Cannabiz Credit Association

Let’s elevate the cannabis industry toward better business. 

The Cannabiz Credit Association is the primary, member-based organization that advocates for better business practices and credit standards for cannabis creditors nationwide. The CCA believes that through the sharing of data, we can empower cannabis businesses to make better business decisions and raise the bar for extending trade credit. 

Trust. Transparency. Transformation.

www.cannabizcredit.com

Founder

CannaBIZ Collects

As Founder and Managing Partner at CannaBIZ Collects, Brett Gelfand operates the nation’s first and leading cannabis-focused collection agency. He is passionate about advancing the industry forward to protect good actors from the bad in the cannabis industry. 

While helping clients recoup their outstanding accounts receivables is his core mission, Gelfand takes great pride in his leadership role towards improving credit and collection practices in the cannabis industry.

CannaBIZ Collects has worked with over 1,000 companies and processed over $100M debt to date. 

CannaBIZ Collects is a no collect, no fee agency. 

"Grow Your Green. We'll Collect It."

www.cannabizcollects.com

Managing Partner

PAQCASE

As Co-Founder and CEO of PAQcase, Brett Gelfand is responsible for articulating and steering the vision of the company that created the world’s first gasket-sealed, child-resistant case for rolled smoking material. 

His responsibilities at PAQcase including high-level stewardship for partnerships with industry leading brands including Canopy Growth, ZigZag, Alien Labs, Justin Bieber’s Peaches, Seth Rogan’s House Plant, and Snoop Dogg’s LBS.

Brett sold his equity in PAQcase in April of 2022 to focus on other ventures. 

Premium. Preroll. Packaging. 

www.paqcase.com

CEO, Co-Founder

Colorado Product Services

Oversight of 60+ employees and 5 brands, including Jimi Hendrix edibles, Mountain Flower and Double Black Extracts. Maintained investor relations, built sales team, managed payroll/expenses, established financial budget/projections, led overall strategy, and helped grow the business from $0 to $500,000 in sales in less than 1 year.

Chief Executive Officer

Executive Vice President

Assistant to the CEO of a start-up cannabis wholesale company in the Western Slope of Colorado. Colorado Product Services owns a newly built 43,000 sq ft high-tech indoor grow warehouse, a 7,000 sq ft marijuana infused product facility, as well as a retail dispensary located in Carbondale, CO. Direct involvement includes: new product development, financial forecasting, budgeting, accounting,  social media marketing, web design, marketing campaigns, branding, equipment/packaging decisions, HR/ recruitment, management and oversight, investor relations, and sales strategies.

Executive Assistant

Protiviti

•Created risk analysis survey to identify key risk areas impacting client

•Automized team’s project log dashboard 

•Drafted planning and scoping memos for multiple audits

•Reviewed and tested over 12 controls for interim SOX testing

Strategy Consultant

Caterpillar Financial

•Initiated and designed the first market intelligence report for Cat Power group

•Organized and segmented industry research 

•Actively participated in various client and deal facilitation meetings

•Presented market intelligence report to Cat Financial executives and employees

Business Development

Student Managed Investment Fund

•One of twenty students selected in the 2014 graduating class to manage the $200K portfolio for the University of Georgia Foundation

•Prepared and presented buy/sell recommendations through fundamental analysis of equities 

•Actively watched and managed six securities in the technology sector

Technology Sector Associate

Leech Gary Asset Management

•Assisted in allocation and management of portfolios ranging from $500K to $50 million 

•Analyzed client portfolios, researched stocks, and pitched potential buy and sell opportunities

•Participated in weekly meetings to understand short and long-term strategy goals 

•Compiled reports comparing performance of ETFs and REITs

•Promoted new business by cold call sales

Intern

Campus Protein

•Expanded Campus Protein to the University of Georgia campus

•Supervised the distribution, inventory, and sales of workout supplements

•Managed three college representatives to sell and distribute products

UGA Division Manager

Craze Entertainment

•Entertained small to large social events including mitzvahs, concerts, fraternity and corporate parties

•Avg event cost ranged from $1,000 - $5,000 

•Responsible for the marketing, production, and management of the company

Owner

Managing Partner @ CannaBIZ Collects & CCA | 🌎 Travel | Innovative Disrupter | Helping companies collect their 💰

I’m driven by the challenge to build great businesses with great people to solve real problems. 

My career began in 2015 after being promoted to CEO of a vertically integrated cannabis company in Colorado, where I gained hands-on experience and deep insights into the industry.

Later, I co-founded a specialty child-resistant cannabis packaging business, where I served as CEO. In 2022, I sold my shares in the company, achieving a personal exit while the business continued operating independently.

Currently I’m the Founder & Managing Partner of CannaBIZ Collects, the nation’s first and leading cannabis-focused collection agency started in 2017. In this role, I work to support cannabis businesses in navigating the unique legal and financial challenges related to A/R and collections.

I’m also the founder of the Cannabiz Credit Association, the first trade credit group in the cannabis industry, where we provide tools for risk monitoring and credit assessments to help businesses make better financial decisions and manage risk effectively.

I earned a BBA in Finance from The University of Georgia, and today, I’m based in St. Petersburg, FL. I’m committed to exploring new opportunities, improving business practices in the industry, and mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs who are looking to make an impact.

The belief that I needed a partner to succeed in business was one of the biggest lies I told myself for years.

I thought I needed equal partners to build anything meaningful.

The turning point was taking 100% control of CannaBIZ Collects.

My father always taught me that I should build something myself and be my own boss.

So it felt like a full circle moment that I would put this in motion by parting ways with him.

I realized I had more capability than I'd ever given myself credit for.

Most of us are figuring it all out as we go, with the difference being who's willing to take the risk of being the buck stop.

Building entrepreneurial confidence means getting comfortable with standing alone and making the wrong decision.

You can have support, advisors, and team members who believe in your vision.

But someone has to be willing to own the final outcome.

It took me a long time to believe that I was that person.

Chime in if you’ve felt this imposter syndrome before and how you overcame it.

Brett Gelfand

Helping cannabis companies collect their 💰 | Founder @ CannaBIZ Collects & CCA

Proudest moment for Cannabiz Credit Association: when retailers call our office asking how to improve their credit scores.

This shows that the layer of accountability we’ve created is actually working.

Just last week, a buyer called us.

"We're trying to do business with a brand that mentioned we have a high-risk credit score - can you help us fix this?"

Gladly!

This represents a complete behavioral shift from the old cannabis playbook of ignoring payment problems or disputing them.

Instead of finding another vendor who doesn't check credit, these companies are addressing their payment history directly.

They're asking specifically what they owe and to whom so they can clean up their records and secure better terms.

This shows how credit reporting is fundamentally altering market dynamics.

Poor credit scores have become real barriers to business relationships.

Companies now understand that their payment reputation follows them.

Rather than gaming the system, buyers are taking initiative to become better partners.

This self-regulating mechanism proves that systematic accountability creates the market pressure needed for industry-wide improvement.

If you've heard that your company has credit issues, don't ignore them. Reach out and let's discuss how to improve your standing!

The cannabis industry is finally developing the financial maturity it needed to thrive long-term.

If you want a demo of CCA this week, reach out and I’ll walk you through how it works.

DSO is hands down the most important KPI cannabis companies aren't tracking right now.

DSO = Days Sales Outstanding

You may have never heard of DSO, but it's critically important to your business function today.

I speak to a lot of operators who obsess over revenue growth while completely ignoring whether that revenue ever becomes cash.

This creates a dangerous blind spot where companies celebrate sales that may never hit their bank account.

DSO measures the one thing that actually matters:

— How long it takes to collect money after making a sale

Think about it like this:

A company with $1M in monthly sales but 90-day DSO: broke for three months after every transaction.

Compare that to a company with $500K in sales but 15-day DSO: consistent cash flow and working capital.

The difference between these scenarios determines whether you can pay rent, payroll, and suppliers this month.

Cannabis accounting systems rarely track DSO properly.

This leaves operators flying blind and likely to mistake sales velocity for cash flow performance.

This creates a financial illusion that can destroy businesses.

When market conditions tighten, poor DSO transforms from an invisible inefficiency into an existential threat.

The operators who thrive in the environment we’re in right now are those who convert sales to cash fastest.

If you're extending credit terms without tracking DSO, you're gambling with your company's survival.

Start measuring your DSO today.

If you call a business and say "don't work with this store because they owe me money" you could be breaking federal antitrust law.

Federal antitrust laws still apply in cannabis, and they're trickier than most people realize.

The line between sharing helpful information and illegal coordination is thinner than most people think.

Even when we're all trying to help each other survive in this industry, federal competition rules don't disappear.

So what can you legally do?

Report factual payment information through proper credit channels.

Share your own experience when directly asked about a specific customer.

But don't coordinate business decisions or suggest others refuse service based on debt owed to you.

The safest approach is using formal credit associations (hint: Cannabiz Credit Association!) with legal frameworks for information sharing.

These systems give you access to payment history without the anti-trust risks of informal conversations.

It's the difference between "don't work with them because they screwed me" and "here's their documented payment record."

One protects the industry, the other could create serious legal problems.

How carefully do you think about the legal risks when discussing problem customers with other businesses?

Appreciate Benzinga's Cannabis Capital Conference having me and the team out in Chicago this year. Enjoyed the interview to shed light on how we are tackling the AR & collection epidemic infecting our industry today. 

You can listen here:

Open video: CannaBIZ Collects: Exclusive Executive Interview at Benzinga's Cannabis Capital Conference. on youtube.com

CannaBIZ Collects: Exclusive Executive Interview at Benzinga's Cannabis Capital Conference.

Question: How long do you wait before sending a friend to collections?

This is a really sensitive topic which has no right answer.

The cannabis industry is beautiful because of the many tight knit relationships that hold it together.

But that is problematic when there is debt between the two friends.

A couple of weeks ago we gave advice on this very subject on LinkedIn and in more depth in our email, which more than 3500 of you read.

This was our most popular newsletter this year, so it clearly struck a nerve.

Because this topic came up again at Benzinga's Cannabis Capital Conference, I wanted to see what you guys think.

Vote in here and chime in in the comments if you’ve dealt with this before.

Respectfully refrain from naming names. Let’s share best practices and war stories.

How long do you wait before sending a friend to collections?

If you're putting off sending someone to collections you have to read this crazy story:

Last year we were asked to chase down $1.8M of debt for a business.

That’s a huge amount of money. We were happy to help.

But the client was dragging his feet in submitting the paperwork to begin the process.

“I’ll get it done this week.”

Nothing.

“I’ll get it done next week. It’s busy season.”

Nothing.

“I’m on it”

Nothing.

This went on for six months.

At this point the debt was well over a year old.

By the time he finally submitted the paperwork the debtor had died!

Literally died.

So...what happens if your debtor dies?

Unfortunately for you, the debt dies with them.

The same thing happens when a company goes out of business and the LLC is shut down.

So, the cautionary tale here is:

DON’T WAIT to submit that claim.

If their business collapses and the LLC is terminated, you won’t get your money.

And if they die, god forbid, you definitely won’t get it.

Every cannabis operator in Massachusetts should read this:

MA cannabis businesses are enduring one of the worst AR problems in the state.

Companies are bleeding cash because outstanding invoices aren’t being collected.

It’s a highly competitive and fragmented market.

That means lots of brands willing to give cash strapped dispensaries terms.

And cash strapped dispensaries are borrowing from Peter to pay Paul…

Which means brands can’t pay their vendors…

And so it goes.


Here are three ways MA operators can protect cash flow:

1. Define and enforce payment terms—early and hard

Institute clear, written contracts with precise deadlines, penalties, and remedies.

Set net terms and stick to them—don’t let "one-off" deals slide into unpaid cycles.

Follow up at 15, 30, and 60 days proactively. 

Internal collections are always our preferred route; CannaBIZ Collects is here when it hits 90+ days.


2. Use a credit check system

Cannabiz Credit Association is an amazing resource for helping you avoid bad actors.

Our database consists of real time AR information from some of the industry’s biggest companies.

Jeeter, Kiva, The Cannabist Company - all sharing information about who isn’t paying on time.

Don’t go to market without it.


3. Don’t budge

Sure the market is competitive on the brand side, but it’s also competitive on the retail side too!

There are 650 stores in MA.

If one is being a stickler on your terms and you suspect they might not pay, no problem, take your product elsewhere.

Have the confidence to walk away if the signs are pointing to a debt hole.

Look, you didn’t start this business to chase debt. 

That’s why I started my business!

But know that you can minimize the chances of having to chase debt by doing credit checks on the front end.

And if you do have some “customers” who are over 90 days late, that’s what our collections business is for.

You need to run your company. Not run around after late payments.

Anyone in MA have some boots-on-the-ground updates on the AR situation?

Taplio

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