Car Dealer DMS

What to check before you buy

The questions that protect a store are specific. What exactly will be converted (open repair orders, deal history, parts, accounting history, customer and vehicle records) and what will not?

What does the vendor charge per store for access by other software, and is that fee fixed in the contract? What is the term, what renews it automatically, and what does leaving cost?

Will you receive a full copy of your data before shutoff? Look at finance or lease agreements attached to the old system too, because a buyout or an auto-renewal can be hidden there.

Ask for a reference store with your brand mix and your accounting setup, and call it.

Check the accounting side before the sales side. The DMS is the dealership's general ledger, so ask how the chart of accounts converts, how the month-end close runs, whether your CPA can get read access, and who produces the manufacturer financial statement the brand requires each month. Ask for the list of stores on the same manufacturer and size that converted in the last year, and ask them how long month-end took in the first three months.

Questions to put to every car dealer DMS vendor

• What is native versus an add-on?
• Which systems are the source of truth?
• Can the dealer export all records in a usable format?

Other categories dealers compare alongside Dealer management systems (DMS): Social media & reputation, Analytics & attribution, Dealer intelligence & BI, Data integration & middleware, Service scheduling, and Service lane platforms.