Software
New & used vehicle inventory accounting, F&I revenue, service and parts department P&L, floorplan interest, manufacturer incentives, multi-rooftop consolidation. For independent dealers, franchise dealers, and dealer groups running on CDK, Reynolds & Reynolds, DealerTrack, or Dealertrack DMS.
Scope
Software
Auto dealership accounting is one of the most unusual environments in US accounting for a specific reason: the Dealership Management System (DMS) handles a huge portion of what would normally live in the GL, but does so in formats manufacturers and auditors require for dealer statements rather than standard financial statements. A dealership's "books" actually live across two systems: the DMS (CDK, Reynolds, DealerTrack, Tekion) for operational detail, and the accounting platform (typically QBO or Sage Intacct) for consolidated reporting. Getting these two systems to tie cleanly is the core daily work of dealership accounting.
Generic bookkeepers look at a vehicle inventory of $4M and try to treat it like any other inventory account. Dealership inventory has per-unit cost tracking (MSO, dealer invoice, pack, reconditioning, floorplan interest capitalized vs expensed), aging requirements (units aged over 90 days get flagged), and liquidation accounting (wholesale vs retail channels have different cost recovery). Dealership-trained accountants handle this natively. Generic bookkeepers try to reconcile vehicle inventory the way they reconcile office supplies and end up with a mess.
Sales department gross profit per vehicle might be $1,800 on new and $2,400 on used. F&I gross profit per vehicle is often $1,200–$2,000 on top. For most dealerships, F&I is 25–40% of total gross profit despite being a small % of revenue. Tracking F&I properly means: product-level revenue (warranty, GAP, maintenance), chargeback reserves, F&I producer commissions, manufacturer participation. Dealership accountants build this reporting monthly because it drives F&I manager compensation and manufacturer participation analysis.
Dealership floorplan financing is structurally different from a normal line of credit: each vehicle is individually financed, curtailment schedules apply per unit, interest accrues per day per unit, and the floorplan lender sends detailed statements that must reconcile to the DMS vehicle ledger daily. A single reconciliation error compounds across the month. Dealership accountants perform floorplan reconciliation daily or weekly.
Typically pairs with offshore bookkeeping, controller support, and financial reporting for multi-rooftop groups.
FAQ
Yes to both. CDK and Reynolds are the two dominant DMS platforms in the US market. Most offshore dealership accountants have 5+ years of direct experience on at least one, often both.
Yes. Dealer groups with 3–50 rooftops are common in our book. Consolidation, intercompany vehicle transfers, shared-service allocation, multi-franchise manufacturer reporting all standard scope.
Yes. Each manufacturer has specific dealer statement formats for monthly reporting. Our dealership accountants prepare manufacturer-required statements per OEM specification.
Chargeback reserves calculated monthly based on historical chargeback rates by product. When actual chargebacks occur, reserves drawn down; over- or under-reserving adjusted quarterly.
Yes. LIFO is the standard inventory method for dealerships electing it (most do). Year-end LIFO calculation, reserve tracking, tax basis reconciliation.
Yes. Unit-level cost tracking across acquisition channels (trade-in, auction, direct purchase), reconditioning, and disposal channels (retail, wholesale, auction). Full cost recovery analysis.
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