Used Car Dealership Software Guide At AutoRaptor, we’re about efficiency and helping you figure out how to save time at your used auto dealership, so you can focus your efforts on the most important factor to success – providing an excellent experience for each and every one of your customers. FEX DMS is a best-of-breed dealer management system (DMS) designed to help manage all mission critical aspects of your automotive dealership. The FEX solution is comprised of feature rich inventory management, sales, customer and account tracking tools, along with unsurpassed collection utilities, custom reporting and data exporting capabilities.
1. What is auto dealer software?
Auto dealer software helps auto dealerships manage their business operations - from sales and customer relationships to inventory management and accounting. These systems allow businesses to build websites and set up eCommerce platforms to connect with an online audience.
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Automotive dealer accounting software allows dealers to easily and accurately track the numbers surrounding every facet of their business, and to also generate a number of standard and customized reports for greater financial visibility. Car inventory management is a main concern of auto dealership accounting packages.
Oct 18, 2013 You no longer need to purchase third-party software in order to manage your finances and bookkeeping. MotorLot allows you to create general ledgers.
2. The benefits of auto dealer software
Improved sales and marketing: Auto dealer software offers social media management tools that help dealers with their marketing. These systems let dealers reach a broader audience to boost sales.
Manage multiple locations with ease: Auto dealer software integrates information from multiple locations into a single platform. Users can access this information to track and monitor operations from anywhere.
Enhanced customer experience: Auto dealer software lets dealerships interact with customers through multiple channels, such as email, phone, text messaging, and social media. Dealerships can send automated alerts to customers regarding offers or order status.
3. Typical features of auto dealer software
Inventory management: Track and manage stock volumes of different products to balance supply and procurement/overheard costs.
Sales floor management: Track and manage operations directly related to products and services sold to customers.
Reporting/analytics: Analyze data and generate operational reports - financial statements, sales history, forecasts, etc. - based on data fed into the system.
Account management: Handle accounting tasks such as fund management, balance sheets, and general ledgers.
Contact database: Create and maintain a database of customer details such as addresses and emails.
Financing: Arrange and manage financing options for customer purchases.
4. The cost of auto dealer software
Most products in the market are priced on a 'per month' basis and can be divided into three pricing tiers based on their starting price.
Price ranges*:
$40-$50
$50-$60
$60+
*The pricing included is for the entry-level/lowest-priced offerings found on vendor websites on May 1, 2019. These ranges correspond to the 25th, 75th, and 100th percentiles of pricing information gathered from vendor websites of sample products.
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The above list summarizes pricing for the base plans of most products. An enterprise or premium product, which is priced higher, may include additional features such as sales reports, online bookings, and advanced integration capabilities.
5. Considerations when purchasing auto dealer software
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Cloud-based versus on-premise: Buyers who have multiple locations to manage should give preference to cloud-based options. In addition to providing single-pane visibility and centralized control, cloud-based options are cost-effective when compared to buying separate licenses for each location.
Integration capabilities: Though auto dealer solutions typically include features such as inventory management and accounting, look for integration capabilities with tools you're already using (or any you plan on using in the future) in any software options you add to your shortlist.
Mobile app: The auto dealer software that you buy should offer an iOS or Andriod app, as customers these days view deals on their smartphones before visiting a dealership. With the use of a mobile app, sales representatives can also access the software on the go, and managers can track incoming shipments in real time. They can also easily register leads, take customer feedback, view inventory, and update deal progress.
6. Relevant auto dealer software trend
Chatbots for enhanced customer experience: Auto dealers are implementing conversational user interfaces, which act as virtual assistants that help manage online customer inquiries. The bots can also serve as data collectors (by asking questions such as name, contact information, and visit purpose). The data collected by these bots can be used to analyze customer feedback trends, which dealers can monetize during future visits.
Sources
Products evaluated for the pricing calculation were taken from Capterra's directory page. The pricing ranges exclude freemium versions of the products. The features highlighted were identified based on their relevance and the percentage of products in Capterra's directory that offer them.
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The following sources were used for this document:
Best Software For Used Car Dealers Albany Ny
Top 5 Tech Trends for Small Business, Capterra (Date accessed: May 1, 2019)
How to Choose the Right Auto Dealer Software for Your Dealership, GetApp (Date accessed: May 3, 2019)
87% of Consumers Dislike Dealership Experience, Auto Dealer Today (Date accessed: May 3, 2019)
CarLabs is Transforming the Car Sales Process with Chatbots, AI Multiple (Date accessed: May 6, 2019)