On C.O.D.? Here's the Official off-ramp.
C.O.D. is New York's rule for cannabis credit: a retailer who runs past 30 days on a supplier invoice can be listed and must buy cash-on-delivery until the listing clears. Supplier first, OCM reporting second, tax on its own desk. Here's the order to run it in, today.
Three desks, three languages
1 · Your supplier
Clears the money signal. Only a supplier can report your payment in full.
2 · OCM
Updates the C.O.D. list from what suppliers report. It does not collect your debt.
3 · Tax Department
Handles tax. A separate track with its own bills, deadlines and portal.
What C.O.D. is, and is not
What it is
- Official Credit on cannabis purchases is limited to 30 days from delivery.
- Official A supplier must report a late payment to the retailer and OCM within 7 calendar days.
- Official While listed, suppliers can't extend you credit. You can still buy, but cash on delivery.
- Official You come off when every supplier that reported you has reported payment in full.
What it is not
- Not a collections service. OCM says it is not a collections agency.
- Not a public shaming list, and not a bankruptcy or insolvency count.
- Not a tax warrant. Tax is a different desk.
- Not something GENYC can clear for you. We can only show you the steps.
Official The list refreshes weekly, on Wednesdays.
The fast path: 10 steps, in order
Keep the order. Tick them off as you go. GENYC guidance built from the official process.
Who to contact, by situation
Find your situation, go to the first column. Each row points to the official route, never to an invented one.
| Situation | First contact / action | Then | Not first |
|---|---|---|---|
| I can pay (unpaid invoice or default notice) | Reporting supplier: reconcile and pay the invoice principal | Confirm the supplier filed payment-in-full in the applicable system | Asking OCM Licensing to collect or remove the debt |
| Am I on C.O.D.? Who reported me? | Metrc COD Standing and CODReporting@ocm.ny.gov for your own status | Internal AP reconciliation and document file | Public social posts or tagging OCM |
| Wrong amount, wrong quantity, or already paid | Reporting supplier, with proof | Written review/dispute to CODReporting@ocm.ny.gov | Ignoring it and hoping it expires |
| Multiple suppliers | Work the list supplier by supplier; track each in the AP tracker | Re-check after each Wednesday refresh | Assuming one payment clears all |
| Need credit before next Wednesday | The supplier that wants to sell on credit; ask about the official written-request process | OCM process only as the official guidance requires | Assuming same-day credit restoration |
| Metrc permissions or button problem | Your facility administrator and official Metrc support/learning resources | OCM/CODReporting for the process question if needed | Treating Metrc as collections |
| Tax bill, registration or payment issue | NY Tax Online Services, Quick Pay, or the official tax page | Qualified tax practitioner or counsel | The OCM C.O.D. desk |
| Board discipline, renewal, ownership or transfer stress | Qualified cannabis counsel | Official agency process as counsel directs | GENYC DMs as legal advice |
Rule of thumb: supplier clears the money signal. OCM updates the list after supplier reporting. Tax Department handles tax.
Stay off the list: run it from your POS
GENYC guidance The 30-day clock starts at delivery, not when you notice the invoice. Your POS and inventory system already know when product arrived and how fast it sells. Use that. Features differ by vendor (Dutchie, Flowhub, Treez, Cova, Blaze and others), so check what yours offers. The habits below work even with nothing but a receiving report and a spreadsheet.
1 · Receive same day, log the clock
Receive every transfer in your POS/Metrc on arrival. Record delivery date and invoice number. Write day 30 on the invoice and set your own pay-by date around day 21.
2 · Check the delivery before you sign
Reconcile what arrived against the manifest and invoice at receiving. Short or rejected product gets flagged in writing the same day, so "wrong amount" disputes don't show up at day 60.
3 · Buy what sells inside 3 weeks
Use your POS sell-through and aging-inventory reports by vendor. If a credit order won't turn before day 30, you're financing it out of pocket. Size credit orders to what sells, not what's discounted.
4 · Weekly 15-minute AP check
Each week, export received inventory, match it to paid invoices, and flag anything past day 21. Put it in the AP tracker in the PDF. Check COD Standing in Metrc in the same sitting.
5 · Use PO and vendor-bill fields if you have them
If your POS supports purchase orders, payment terms or vendor bills with due dates, turn them on. If it doesn't, the receiving report plus the tracker does the same job. Ask your POS rep what's available; don't assume.
6 · Ring-fence the tax money
Retail tax collected at the register is not working capital. Use your POS tax report to sweep it into a separate account on a fixed schedule, well before the quarterly due date.
7 · Pay oldest first, principal first
When cash is tight, clear the oldest invoice before it crosses day 30, and pay principal. A partial payment is not payment in full, and only the supplier's report counts.
8 · Talk to the supplier before day 30
If you'll be late, tell the supplier before the deadline and get any plan in writing. Suppliers must report late payments, so silence is the expensive option.
Your POS is not a compliance backstop. It shows what you received, sold and paid internally. It does not tell you whether a supplier has reported you or whether OCM lists you. Only Metrc COD Standing and OCM do. Never share POS or seed-to-sale credentials with anyone, including us.
Pre-audit checklist: get ahead of it
GENYC guidance Do this once a month (30 minutes, owner plus whoever runs payables) so a bad week never turns into a listing. Everything here happens before a supplier is ever late-reporting you.
1 · Every vendor, one sheet, instant access
2 · People, before you need them
3 · Check what is selling
4 · Protect the cash
5 · Set tripwires, then obey them
6 · Keep the paper clean
Need the printable version? The PDF has this checklist plus a vendor and emergency contact sheet.
Timing note: legacy tool to Metrc
Official Per the Metrc bulletin cited by OCM, C.O.D. functionality went live in Metrc on September 15, 2026. Delinquencies reported before that date stay on the legacy OCM path until cleared, with the legacy tool set to sunset on October 23, 2026. Screens, labels and permissions may differ from what's described here. Check the current OCM and Metrc instructions before you act; GENYC doesn't promise a screen layout or a turnaround time. OCM: Delinquent Payment Reporting ↗
Tax is a separate desk
Official C.O.D. is not a tax warrant, and tax is not a C.O.D. issue. Fix them separately.
- 9% distributor tax + 9% state retail tax + 4% local retail tax = 22% combined cannabis tax. This is arithmetic from the official rates, not a single label in the statute. Rates apply to sales on or after June 1, 2024.
- Adult-use cannabis products are exempt from sales tax. Ancillary goods (papers, pipes, lighters) are not.
- Returns and payment run quarterly, due on the 20th of the month after the quarter ends. Late filing or payment adds penalty and interest. Confirm the quarter dates on the Tax Department page.
- An unpaid Tax Department liability can put your Certificate of Registration at risk. For a bill or registration issue, go to Tax Online Services, not OCM.
Official links
- OCM: Delinquent Payment Reporting (hub) ↗
- OCM: Delinquent payments guidance ↗
- OCM: Delinquent payment FAQs ↗
- OCM: Retailer's Guide to the C.O.D. List (PDF) ↗
- OCM: Supplier instructions ↗
- OCM: 2026 Credit Calendar ↗
- NY Tax Department: Adult-use cannabis tax ↗
- NY Tax Department: Payments / Quick Pay ↗
- NY Tax Law §493 ↗
Status inquiries about your own license: CODReporting@ocm.ny.gov . This inbox is for your own status, written dispute statements and legacy-tool access questions. It is not a debt collector, legal adviser or same-day cure desk.
Take it with you
Free checklist PDF · 4 pages · print-friendly
Today's 10-step checklist with checkboxes, a blank AP tracker, the who-to-contact matrix with the official links, and a pre-audit checklist with a vendor and emergency contact sheet. Hand it to whoever runs your payables.
Download the free checklist PDF
Education only. This page is general education from Green Events NYC, not legal, tax, accounting, collections, or agency advice. Rules, systems, deadlines, and agency guidance can change. Verify your own status and the current official instructions with OCM, the New York Tax Department, your suppliers, and qualified counsel before acting. GENYC cannot clear a C.O.D. listing or resolve a debt for you.
Labels: Official from OCM or the Tax Department; GENYC guidance our own practical suggestions. Last reviewed September 30, 2026.