Engagement Type 01

The Compliance Diagnostic

2–3 weeks · A senior read of your operation, with a written readout and an honest recommendation. A Diagnostic credit applies to whatever follows within 30 days.

Book the Diagnostic Talk first instead

What it is

An executive readout your leadership can act on.

A senior assessment of your compliance posture across operations and environmental. We quantify your regulatory exposure, rank findings by enforcement risk and dollar impact, and deliver a 30/60/90-day remediation roadmap — plus a clear recommendation on what comes next.

Most operators run a Diagnostic before committing to a larger Project or Retainer. You don't have to start here. If you already know what needs fixing, you can hire us directly for a Project. If you already know you need ongoing senior compliance support, you can start with a Retainer. The Diagnostic exists for operators who want a senior read first — whether you're in active regulatory pain or stable and looking to optimize.

What we do

Six things, over two to three weeks.

Discovery sessions. One onsite visit OR two video working sessions with leadership and the people who actually do the work. We talk to operators, not just owners.
Document review. SOPs, MMPs, batch production records, recent NOCs and citations, training records, premises diagram, surveillance configuration, METRC access. We read everything you have.
Operational walk-through. We assess what's actually happening on the floor against what's documented. Documentation gaps walk inspectors to citations; we find them first.
Environmental and licensing review. CEQA status, water board reporting, pesticide regulation compliance, environmental site assessments, cultivation environmental requirements. The regulatory architecture that drives more findings than most operators expect.
Inspection-readiness assessment. A focused review of your team's preparedness for an unannounced inspection — across records, surveillance, premises, and staff response.
Findings scored and prioritized. Issues ranked by severity, dollar exposure, and what an inspector would cite first. Each finding gets a Diagnostic Pain Score — a structured measure of severity and remediation urgency that translates directly into the 30-, 60-, and 90-day remediation roadmap.

What you get

A document your leadership can act on.

A written readout, 8–15 pages, branded.
Prioritized remediation roadmap — top 5 to 10 issues, ranked by Diagnostic Pain Score, with severity and dollar exposure.
30-, 60-, and 90-day plan: what to fix when, in dependency order.
One-hour findings call with leadership.
Clear recommendation: Project, Retainer, both, refer out, or no further engagement.

Where the Diagnostic leads

Five possible recommendations.

The findings call ends with one of five clear next steps — not a sales pitch.

A fixed-fee Project — when there's a specific operational issue with a defined scope and timeline.
A Compliance Officer Retainer — when you need ongoing senior advisory coverage, citation response, and inspection preparation.
An Operational Office Retainer — when you need back-office execution: METRC, manifests, batch records, daily compliance work.
Both retainers, bundled — when you need senior oversight plus daily execution. 12% off the combined monthly rate.
No further engagement — sometimes the right answer is that your team can close the gaps internally, or another consultant is a better fit. We refer out when we should.

The Diagnostic credit

$5,000 of the fee credits toward what comes next.

$5,000 of the $7,500 Diagnostic fee credits toward a follow-on engagement scoped within 30 days. The credit applies to:

Any Project Engagement.
Any Compliance Officer Retainer (with a 3-month minimum commitment).
Daily or Full Operational Office Retainer (with a 3-month minimum commitment).

Two tiers of Operational Office — Backup ($1,500/mo) and Daily Light ($3,500/mo) — are intentionally low-friction starting points and don't take the credit. Those tiers don't need it to make sense.

What this is not

The boundaries are part of the value.

Not a sales pitch. The readout is honest. If a fixed-fee Project closes the issue, we'll say so. If a Retainer makes more sense than a Project, we'll say that. If you don't need us at all, we'll say that too — though it's not a frequent outcome.
Not a one-size-fits-all template. We use a structured methodology, but the readout is built from your operation, not a stamp.
Not the only way to work with us. Operators who already know what needs fixing can hire us directly for a Project. Operators who already know they need ongoing senior compliance support can start with a Retainer. The Diagnostic exists for operators who want a senior read first.

Who this is for

Operators in active regulatory pain — recent citation, inspection coming, annual renewal looming, METRC out of sync, or a denied license to recover.
Operators in stable compliance who want a senior read before committing to a larger engagement.
Multi-license operators or microbusinesses deciding whether to hire a Director of Compliance internally or outsource the function.
Single-license operators planning to scale — adding licenses, expanding product lines, restructuring — who want a senior eye on the portfolio first.
Anyone running a fully compliant operation who wants to optimize, not just maintain.

Who this is not for

Retailers and testing labs (we refer out).
Operators looking for a free opinion before committing to anything.
Operators who want a consultant to validate a decision they've already made.
Operators outside California cannabis (the methodology travels, but the practice is California-specific).

Start here

Ready for an executive readout?

A short conversation first to confirm fit. Bring your citation, your annual renewal date, your METRC discrepancies — or simply a sense that your compliance posture needs a senior assessment.

Book the Diagnostic Talk first instead