How to compare dealership software pricing

What to check before you decide

Ask about increases. Many contracts allow annual increases, and some tie them to an index or to the vendor's discretion.

Ask for a cap in writing. Ask what happens to price if your volume rises or falls, or if you add a store.

Model the whole term. Build a spreadsheet for three or five years that shows total cost under your expected case and under a pessimistic one.

Include staff time for implementation and the cost of training. Include the cost of leaving: termination fees, data export charges and any hardware to return.

Question discounts. A large first-year discount often reappears as a large renewal increase. Ask for the price in years two and three.

Compare against what you pay now, including tools this one would replace. Then ask each vendor to confirm the final number in a signed order form, not in an email.

Keep the analysis. It becomes your baseline at renewal.

Check the total again after the first ninety days of use, comparing actual invoices with the model, since usage charges, extra users and integration fees often grow faster than expected, and a store that reviews the real bill early can renegotiate the plan or remove charges long before the first annual renewal arrives.

Ask each bidder to show a sample invoice from a store of your size after a year of use. The gap between the quote and a real invoice is the most honest answer to what the product costs.