Meadow's All-Inclusive Delivery Guide

Meadow handles delivery end to end — online ordering, zone-based pricing, driver dispatch, and Metrc compliance. Whether you're launching delivery for the first time or fine-tuning an existing operation, this guide covers everything.

New to delivery? Here's the short version:

Read on for the full walkthrough.

Important — Meadow operates in multiple states. Most delivery workflows in Meadow are identical regardless of where you operate. The differences are in regulatory details — licensing bodies, Metrc portals, and specific compliance rules. This guide calls out state-specific details where they matter.

Here's a quick reference:

Tip: Bookmark your state's Metrc portal and regulatory body website. You'll reference both regularly.

Before you configure anything, decide how you want to deliver. Meadow supports three models — and you can run more than one at the same time.

Hub and spoke (standard delivery): The most common model. Sometimes called "pizza style." Orders come into your dispensary, staff packs them, a driver delivers to the customer and comes back. Simple. Works well when you have a central location and a defined delivery radius.

In Meadow, hub and spoke zones are labeled Standard by default. Customers who pick Standard see your full menu — everything at your main inventory location.

Dynamic delivery (mobile dispensary): Sometimes called "ice cream truck" or "trunk by trunk" delivery. You load a vehicle with inventory (subject to your state's value cap — $10,000 in California). Customers in that vehicle's zone shop from what's on the truck. Orders get packed and fulfilled on the road — no return trip needed. This is how you reach customers far from your storefront without opening another location.

In Meadow, dynamic zones are labeled Express by default. Customers who pick Express see only the inventory on their assigned vehicle. You can customize these names and descriptions in Settings > Delivery > Zones.

Hybrid: Run both. When customers enter their delivery address on your menu, they choose between Standard (wider selection) and Express (faster delivery). Each type pulls from a different inventory location — your shop or the vehicle. This gives you flexibility as your operation scales.

Tip: Most dispensaries start with hub and spoke. Add dynamic delivery later when you're ready to expand your reach. If you go hybrid, you'll need to duplicate your zones — one Standard and one Express version of each geographic area.

Every state has specific rules for cannabis delivery. Get these in place before your first order goes out the door.

What you'll need — quick checklist:

Tip: New to cannabis retail operations? Meadow Mastery offers free courses — including delivery-specific training — to get your team up to speed fast.

Zones give you real control over where you deliver and on what terms. Instead of a flat list of ZIP codes, zones let you customize fees, minimums, time estimates, and taxes for different areas. How long does this take? Depends on your level of granularity and reach, ~20 minutes - 1 hour.

1. Open zone settings: Go to Settings > Delivery, click the Zones tab — or jump to admin.getmeadow.com/settings/delivery/zones.

2. Create a zone. Click Add Zone. Two options:

3. Set your zone rules. Each zone gets its own:

4. Save and repeat. Click Save. Create additional zones for each area you serve.

Tip: Start simple — 2 or 3 zones based on distance. Close (free delivery, low minimum), mid-range (small fee), and far (higher fee, higher minimum). You can always refine later. If you run hybrid delivery, duplicate each zone into Standard and Express versions so customers can choose their experience.

Tax rates in California vary by jurisdiction. Zone-based taxes make sure your customers pay the correct sales and cannabis tax rates for their delivery address — not your store's address.

1.Open an existing zone, or create a new zone. Go to Settings > Delivery > Zones.

2. Add taxes to the zone. Scroll to the bottom and click Add Tax. You can add taxes in two ways:

3. Stack multiple taxes. Most zones need more than one tax. Add each separately — local sales tax, excise tax, state sales tax — in the correct compound order. Orders in that zone will use the zone taxes and ignore your default global tax settings.

4. Double-check your rates. Look up the correct rate for any California address using the CDTFA tax rate lookup tool. Cross-reference with your accountant before going live.

Tip: If you operate in a single tax jurisdiction (like a city with one rate), you can leave zone taxes blank and use your organization's standard rate from Settings > Taxes instead.

Important: Tax rates and zones in Meadow are based on CDTFA data from the California State Geoportal. Meadow isn't responsible for discrepancies in state data. Always confirm your rates with a tax professional.

This takes about two minutes.

1. Configure and Enable Delivery Zones — Set up and customize your delivery areas first, then turn them on by going to Settings > Delivery > Zones (or head straight to admin.getmeadow.com/settings/delivery/zones) and toggle "Enable Delivery Zones" once you’re ready to accept delivery orders.

2. Turn on online ordering. Go to Settings > Delivery in Meadow Admin, or head straight to admin.getmeadow.com/settings/delivery.

3. Turn on notifications. Your team needs to see delivery orders the moment they come in.

4. Set up customer communication. Use Meadow's customizable text fields to set delivery expectations throughout the ordering experience:

Tip: Taking phone orders too? Create them directly from admin.getmeadow.com/orders/create/select.

Onfleet handles GPS tracking, route optimization, driver assignment, and customer communication. Meadow's two-way integration keeps everything in sync — orders flow from Meadow to Onfleet automatically, and status updates flow back.

1. Get your Onfleet API key. In Onfleet, go to Settings > API & Webhooks.

2. Paste it in Meadow. Go to admin.getmeadow.com/settings/integrations/delivery and enter the key. Done.

What you get:

Tip: Meadow's native routing works fine for lower volume operations (around 20–30 orders per day). For higher volume or advanced needs like real-time ETAs and map tracking, Onfleet is the way to go.

For more on how the integration works, see How does Onfleet work?

If you are not using an Onfleet integration, you can still manage delivery orders directly in Meadow by following a manual dispatch workflow. You’ll need to use an external GPS or navigation tool for driver tracking and routing, and make sure your team understands and follows all state-specific delivery compliance requirements, including manifests and reporting rules.

Drivers and dispatchers can use Meadow’s browser-based delivery dashboard at https://admin.getmeadow.com/delivery-orders to view New and Packed orders for quick fulfillment. From the order view, click the delivery address to launch navigation and complete the delivery using your preferred tracking tools.

Dynamic delivery lets you load a vehicle with inventory and fulfill orders on the road. No return trips to the shop. This is how you scale delivery without scaling locations.

What about zones with multiple vehicles? If a zone has multiple vehicles or inventory locations assigned, incoming orders are created as draft orders — meaning no inventory is held automatically. Your dispatcher reviews the order, selects the right vehicle/inventory location, and assigns the product. This prevents a customer from accidentally ordering from two different vehicles on one order.

Starting simple? Consider launching with a limited "pick 10–15" menu — 5 units of each SKU on the vehicle. This keeps inventory management simple and avoids frequent sell-outs while you dial in your operation.

For more details, see How can I use dynamic delivery to set up mobile dispensaries?

Since April 1, 2023, every California cannabis delivery requires a Metrc delivery ledger before the vehicle leaves your premises. This applies to both hub and spoke and dynamic delivery.

What's a delivery ledger? A Metrc record of everything loaded into a delivery vehicle for a given trip — what left the building, what was sold, what came back.

Key rule: one ledger per trip. Open the ledger when the vehicle departs and close it when the vehicle returns. Every trip requires its own ledger — even if the driver makes multiple stops.

Why it matters:

How Meadow handles it: Meadow automates delivery ledger creation through its Metrc integration. When you dispatch a delivery, the ledger gets generated and reported to Metrc. No CSV uploads. No logging into Metrc separately.

For dynamic delivery trips, assign the vehicle's inventory location to the ledger. Express orders auto-add to the ledger. For mixed trips (pre-orders + dynamic), assign both the pre-orders and the vehicle's inventory location.

For the full breakdown, see Metrc delivery ledgers: reporting requirements in California.

To support delivery compliance in Metrc-regulated markets, Meadow includes a Metrc Delivery Information section directly within the Order Details screen in Admin. This feature helps operators capture and report the required delivery details for states like Massachusetts, Michigan, and New Jersey — all without leaving Meadow.

For delivery orders in supported states, the required Metrc fields must be completed before the order can be fulfilled. This includes assigning the delivery driver, vehicle, estimated departure and arrival times, and confirming route details. By guiding teams through these required inputs at the order level, Meadow helps ensure delivery records are complete, accurate, and ready for Metrc reporting.

This workflow is designed to reduce manual compliance steps, prevent missing delivery data, and help your team stay aligned with state reporting requirements directly from the POS.

Setup is done. Here's how the day-to-day works.

Receiving orders. Orders come in through your website menu or get created manually in Meadow Admin. You'll get a text or email notification — whatever you configured in Settings.

Order status workflow. Every delivery order moves through three stages:

Update the status as the order moves. If you're on Onfleet, statuses sync between both systems automatically. Drivers can update order status directly from the Meadow Admin app on their phones — no extra hardware needed.

Dispatching. How dispatching works depends on your setup:

Metrc reporting requirements. Don't forget to report your order ETAs to Metrc.

Phone orders. Customer calls in? Create the order directly from admin.getmeadow.com/orders/create/select. Select delivery, enter their address, and you're set.

For the full breakdown of statuses, types, and sources, see How do order statuses, types, and sources work in Meadow?

What delivery model should I use?

The right delivery model depends on your operation. Most dispensaries start with hub and spoke — orders come to your shop, get packed, and go out with a driver. If you want to reach customers farther out without returning to the shop each time, add dynamic delivery. You can run both simultaneously with the hybrid model.

Do I need Onfleet to run delivery?

No, you don't need Onfleet to run delivery in Meadow. You can manage everything from Meadow Admin. But Onfleet adds GPS tracking, route optimization, and automated customer updates — and it satisfies the DCC's GPS tracking requirement. Most operators add it once their delivery volume picks up. Meadow's native routing handles around 20–30 orders per day without Onfleet.

Can I set different fees for different delivery areas?

Yes, you can set different delivery fees for different areas using zones. Each zone gets its own fee, minimum order amount, and time estimate. Offer free delivery close to your shop and charge for orders farther out.

How do zone-based taxes work?

Zone-based taxes override your global tax settings. When a customer orders delivery to a zone with taxes configured, those zone taxes apply — not your store's default rates. This ensures the correct rate for every delivery address. You can stack multiple taxes per zone.

Can I deliver outside my city?

That depends on your DCC license and local regulations. Many California operators deliver across city and county lines. Set up separate zones for each jurisdiction with the right tax rates, fees, and time estimates.

What's the $10,000 vehicle inventory limit?

California law caps the retail value of cannabis inventory in a delivery vehicle at $10,000. For dynamic delivery, that's the total value you can load onto the truck. For hub and spoke, it's the total value of all orders in the vehicle at any given time. Meadow's ledger system warns you if you're approaching this limit.

How do I track my drivers?

Connect Onfleet to Meadow. Onfleet gives you real-time GPS tracking, route history, and driver location monitoring — all required by the DCC for cannabis delivery vehicles. Without Onfleet, you'll need a separate GPS solution to stay compliant.

What happens when a zone has multiple vehicles?

When a zone has multiple vehicles or inventory locations, incoming orders are created as draft orders. Your dispatcher reviews the order, selects the correct vehicle or inventory location, and assigns the product. This prevents orders from accidentally pulling from the wrong vehicle.

Can drivers update order status from the road?

Yes, drivers can update order status from the road using the Meadow Admin app on their phones. They can mark orders as departed or delivered in real time — no extra hardware or cash drawers needed.

Do delivery sales sync with Metrc?

Yes, delivery sales sync with Metrc automatically through Meadow's direct integration. No CSV uploads, no manual entry. Delivery ledgers are also generated and reported to Metrc when you dispatch.

Where do I set up delivery in Meadow?

You can set up delivery in Meadow from these pages: