F&I and DMS integration guide

What to check before you decide

Look at the products. Service contracts, GAP, maintenance and other items carry prices, costs, terms and provider details. Find out how they pass to the DMS, how the cost and the reserve post to the accounts, and how a cancelled product is reversed.

Check lender decisions. When the F&I tool receives approvals and conditions, does the DMS see the chosen lender and terms? Ask how funding status travels, so accounting knows when a contract is in transit and when it is paid.

Look at documents. The contract, disclosures and signatures should stay with the deal. If the contract is electronic, ask how the authoritative copy is stored and how a change after signing is handled.

Examine unwinds. When a deal is cancelled or rebooked, the connection must reverse the accounting entries and the products, and leave an audit trail. Ask for an example of an unwind from a live store.

Mind the compliance record. The menu shown to the customer, the rate sheet used and the declined products should be retained and linked to the deal.

Reconcile the first month. Compare F&I reports to the ledger for each deal, and review every difference with the controller.

Ask the controller to review a sample of funded and unwound deals from the pilot, comparing the F&I report with the ledger entry by entry, because accounting is the final judge of whether the connection preserved the figures, and a controller's questions will find problems that a demo never shows.