compliance audit and find out exactly where you stand before the state does.
10 yes/no questions · 3 minutes · Personalized results for your operation
compliance dysfunction
reduction guarantee
improvement
What’s Really Costing Your Dispensary $112K+ Per Year?
Most dispensaries don’t fail audits because they’re breaking the law. They fail because documentation is missing, METRC doesn’t match the vault, or one employee’s certification expired and nobody noticed. Here’s what that ignorance actually costs — conservatively.
Fines, legal fees, and license risk from inventory discrepancies. METRC violations are the single most common enforcement trigger for IDFPR cannabis license actions in Illinois. Your physical inventory and your METRC records must match — always. Not close. Match.
2–5% of revenue disappearing to poor inventory controls, pricing misalignment, and shrink. On a $2M revenue store, that’s $40K–$100K walking out the door before you spot a single audit flag. Weak financial controls create regulatory exposure, tax liability, and theft risk simultaneously.
Recruiting, training, and lost productivity per turnover event. Regulators check training records at every audit. One untrained employee or expired agent card can put your license at risk — and replacing the position costs more than most operators estimate.
20 hours per week of owner time spent on avoidable operational chaos. At a conservative $50/hr, that’s $52K/year in opportunity cost — time you could spend on growth, second locations, or simply not checking METRC at midnight. Source: Whitney Economics survey, 2023–2024.
5 Pillars Every Licensed Dispensary Needs to Have Dialed In
Our free dispensary compliance audit scores your operation across all five pillars. Most operators are strong in one or two and dangerously exposed in the rest. This is where the audit identifies your real risk before the state does.
- Licenses current and posted correctly
- Audit file organized for regulator review
- Compliance correspondence accessible in 60 sec
- Mock audit scenarios rehearsed
- Physical vs. METRC inventory reconciled
- Variance tracking and prevention protocols
- Every SKU reviewed monthly
- Violations caught before the state does
- Cash handling procedures documented
- POS reconciliation completed daily
- 280E strategy in place
- Shrink tracked and benchmarked
- All staff training records current
- Agent cards tracked and renewed proactively
- Security protocols documented
- Training materials up to date
- SOPs written for all regulated activities
- Procedures current and accessible to staff
- Operating manual your team can actually follow
- Workflow diagrams for key processes
Built by Operators. Tested Every Single Day.
We didn’t start as consultants. We started as operators facing the exact same chaos you’re dealing with right now — METRC violations, shrinking margins, staff that couldn’t follow process, firefighting every day. So we built systems that actually work. And we run them in our own dispensary every day.
12 flags → 3 flags
36% → 48%
1.7% → 1.2%
efficiency gains
“We didn’t build this for clients first. We built it for ourselves — because we needed it. Once we had results in our own store, we realized every Illinois operator was facing the same problem.”
— Thomas Howard, Founder, Collateral Base & Managing Partner, Howard Law Group
How the Free Dispensary Compliance Audit Works
Three minutes. Ten yes/no questions. A personalized score across all 5 pillars. Here’s exactly what happens when you take the audit.
Answer 10 Questions
Simple yes/no questions across all 5 compliance pillars — regulatory readiness, METRC, financial controls, HR records, and SOPs. Takes under 3 minutes. No technical knowledge required.
Get Your Personalized Score
Your score determines your compliance tier — from critical-gap operations needing imm%diate triage to strong foundations ready for growth monitoring. Results are specific to your operation, not generic advice.
Get a Clear Next Step
Based on your score, we recommend the right next move — whether that’s a 7-day triage call, a 3-point targeted audit, or a monthly compliance monitoring subscription. No obligation to proceed.
Free. No credit card. Results in 3 minutes.
Your Results Are Personalized to Your Score
Critical gaps across multiple pillars. Enforcement risk is elevated. Immediate triage is required before your next inspection. This is where one bad audit can trigger a license action.
Next step: Schedule a triage call within 7 days. We’ll map your top violations and build a 30-day remediation plan.
Foundational items are in place but meaningful gaps remain. You have exposure risk in 1–3 pillars. A targeted audit can close these gaps before they become enforcement actions or costly fines.
Next step: Book a 3-Point Audit to map your top gaps and get a 90-day plan with guaranteed violation reduction.
Strong operational foundation. The focus shifts to ongoing monitoring, documentation hygiene, and consistency at scale — especially if expansion is on your roadmap.
Next step: Explore monthly compliance monitoring to maintain your standing and prepare for multi-location growth.
Is a Dispensary Compliance Audit Right For You?
We’re selective because we have to actually deliver. The audit is free for everyone — but ongoing engagement works best when there’s a real fit.
- 1–5 location dispensaries
- $1M+ annual revenue
- Facing or worried about METRC violations
- Planning expansion in next 12–24 months
- Need operational systems, not just advice
- Can’t afford a full-time compliance lead
- Committed to implementing what we build
- Pre-revenue startups
- Operators needing legal defense
- Not committed to implementation
- Looking for a one-time audit only
- Need legal advice or representation
Three Guarantees. Zero Fine Print.
60% Violation Reduction Guarantee
Target 60% fewer METRC violations in 90 days, measured against your baseline — or month 4 is free. We put a number on it because we’ve done it.
Implementation Guarantee
If we don’t deliver every promised document and system on schedule, you don’t pay for that month. Accountability runs both ways.
Response Time Guarantee
4-hour Slack response Monday–Friday, 9–5 local time — or that week’s retainer is credited. Maximum one credit per month. We’re actually reachable.
Guarantees require client to provide data access and follow the agreed implementation plan. 90-day implementation period. Month-to-month after that. No mystery.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dispensary Compliance Audits
A dispensary compliance audit is a structured review of your cannabis retail operation across the key areas regulators inspect — METRC inventory tracking, license documentation, financial controls, staff training records, and operational SOPs. The goal is to identify compliance gaps before state inspectors do, so you can remediate on your own timeline instead of theirs. Our free dispensary compliance audit covers all five of these pillars in ten yes/no questions and delivers a personalized score with a clear next step.
The free online audit takes approximately 3 minutes — 10 yes/no questions across the 5 compliance pillars. If you mo6e forward with a full Compliance X-Ray engagement, the initial diagnostic call is 20 minutes, followed by a 5-business-day baseline assessment using your actual POS and METRC data. We validate your real numbers — not industry averages.
METRC (Marijuana Enforcement Tracking Reporting Compliance) is the state-mandated seed-to-sale tracking system for Illinois cannabis licensees. Compliance means your physical inventory must match your METRC records exactly — not approximately. This includes proper tagging, transfer manifests, waste logging, and end-of-day reconciliation. METRC discrepancies are the most common trigger for IDFPR cannabis enforcement actions in Illinois, often resulting in fines ranging from $30,000 to $90,000 annually for non-compliant operators.
Based on IDFPR inspection patterns, t(e most common violations include: METRC inventory discrepancies between physical counts and system records, expired or missing employee agent cards, inadequate security camera coverage or footage retention, missing or outdated standard operating procedures, incomplete training documentation, and cash handling irregularities. Many of these are addressable with proper systems — which is exactly what the compliance audit identifies.
At minimum, dispensaries should conduct an internal compliance audit quarterly. High-volume operations or those in their first two years of licensure benefit from monthly reviews — especially around METRC inventory reconciliation and staff training records. Our CB OS Run clients receive monthly METRC audits as standard, with real-time KPI dashboards and automated alerts when metrics drift outside acceptable ranges.
A failed state inspection can result in a formal notice of violation, fines, a compliance plan requirement, or in serious cases, license suspension. The IDFPR has authority to impose civil penalties and initiate license revocation proceedings for repeated or serious violations. The right response is immediate remediation — documenting what you’ve fixed, when, and how. Our Stop-the-Bleeding Sprint is designed specifically for this scenario: rapid triage, violation remediation, and documentation that demonstrates good-faith compliance efforts to regulators.
The online dispensary compliance audit on this page is completely free — 10 questions, 3 minutes, no credit card required. For operators who want a deeper analysis, our CB OS Stabilize engagement starts at $5,500 for a 30-day intensive that includes a full METRC audit, violation remediation, SOP fixes, and staff training. Ongoing operational partnership (CB OS Run) starts at $6,000/month and includes monthly audits, KPI tracking, unlimited support, and a 60% violation reduction guarantee. We take 4 new clients per month.
An internal compliance audit is something you control — you choose when it happens, who conducts it, and how findings are addressed. A state inspection is unannounced and conducted by IDFPR investigators who are looking for specific violations with real regulatory consequences. The purpose of regular internal dispensary compliance audits is to find and fix the issues the state would flag, before the state shows up. Think of it as a rehearsal where you can actually fix what’s wrong.
Collateral Base is an operational consulting firm, not a law firm. We provide operational systems, compliance frameworks, METRC auditing, and implementation support — not legal advice or legal representation. For cannabis legal matters including licensing, regulatory defense, or business structuring, we refer clients to qualified cannabis attorneys at Howard Law Group. The two firms work closely together and can coordinate on matters that require both operational and legal expertise.
Yes — proactive dispensary compliance auditing is one of the most effective license protection strategies available. Most license suspensions are the result of documented, repeated violations that went unaddressed. When you identify and remediate compliance gaps internally, you eliminate the conditions that lead to enforcement action. Our clients have maintained a $0 regulatory fine record since implementing our systems. The free audit is the first step toward knowing exactly where your exposure is.
Start Your Free Dispensary Compliance Audit
Tell us about your operation and we’ll get you your personalized compliance score. We take 4 new clients per month — if you’re a fit, you’ll know within 24 hours of completing the form.
Illinois dispensaries operate under IDFPR cannabis licensing rules. Questions? Call or email us directly. We work with licensed cannabis operators in Illinois and beyond.
