Alerts email your team as soon as something at your store needs attention, such as a package selling out, an order failing to report to Metrc, or a drawer closing short. Without alerts, these issues usually surface at end-of-day close, during reconciliation, or in a state audit, when they’re harder to fix. Store managers and admins typically set alerts up once and send each one to whoever owns inventory, compliance, or cash.
Before You Start
You need Alerts permission to manage alerts.
Alerts are sent by email. Decide which inbox each alert should go to, such as a manager’s address for shift alerts or a shared compliance inbox for unreported orders.
Alert settings only apply to the store you set them up in. If you manage more than one store, set them up separately at each one.
Create an Alert
1. Click your initials in the top left corner, then select Alerts.
2. Click Alert Settings in the top right corner.
3. Click the green + button in the top right corner.
4. Enter a Name that tells the recipient what to do, such as Low Stock – Reorder or Unreported Sale – Report Today.
5. Select an Alert Type, then turn on the triggers you want. Each type is explained in Alert Types below.
6. Enter the Email Address that should receive this alert [Verify in editor: whether the address is set per alert or once for all alerts, and whether multiple addresses are accepted].
7. Click Save & Close.
Alert Types
Each alert type watches one area of your store.
Inventory Alerts
Packages are sold out: Emails you when a package reaches zero so you can pull it from menus and reorder.
Packages are sold at a negative quantity: Emails you when a sale takes a package below zero. GrowFlow’s count no longer matches the shelf, so audit the package before the mismatch carries into your Metrc reporting.
Each package quantity falls below X: Emails you when any package drops below your threshold, giving you lead time to reorder.
Order Alerts
Order item is sold below cost: Catches pricing or discount setup errors before they cost you margin on every sale.
Order fails to report to the state traceability system: Your most important compliance alert. An unreported sale means Metrc doesn’t match your sales records, so report the order the same day. If the alert keeps showing after you try, see An alert won’t go away.
Order discount is greater than X percent and Item discount is greater than X percent: Flag discounts above your store policy so you can review them before they become a habit.
Run Retail: How to Run the Metrc Sales Audit Report before close to catch any unreported sales this alert didn’t flag.
Pre-Order Alerts
Online orders from your e-commerce menu arrive as pre-orders, so use these alerts to know when online orders come in.
New pre-order is created: Let staff start fulfilling right away so customers aren’t kept waiting at pickup.
Pre-order is fulfilled: Confirms an order is packed and ready.
The number of open pre-orders also shows on the Pre-Orders tab of the Orders page.
Shift Alerts
Shift is opened and Shift is closed: Confirms registers are opened and closed on schedule, which helps managers who aren’t on site.
Shift is closed with a discrepancy greater than X: Emails you when a drawer closes over or short by more than the entered dollar amount, so you can investigate while the shift is fresh.
Confirm Your Alert Is Working
Your new alert appears in the Alert Settings list with an Active status. When it triggers, the recipient gets an email from [email protected] with a subject such as GrowFlow Inventory Alert or GrowFlow Order Alert. The email names the package or order and the user who completed it, with links to each in GrowFlow. Every alert that fires is also listed on the Alerts page you opened in step 1.
You can also view alerts by clicking your initials in the top-left corner and selecting Alerts.
Add [email protected] to your safe senders list, so alerts don’t land in spam.
Note: Replies to alert emails go to the GrowFlow support inbox, not to your team. To change or turn off an alert, use the Alert Settings link at the bottom of the email.
What Can Go Wrong
Alert emails aren’t arriving
Symptom: The event happened, but no email arrived.
Fix:
1. In Alert Settings, confirm the alert is Active, and the email address is spelled correctly.
2. Check the spam folder and add [email protected] to safe senders.
3. Confirm the event met your trigger. For example, a package must drop below your threshold, not just reach it.
If all three check out, contact support with the alert name and an example order or package ID.
Text message alerts don’t arrive
Symptom: You saved a phone number, but texts never come through.
Fix: Text message alerts aren’t available right now because messaging providers block cannabis-related texts. Switch the alert to an email address, then turn on email notifications on your phone to get a similar experience.
You can’t create or edit alerts
Symptom: Alert Settings or the + button is missing or can’t be clicked.
Fix: Your user role doesn’t have permission to manage alerts. If the Alerts permission is set to View, you can see existing alerts but can’t create or edit them. Ask an Admin to change it to View, Add, Edit, and Delete under User Settings.
An alert won’t go away
Symptom: An old alert, often for an unreported order or return, keeps showing on the Alerts page.
Fix: Alerts can’t be dismissed manually. They clear once you fix the issue behind them. For an unreported order, open the order and report it to the state. If reporting fails with an Unauthorized error, the order was completed under a user-specific API key. The budtender who completed it needs to report it.
The alert you need isn’t listed
Symptom: You’re looking for an alert about expiring packages, held orders, or messages to customers.
Fix: Alerts cover only the triggers listed in Alert Types. To find expiring inventory, go to Inventory > Packages and filter by Expiration Date. To request a new alert type, click your initials and select Feedback.