iDrive1 Motorcars calculates car payments fast with DealerSocket IDMS
TJ Davis, Assistant General Manager
iDrive1 Motors
How Can We Help?
We are proud to serve over 9,000 dealerships with our unified automotive retail solutions. Let's talk about how we can help drive operational efficiency and bottom-line results in your dealership.
Dream big: Get all the cash you need to grow your BHPH business
Buy Here Pay Here dealers now have the ability to leverage a new industry-changing funding channel to triple their portfolio in 2021. With Agora Data’s crowdsourcing platform, BHPH dealers and small to mid-sized finance companies can dream big and grow their business with gained direct access to the capital markets. As entrepreneurs, you’ve previously relied on personal savings or senior lenders to help you grow your business.
Effective immediately, the nightmare of high-interest rates, financial covenants or needing to pledge collateral to get the money you need is no longer. Why not put your portfolio and new originations to work? And as a bonus you can sleep better without the additional worries. Dealers with $11,000 worth of loans to over $20 million, and everything else in between, are eligible to participate in this efficient and new way of auto finance called a securitization.
Auto industry veteran Chris Barry with Agora Data presents a step-by-step overview and how this new approach is positively changing the industry.
Watch this presentation to:
- Maximize your portfolio and new originations.
- Discover what access to securitization does for BHPH industry.
- Understand the key benefits for your BHPH dealership.
Webinar Presenter:
Chris Barry, SVP of Sales at Agora Data, is an experienced automotive finance leader with an extensive history of success in automotive lending, servicing, and ancillary products.
Most recently as an executive and leader of the sales and marketing functions for GWC Warranty, the leading provider of service contracts for independent dealers, Chris helped drive the doubling of revenue and profit, which helped facilitate two private equity acquisitions during his tenure there.
Agora Data is a proud partner with Dealer Socket. Together we are passionate about the success of BHPH dealers. As a current IDMS customer, it is easy to get connected to Agora Data’s platform. Once connected, and at no additional cost, you will immediately start to see benefits as your loans will be analyzed and put through a vigorous regimen designed to maximize and improve the value of your portfolio. In addition to this review, dealers have access to other analytically robust business tools and cutting-edge technology to enhance financial planning.
Visit www.agoradata/idms or email [email protected] to get started.
How Can We Help?
We are proud to serve over 9,000 dealerships with our unified automotive retail solutions. Let's talk about how we can help drive operational efficiency and bottom-line results in your dealership.
Deals on Wheels is a growing, independent dealership group with three locations in Missoula, Helena and Billings, Montana. In October 2020, the company’s leadership decided it was time to upgrade to a new, cloud-based dealership management system (DMS) from AutoStar, the legacy DMS that it had been using for approximately 10 years.
As CFO of Deals on Wheels, Brian Meyers was tasked with driving the implementation of IDMS. “We felt that AutoStar was visually outdated and there were more benefits in moving to a cloud-based system,” Meyers said. “Initially our guidance came from a fellow 20-group member who mentioned IDMS, and when we got the thumbs up from another dealer in that group we decided to make the switch.”
DealerSocket’s IDMS combines an intuitive and user-friendly web-based design with custom reporting. “Once we learned what IDMS was capable of, it was like opening the floodgates and we were able to get into constructive, really unique reporting,” Meyers said. He appreciates the ability to customize the dashboard and reports utilizing the Excel environment and the ability to extract data using a number of variables.
“In management meetings we often say, ‘You know what would be really cool is if we could measure this to this,’” Meyers said. “Then we try it out, make a fun report, and sometimes it’s extremely beneficial. Sometimes it’s not, but 9 times out of 10, we end up uncovering some piece of data that allows us to make a better decision for the company.”
Brian Meyers
CFO
Inventory
During the inventory shortage throughout the pandemic, one area that IDMS reporting helped Deals on Wheels was inventory.
“Thanks to creative reporting we were able to create measurements to track the inventory situation based on cost of inventory, reconditioning costs and acquisition costs,” Meyers said. “When we measured these and other variables the data started to speak for itself. We made better, more intelligent decisions that helped us drive the cost of goods down and stay ahead of the inventory curve.”
Insights that came from inventory data allowed the leadership team at Deals on Wheels to see the inventory crunch coming. As a result, the dealerships are currently in a good position, with more inventory than any of their competitors. “Pick a dealership, you can land a helicopter in their parking lot,” Meyers said. “I can barely squeeze my personal car into our lots, and IDMS definitely aided in the assistance of that.”
Brian Meyers
CFO
Collections
DealerSocket’s IDMS provides dealers with advanced account management capabilities, helping with employees’ collections efforts. Once he was familiar with the system, Meyers created several reports to track things like projections, cash collections and exactly where everything was in progress. On his dashboard, he created custom widgets so he can see at-a-glance measurements of projections, amount of cash collected, amount of queues assigned to collectors and more.
“Being able to see next month’s projections, combined with how much we’ve already collected, allows us to get a real idea of how paced our collections team is,” Meyers said. “That’s just projections. You can do the same thing with repossessions and door-knocking. We set up and use flags to communicate between different departments. Once you understand how creative you can get with reporting and dashboards, the world is your oyster.”
Meyers says the freedom and time that comes from not having to sort through reports and interpret data has allowed the Deals on Wheels management team to work on leadership and team building activities, rather than details and data.
IDMS and DealerSocket CRM Integration
In 2020, Deals on Wheels also implemented DealerSocket CRM, which has improved the sales team’s ability to generate and follow up with new leads. Meyers says the main benefit of the IDMS/CRM integration is the information flow between the two systems. “Overall, the CRM is 10 times more efficient than what we were using before,” he said.
The CRM also integrates with Deals on Wheels’ website, allowing all leads to be pushed directly into the CRM. This makes it easy for sales managers to sort leads between locations and assign leads in a round-robin or other type of format.
Cloud-Based Benefits
When Deals on Wheels was using AutoStar DMS, the company experienced problems with lost data. As a result, employees used to spend 10-15 minutes every night backing up hard data and printing out reports and other documents, in the event that something happened to the system overnight.
Meyers says that being on a cloud-based system brings peace of mind and ease of access. He notes the ability to access IDMS from anywhere eliminates the need to email reports back and forth as PDF attachments, which is a big improvement in security. He adds ease of access also saves time.
“Our people that are doing repossessions and our recovery companies have access to accounts from their cell phones in their vehicles,” Meyers said. “Our reconditioning folks can enter expenses at different shops, instead of having to go gather 15 bills and bring them to the home office to enter them. I can think of a million use cases where we’ve saved a tremendous amount of man hours out in the field due to ease of access.”
Brian Meyers
Attribution
Tips for Independent and BHPH dealers
Meyers says he would absolutely recommend IDMS to other independent and BHPH dealers, with a few recommendations. First, know what data sets you want to measure and make sure you have someone who understands Microsoft Excel and basic algebra, because that is the foundation for the reporting system.
Once installed, Meyers also recommends taking time to play around with the system. “By play I mean a solid week or two of just pointing, clicking, messing around and having fun figuring out what it can actually do.”
Meyers believes that independent dealers have a lot to gain from upgrading to IDMS, even if they are hesitant. “Fear of change means you’re doing the right thing because you’re growing,” Meyers said. “Moving forward to a cloud-based system is awesome and has greatly increased our proficiency, profits, and our ability to do our job.”
Brian Meyers
CFO
Value and innovation
- Manage the entire vehicle, sales, customer, and payment lifecycle with our end-to-end solution.
- Experience our web-based inventory management solution built specifically for independent and BHPH dealers.
- Access your business whenever and wherever you need to with easy-to-use mobile capabilities.
Increase productivity with 50+ third-party integrations.
See it in Action
Watch this short video to learn more about IDMS and its ability to run all mission-critical aspects of your business. Leading to thousands of independent and buy-here, pay-here dealers choosing IDMS as the backbone of their operation.
Accounting
Account Management
Desking
Inventory Management
Reporting and Analytics
LenderSocket
vSignature
Conduct the signing ceremony anywhere and provide a more modern car-buying experience with our integration with Vision Dealer Solutions.
Integrations
Find efficiencies that save time with powerful integrations from 50+ third-party vendors.
We help dealers...
- Do more with less. Increase efficiency without increasing your headcount with customizable workflows and automation.
- Make smarter decisions. Access real-time data and customized reporting from anywhere on any device to easily manage your business.
Maximize profitability by delivering fast and delightful customer experiences that close more deals.
- Increase collections effectiveness. IDMS's account management capabilities mean collections never slip through the cracks.
Luke Godwin, General Manager
Godwin Motors
The last DMS you'll ever need
DealerSocket’s IDMS combines powerful features, an intuitive and user-friendly web-based design, and custom reporting for a DMS solution that meets your unique needs. When we designed our IDMS, we considered what independent and BHPH dealers like you needed to be successful. IDMS gives you web-based access with mobile capabilities, configurable workflows, and more than 50 third-party integrations.
Value and innovation
- Manage the entire vehicle, sales, customer, and payment lifecycle with our end-to-end solution.
- Experience our web-based inventory management solution built specifically for independent and BHPH dealers.
- Access your business whenever and wherever you need to with easy-to-use mobile capabilities.
Increase productivity with 50+ third-party integrations.
See it in Action
Watch this short video to learn more about IDMS and its ability to run all mission-critical aspects of your business. Leading to thousands of independent and buy-here, pay-here dealers choosing IDMS as the backbone of their operation.
Accounting
Account Management
Desking
Inventory Management
Reporting and Analytics
LenderSocket
vSignature
Conduct the signing ceremony anywhere and provide a more modern car-buying experience with our integration with Vision Dealer Solutions.
Integrations
Find efficiencies that save time with powerful integrations from 50+ third-party vendors.
We help dealers...
- Do more with less. Increase efficiency without increasing your headcount with customizable workflows and automation.
- Make smarter decisions. Access real-time data and customized reporting from anywhere on any device to easily manage your business.
Maximize profitability by delivering fast and delightful customer experiences that close more deals.
- Increase collections effectiveness. IDMS's account management capabilities mean collections never slip through the cracks.
Luke Godwin, General Manager
Godwin Motors
The last DMS you'll ever need
DealerSocket’s IDMS combines powerful features, an intuitive and user-friendly web-based design, and custom reporting for a DMS solution that meets your unique needs. When we designed our IDMS, we considered what independent and BHPH dealers like you needed to be successful. IDMS gives you web-based access with mobile capabilities, configurable workflows, and more than 50 third-party integrations.
Value and innovation
- Manage the entire vehicle, sales, customer, and payment lifecycle with our end-to-end solution.
- Experience our web-based inventory management solution built specifically for independent and BHPH dealers.
- Access your business whenever and wherever you need to with easy-to-use mobile capabilities.
Increase productivity with 50+ third-party integrations.
See it in Action
Watch this short video to learn more about IDMS and its ability to run all mission-critical aspects of your business. Leading to thousands of independent and buy-here, pay-here dealers choosing IDMS as the backbone of their operation.
Accounting
Account Management
Desking
Inventory Management
Reporting and Analytics
LenderSocket
vSignature
Conduct the signing ceremony anywhere and provide a more modern car-buying experience with our integration with Vision Dealer Solutions.
Integrations
Find efficiencies that save time with powerful integrations from 50+ third-party vendors.
We help dealers...
- Do more with less. Increase efficiency without increasing your headcount with customizable workflows and automation.
- Make smarter decisions. Access real-time data and customized reporting from anywhere on any device to easily manage your business.
Maximize profitability by delivering fast and delightful customer experiences that close more deals.
- Increase collections effectiveness. IDMS's account management capabilities mean collections never slip through the cracks.
Luke Godwin, General Manager
Godwin Motors
LenderSocket
Creating efficiencies at your dealership is key. IDMS allows you to streamline your desking and financing processes to save time, automate workflows, and improve the customer experience.
Push customer credit application and loan information to lender.
Receive lender decisioning within deal, or individual worksheet, in IDMS.
Easily compare worksheets statuses and financing options side-by-side.
Visualize a more efficient lender application process:
Customer fills out credit application on your website
Customer information automatically creates a new deal within IDMS
Worksheet is created to begin deal structure and submits deal details to selected lender(s)
Deal and credit application details are sent to your selected lender(s)
Lenders review and send back decisioning
Decisioning is directly integrated into deal worksheet within IDMS
Deal process is completed by contracting the appropriate worksheet that was approved
Experience Faster Funding with LenderSocket Today
IDMS brings all the pieces together for Coast to Coast
Coast to Coast Motors, which operates seven buy-here, pay-here (BHPH) locations in the Houston, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa areas, was a Finance Express (FEX) holdover until making the switch to DealerSocket’s IDMS three years ago. In May, the 30-year-old, family-owned operation recorded one of its best months ever.
As CFO of Coast to Coast, Travis Allison leans heavily on IDMS’s reporting capabilities to accurately assess the group’s performance and month-to-date collections. He says the ability to delve deeper into the behind-the-scenes aspects of the multi-rooftop operation is IDMS’s biggest advantage.
“I rely on IDMS’s API to transfer a massive amount of data from IDMS to our third-party data software, so the ability to tap into IDMS remotely behind the scenes has been a huge benefit to me,” Allison notes.
Coast to Coast’s employees especially benefit from the system’s ease of use, robust training, and dependability. Allison also credits DealerSocket’s exemplary customer service and personal touch for the group’s strong partnership with the software provider.
Travis Allison, CFO
Coast to Coast Motors
“Having a great product is one thing, but I also need customer service when it comes to my software vendors,” Allison says. “I work with our Customer Success Manager, Anthony Wright, all the time, and he’s always willing to pick up the phone when we need assistance and help us move the needle when it comes to the level of integration and connectivity we need.”
Allison wasn’t around during the FEX days, but he says his team considers IDMS a huge upgrade. That’s why he encourages other independent and BHPH dealers on FEX DMS to consider making the same switch.
“For dealers looking for a dealership management system that coordinates their service, their collections, and their sales all in one area, IDMS is definitely the way to go,” Allison says. “It allows us to have an omnichannel approach to our business, and if your DMS can’t provide that, you ought to look at IDMS.”
How can we help?
We are proud to serve over 9,000 dealerships with our unified automotive retail solutions. Let's talk about how we can help drive operational efficiency and bottom-line results in your dealership.
Third Coast converts from AutoStar to IDMS for increased flexibility
Third Coast Auto Group, which operates four buy-here, pay-here dealerships in the Texas communities of Austin, Round Rock, New Braunfels, and Kyle, is always on the lookout for software that provides increased efficiency and flexibility. That was the motivation behind the independent dealer group’s bold decision in late 2018 to make the switch to DealerSocket’s IDMS.
As any dealer knows, moving to a new DMS isn’t easy, and Third Coast had been an AutoStar user since before DealerSocket purchased the DMS provider in March 2015. “A DMS transition is like open-heart surgery for a dealership, no matter which software you are switching to,” says Steve Quiroz, who, as general manager for all four locations, was charged with preparing his teams for the conversion. “But we made sure to transition in the last quarter of the year, so we were ramped up and ready for tax season.”
Making the switch
The general manager has nothing but high praise for DealerSocket’s IDMS since making the switch a year and a half ago. “AutoStar was a good system, but it had limitations on editing and customizing reports. I like how I have more flexibility with IDMS,” Quiroz says, noting that he put in the hours and took advantage of all the resources DealerSocket made available to learn the new system.
Quiroz is especially fond of IDMS’s customizable dashboard and reporting, noting: “We take advantage of the automation capabilities, and I love that I have more control over my reporting.” But he’s especially grateful for DealerSocket’s onboarding team, who trained his crews on the new system and ensured a smooth transition of each location’s data and accounts.
“The onboarding process was great,” he says. “It included lots of virtual training, online classes, and tutorials, which made the ramp-up to get comfortable with IDMS pretty seamless.”
Steve Quiroz, General Manager
Third Coast Auto Group
A key advantage
The web-based system proved especially helpful when Third Coast’s collections team was forced to work remotely due to social distancing mandates related to COVID-19. “We’ve been fortunate to be able to keep our doors open, but we’ve had to scale back some of our on-site operations,” he says. “With IDMS, our collections staff has been able to work from home.”
IDMS’s mobile app has also proven invaluable, allowing team members to continue working while walking the lot or when a store’s computers are down.
Quiroz offers the following advice to AutoStar customers looking to make the transition to IDMS: “Make sure your entire team is trained on how to do things in IDMS, especially the activities you’re used to in AutoStar. And work with the DealerSocket team to validate your data before going live.”
Making the move to IDMS required a lot of work and coordination, but Quiroz says the transition was worth the effort. “Everyone I’ve worked with during this transition has been nothing but professional,” he notes. “I’ve had a great experience working with DealerSocket.”
Steve Quiroz, General Manager
Third Coast Auto Group
How Can We Help?
We are proud to serve over 9,000 dealerships with our unified automotive retail solutions. Let's talk about how we can help drive operational efficiency and bottom-line results in your dealership.
Upgrade Your Operation
IDMS combines innovation with ease of use to provide independent dealers a software solution that modernizes and connects your entire operation. Web-based access with mobile capabilities, configurable workflows, award-winning customer service and more than 50 third-party integrations are only a handful of reasons why more than 1,000 independent and BHPH dealers have chosen us to take their dealership to the next level.
IDMS is rewriting the rules on the role the dealership management system plays at independent operations.
Travis Allison
CFO, Coast to Coast Motors
What Upgrading Your Operation Looks Like
- Workflow automation for improved efficiency
- Manage the entire vehicle, sales, customer, and payment lifecycle in one platform from end-to-end
- Sign deal documents electronically on a phone, tablet, or desktop PC in your showroom or remotely
- Access your business whenever and wherever you need to with easy-to-use mobile capabilities.
- 50+ available integrations with industry-leading third-party partners
Upgrade Your Operation
IDMS combines innovation with ease of use to provide independent and BHPH dealers a software solution that modernizes and connects your entire operation. Web-based access with mobile capabilities, configurable workflows, award-winning customer service and more than 50 third-party integrations are only a handful of reasons why more than 1,000 independent and BHPH dealers have chosen us to take their dealership to the next level.
IDMS is rewriting the rules on the role the dealership management system plays at independent and BHPH operations.
Travis Allison
CFO, Coast to Coast Motors
What Upgrading Your Operation Looks Like
- Workflow automation for improved efficiency
- Robust Buy Here, Pay Here (BHPH) support, including scheduled auto-pay options and automated collections
- Sign deal documents electronically on a phone, tablet, or desktop PC in your showroom or remotely
- 50+ available integrations with industry-leading third-party partners
Maximizing cash flow with automation
Please enjoy this recording of the webinar!
Session Description:
Now, more than ever, it’s crucial to offer multiple payments options to your customers to maintain cash flow at your dealership. This webinar will cover how to use the built-in tools inside IDMS, like EPS (electronic payment servicing), Text, and IVR (interactive voice response), to do so. These automated tools provide convenient and flexible ways for your customers to make payments.
About the Presenters:
Esther Aikey, Implementation Consultant II, DealerSocket
A veteran consultant for DealerSocket, Esther Aikey has helped hundreds of independent dealers install IDMS and take their business to the next level. A verifiable expert in all things independent & BHPH operations, Esther has keen insights into dealer training & best practices that has earned dealer trust over the years.
Steven “Joey” Wallen, Sr. Hands-On Lab Instructor, DealerSocket
Joey is a familiar face to some of our IDMS customers as a virtual classroom instructor, doing regular deep dives and walkthroughs of IDMS and its components. With a comprehensive knowledge of IDMS, Joey helps independent dealers elevate their stores by giving them the hands-on training they need to succeed.
