A car dealership is different from most retail businesses. Each vehicle on your lot is a unique asset worth a significant amount. Selling one involves negotiations, a detailed quotation, a deposit, financing paperwork and a handover process that can take weeks. After the sale, the same customer comes back for service, warranty work and accessories — each of which needs its own record.
Generic retail software wasn't built for this. You need a system that tracks each vehicle individually, handles staged payments, manages the workshop after delivery and keeps the accounts accurate across all of it.
What car dealership software needs to handle
A well-run dealership operation requires the system to:
- Track each vehicle individually by VIN or chassis number from arrival to sale
- Generate detailed sales quotations with full specification lines
- Manage deposits and installment schedules against individual deals
- Record bank loan and financing arrangements in the accounting module
- Purchase used vehicles through supplier bills or trade-in entries
- Run after-sales service jobs with job cards per vehicle
- Maintain a separate parts inventory for the workshop
- Track sales commissions per salesperson
- Separate multi-brand stock by product category
- Produce VAT-compliant invoices for all transactions
How Vendra handles dealership operations
Serialized vehicle inventory by VIN
Each vehicle model is set up as a product in Vendra with serial number tracking enabled. When a new vehicle arrives from the manufacturer or importer, a goods receipt is created and the VIN or chassis number is recorded as the serial number for that unit. From that moment the vehicle exists as an individually tracked asset in inventory with its own stock record, location, and history.
The inventory overview shows exactly how many units of each model are on the lot, their precise location (showroom, storage yard, workshop), and their status. Reserved vehicles — those linked to an open sales order — are flagged separately from available stock so sales staff know immediately what they can offer to a new customer.
Sales quotations with full specification detail
When a salesperson opens a deal with a customer, they create a sales quotation in Vendra. The quotation references the specific vehicle by its serial number and includes line items for the vehicle price, any optional accessories, registration fees, extended warranty, insurance contributions, and any trade-in allowance. All of this is presented in a professionally formatted quote document that can be emailed directly to the customer for review and signature.
Once the customer confirms, the quotation converts to a confirmed sales order. The vehicle is reserved against the order automatically. No other salesperson can sell the same unit — the system prevents it.
Deposits and installment payment tracking
Most vehicle sales involve staged payments. A deposit is recorded as a down payment against the sales order immediately on receipt. The remaining balance is invoiced once delivery is confirmed. If the deal involves bank financing, the bank remittance is registered as a payment against the invoice when it clears. Installment arrangements — for hire purchase or internal credit agreements — are set up using payment terms with scheduled due dates. The accounts receivable aging report tracks every outstanding balance against its due date, so the finance team knows at a glance what is overdue and what is scheduled.
Used vehicle purchases and trade-ins
When the dealership buys a used vehicle — from an auction, a private seller, or as a trade-in against a new car deal — it is processed as a vendor bill in the accounting module. The vehicle enters inventory as a separate product (Used Vehicles) with its own serial number. Its cost of acquisition is captured at receipt. When sold, the margin between cost and sale price flows directly to the profit and loss report.
VIN serial tracking
Every vehicle gets its own record using the VIN as the serial number. From arrival to delivery, every transaction — receipt, reservation, sale, service — links back to that vehicle.
Detailed quotations
Build a quote with the vehicle, optional extras, registration fees, trade-in allowance and any other line the deal needs. Send it as a PDF. When the customer is ready, one click confirms the order.
Deposit and installment tracking
Record a deposit when the deal starts. Track the remaining balance and any installments with due dates. The aging report shows every outstanding deal at any time.
Workshop service jobs
Each service visit is a job card with the vehicle, the fault, the technician and the stages. Parts used come off the workshop inventory. The invoice raises from the completed job.
Staff commissions
Track which salesperson handled each deal. Commissions are submitted as expense claims, approved by management and paid. Every commission has a record tied to a specific deal.
Multi-brand management
Organise vehicles by brand in separate categories. See stock, sales and margin per brand. If each brand is a separate company, multi-company support keeps the books clean.
After-sales service and workshop management
After the vehicle is delivered, the relationship continues. Service appointments, warranty repairs, and accessory installations are managed through Vendra's Project module. Each workshop job is a task with the vehicle registration, customer name, reported fault, assigned technician, and estimated completion date. Tasks move through configured stages — Received, Diagnosis, In Progress, Quality Check, Ready for Collection — so the service manager has visibility of every job in the workshop at any time.
Parts consumed in each service job are recorded against the task and deducted from the workshop's parts inventory. When the job is complete, the service invoice is raised in the accounting module, covering labour and parts. Payment is collected and reconciled in the same system.
Bank financing and loan tracking
For deals financed through a bank or financial institution, the loan disbursement is recorded as an incoming payment from the bank in the accounting module. The journal entry reflects the bank as payer on the customer's invoice. Loan repayments from the customer to the bank are tracked separately as a liability obligation. This keeps the dealership's receivables clean — the invoice is settled at delivery — while maintaining a separate record of any ongoing financing relationships.
Which plan do I need?
A single-brand dealership managing new vehicle sales and a service workshop typically runs on the Pro plan at $27/month. Multi-brand operations or groups with multiple branches need Pro Plus at $50/month, which adds multi-company accounting and consolidated group reporting.