A Metrc manifest is the state's record of a cannabis transfer: which packages left one licensee, in what quantities, headed to which other licensee. In Metrc you find it on the Licensed Transfers screen, and you print it with the View Manifest button, which opens a PDF you can print or save. The more useful habit is what comes next: checking that manifest against the vendor's invoice, line by line, before you pay.
Metrc's screens differ a little by state and change with updates, so treat the steps below as a guide and check your state's Metrc support bulletins for the exact layout. Everything here is drawn from Metrc's own published bulletins.
What a Metrc transfer manifest is
When one licensee ships product to another, the shipper creates a transfer in Metrc and adds each package to it. The transfer manifest is the document that describes that shipment. It shows the origin and destination licenses, transporter details, and every package on the transfer, with its tag, item name, and quantity. If the shipper entered one, it also shows the wholesale price.
Two things make the manifest more than paperwork:
- It's the receiving record. When you receive the transfer in Metrc, you accept or reject each package and record the received quantity. After that, the manifest PDF shows accepted packages highlighted in green and rejected packages in pink, according to Metrc.
- It's independent of the invoice. The vendor's invoice is what they say they shipped. The manifest is what the state system says moved. When the two disagree, you want to know before you pay.
How to find a manifest in Metrc
Manifests live in the Transfers area, on the Licensed Transfers grid. The grid is split into tabs. Metrc's bulletins describe these:
- Incoming for transfers headed to your license. This is where a dispensary looks for a delivery that's on its way or waiting to be received.
- Outgoing for transfers you're shipping. This is where a brand or wholesaler finds what it sent.
- Rejected for transfers or packages that were sent back.
- Inactive for completed transfers, once they've been received.
In states that require transfer approvals, such as California, an incoming transfer first appears on an Incoming "Pending Approval" tab, and the manifest can't be generated until both the destination and the transporter have approved it.
How to print a Metrc manifest
Open Licensed Transfers
Go to the Transfers area in Metrc and open the Licensed Transfers grid.
Pick the right tab
Incoming if you're receiving, Outgoing if you shipped it, or Inactive if the transfer is already complete.
Select the transfer
Find the transfer by manifest number, date, or the other licensee, and select it.
Click View Manifest
Metrc opens the manifest as a PDF. From there you can view it, print it, or save it.
Print or save the manifest after you've received the transfer, so the copy you keep shows which packages were accepted and which were rejected. That's the version your bookkeeper and your payables should work from.
Metrc manifest template: you don't need one
There's no blank Metrc manifest to fill in. Metrc generates the manifest from the transfer the shipper builds in the system, and the shipper's entries are what appear on it. What shippers can use are transfer templates: Metrc lets you save a template for a repeat shipment from the Licensed Transfers screen, so the destination and transport details don't have to be re-entered each time. Metrc also supports adding packages to a manifest by CSV upload. Per Metrc's guidance, a CSV upload adds only the package tags, and any wholesale prices still have to be entered on the manifest.
How to check a manifest against the vendor's invoice
This is Metrc reconciliation in practice, and it's where the money is. Do it in two moments: at the door, and again before payment.
At the door: before the driver leaves
Metrc's own best practices say to inspect and weigh or count every package before the transport driver leaves, and to receive the transfer in Metrc while the driver is still there, so any problem package can be rejected both physically and in the system. If a package's quantity doesn't match the manifest, Metrc's Minnesota guidance is not to receive it: reject it so it can be returned, corrected, and reshipped. Check your own state's rule. Metrc also warns there's no way to undo accidentally accepting a package.
Before payment: line by line
When the invoice arrives, put it next to the received manifest and check each line:
- Product. Every invoice line should match a package on the manifest. A line that isn't there didn't ship.
- Size. Same strain, same size. An eighth billed and a gram shipped is a real mismatch that totals can hide.
- Quantity. Invoiced quantity against the received quantity, not the shipped quantity.
- Price. If the manifest carries a wholesale price, it should agree with the invoice.
- Coverage. One invoice can cover several manifests, and one delivery can be invoiced twice. Check both directions.
Pay against the received manifest, not the invoice. If a package isn't on the manifest as accepted, it isn't something you owe for.
Common manifest and invoice mismatches
Short
invoice bills more units than the manifest shows received
Not shipped
invoice line with no matching package on any manifest
Billed twice
two invoices pointing at the same delivery
Metrc's own bulletins list the shipper-side errors that cause many of these: the wrong package placed on a manifest, an incorrect package quantity, an incorrect wholesale price, an incorrect item name or category, and packages physically left off the manifest. Add the invoice-side errors (a line for product that hasn't shipped yet, the wrong size, a duplicate) and you have most of what goes wrong.
It adds up. At one dispensary, a vendor invoiced 50 units while the Metrc manifest showed 42. The $1,140 difference was flagged before the check went out. The receiving team had signed for it on a busy delivery day, and nobody would have noticed.
Metrc reconciliation, done every week
Checking every invoice against every manifest by hand is the kind of job that gets skipped on a busy week, which is exactly when the shorts get through. ShelfVerify does it for every invoice: it finds the Metrc manifest that moved the product, including invoices split across several deliveries, pairs each invoice line to a package, and flags anything that doesn't match with the reason. Dispensaries get it inside ShelfPay, so only what arrived gets paid. Brands get it inside ShelfCollect, so every invoice they send is backed by the manifest their customer accepted.
For the receiving side in more depth, see short, damaged, and non-compliant deliveries and how invoices are checked against Metrc before you pay.
Sources: Metrc Support Bulletins MN_IB_0068 "Transfers Best Practices" (07/07/2026), VA_IB_0016 "Wholesale Transfer Best Practices," CA-IB-2023-008 "Transfer Approvals," and CO_IB_1.3.2025 "Manifest Updates." Metrc screens and rules vary by state; follow your state's bulletins.