The cannabis tech map is littered with the ghosts of once-promising POS providers. In a market that’s seen more than 40 competitors dwindle down through closures and acquisitions, only a select few remain—and Cova Software is among them.
Ask anyone inside the company why Cova has lasted, and you’ll get the same answer. The team stays.
“From day one, we built Cova on something simple: be honest with people and listen to them,” said Gary Cohen, CEO of Cova Software. “It sounds basic, but not every company does it. When you do, employees stay, customers stay, and trust becomes the thing you’re known for.”
Why Tech Turns Over—and Why Cova Doesn’t
High turnover is common in tech. Average rates above thirteen percent create a cycle of lost knowledge, stalled product development, and disrupted customer support. It’s also costly, often exceeding half of an employee’s annual salary when recruitment, training, and lost continuity are factored in.
Cova sits on the opposite end of that spectrum. Employee turnover dropped below five percent this year, down from eight percent the year before, making the company an outlier not just in cannabis but across the technology sector. That longevity isn’t just a statistic. It shows up in deeper product knowledge, smoother internal communication, and stronger relationships with retailers.
“Honestly, the people here are the reason I’ve stayed this long. It never feels like a chore to come to work,” said Kenneth Brown, Technical Operations and Support Manager. “The job itself is gratifying, but what makes it different at Cova is that you’re doing it with a team that’s genuinely supportive and positive. You can’t fake that. When you enjoy the people you work with every day, it becomes really easy to stay.”
This difference starts with culture. Cova’s roots in iQmetrix, a telecom-tech company known for powering national retail operations, gave it a foundation of reliability and strong operational habits. But structure alone doesn’t keep people.
From the beginning, Cova added human-centered practices that made the workplace feel sustainable, including the sabbatical program—seven weeks off every seven years to reset, travel, or pursue something meaningful outside of work. The rest comes from leadership’s willingness to embody the culture they promote.
“Leadership here is incredibly down to earth. When the CEO visits, no one panics—we just talk. It feels collaborative, not hierarchical. We’re all focused on how we work together to reach a goal, and that makes the culture feel genuinely supportive,” said Brown.
How Long-Term Staff Create Better Outcomes for Cannabis Retailers
Tenured staff create a benefit retailers notice immediately—support that already understands their market, their workflow, and the realities of cannabis operations. At Cova, many team members have worked with the same dispensaries for years, which means support conversations don’t start from scratch. Issues are resolved faster, guidance is more accurate, and the entire experience feels personal rather than transactional.
“We’re not a chatbot. We know the industry, we know their business, and we know how they run their store,” said Aysha McDonald, Director of Operations for Client Services.
“That depth of understanding lets us troubleshoot both the software and their process, which is something most tech companies can’t do. It’s why we resolve most support cases on the first call.”
That kind of efficiency only happens when teams stay long enough to build real relationships and share knowledge across departments. People know who to ask, where information lives, and how to collaborate quickly.
“We listen, we act, and we document. When turnover is high at companies, people waste time just trying to get answers. Here, best practices are built in, and the team is always ready to help,” said McDonald.
The same long-term stability guides product evolution. Years of working with the same cannabis retailers give teams a depth of understanding that molds smarter, more informed feature development.
“Some of our clients have been with us since the very beginning, and those long-term relationships have shaped how we build the product,” said Dave Emmett, Vice President of Product. “Our teams across product, tech, and support know many of our clients personally. That familiarity makes collaboration easier, and it’s possible because our own people stay.”
This matters even more in cannabis, where regulations change frequently and differ widely from state to state. Many operators are new to retail, compliance, or technology, which makes experience—and the knowledge that comes from tenured tech teams—especially valuable.
“Canada mostly behaves like one market. The U.S. has fifty different rulebooks,” said Emmett. “There’s no universal ‘right way.’ You need people who’ve seen enough to say, ‘For this state, with your business model, here’s what actually works.’”
Why Stability Wins in a Volatile Industry
Where many cannabis tech companies branched into new products or pivoted with each market shift, Cova stayed steady. Instead of chasing the next trend, the company concentrated on building a point-of-sale platform that is reliable, scalable, and built for the realities of cannabis retail.
“We focused on POS,” said Cohen. “We didn’t try to become everything to everyone. That restraint, plus being financially conservative, left us stable and profitable. You might grow slower that way, but you stick around.”
For cannabis retailers, this translates into predictability. Near-perfect uptime, dependable performance, and a team that doesn’t churn create a foundation dispensaries can rely on, especially during high-volume surges.
That stability is most visible on the industry’s biggest days. Whether it’s 4/20 or a state’s first day of legal sales, years of load testing and performance monitoring allow the team to anticipate and address issues before they surface. A smooth day with no outages isn’t an accident. It’s preparation.
As regulations shift and new markets open, cannabis retailers will continue to operate under constant change. In this environment, reliability becomes a real competitive edge. With long-tenured teams, loyal customers, and a platform that performs when stakes are highest, Cova’s people-first approach appears to be paying off.
“If you want long-term results, you need long-term people. Take care of your team, they take care of your customers, and that’s how you build a company that lasts,” said Cohen.
*This article is a paid post. The opinions or statements within do not necessarily reflect those of GreenState or HNP. The author is solely responsible for the content.