Located in scenic Buellton, CA, Rio Vista Chevrolet is just a little too far from the coast to enjoy the Pacific Ocean breeze, but for Business Manager Sandy Arnett, Auto/Mate’s Payroll system makes up for it.

Rio Vista Chevrolet switched to Auto/Mate in 2014 from their legacy DMS. “Almost every department had difficulty in terms of functionality with the system,” Arnett said. “Way too many steps were required to do simple jobs, and it was complicated where it didn’t need to be. People didn’t know how to use it and we didn’t get a whole lot of support as far as training goes.”

The owners of Rio Vista decided to switch to Auto/Mate’s DMS because of the pricing, functionality, and promise of better support.

As business manager, Arnett primarily works within Auto/Mate’s Office Suite, a comprehensive accounting module with integrated features such as accounts payable, cash receipts, intercompany accounting, payroll and Time/Mate, a timeclock solution that tracks employee hours.

Arnett credits Auto/Mate’s ease of use and functionality with helping her streamline tasks in the office. “The number one thing I noticed was how much easier payroll was,” Arnett said. “I also routinely follow and check the General Ledger (GL) accounts and make sure transactions are posted correctly. Other tasks made easier include posting the daily deposit, running reports for rentals, setting up new employees and checking financial statements.”

Auto/Mate reduces the time it takes to do all of these tasks because of its simplicity, Arnett claims. “Everything is right in front of you and easy to find with simple menus. Our previous DMS had huge menus for every little task, and as a result we only used about 10 percent of the functionality.”

“Everything is right in front of you and easy to find with simple menus. Our previous DMS had huge menus for every little task, and as a result we only used about 10 percent of the functionality.”

Sandy Arnett

Business Manager

Expedited Payroll Process

Arnett estimates that it takes her 20 percent less time to do payroll with Auto/Mate. The payroll application includes a host of features designed to streamline and expedite the payroll process. Office personnel can predefine setups for various types of payroll; whether monthly, weekly and even bonus checks. Deductions, exclusions, liabilities and tax rates can all be assigned on a per employee basis.

“The current version of Auto/Mate’s payroll module is the best. It’s down to one option: start a new payroll,” Arnett said. “Creating the setups requires a little time up front, but once established it makes running the payroll a breeze.”

The ability to predefine setups speeds up payroll processing by making it a simple one-step, one-screen process. Office personnel can view a list of employees in a left sidebar panel, and when they click on an employee's name the payroll details appear on the right side of the screen. New data can be entered on the same screen, and changes are reflected immediately in the details screen.

“I used to be constantly going in and out of the menus to do all the different functions related to payroll,” Arnett said. “Now everything from importing technician hours to printing checks is accessible from one screen and in the same function.”

Auto/Mate's payroll application makes it easy to make changes to deposits on the fly based on last-minute employee requests. The system also includes built-in checks and balances for increased security, as well as validation tools that help users to quickly identify and correct errors.

"Everything from importing technician hours to printing checks is accessible from one screen and in the same function.”

Sandy Arnett

Business Manager

Customer Support is a Priority

Arnett appreciates the built-in training tools including Auto/Mate University within the DMS, as well as an expert support team that is responsive and easy to get hold of.

“When we first switched to Auto/Mate, we were extremely impressed with the customer service versus our old vendor,” Arnett said. “You can actually talk to someone without having to wait half an hour. The contrast in customer service made everybody at Rio Vista very happy.”

With a team of former dealership employees that has a combined 1,600 years of auto dealership experience, Auto/Mate’s support staff is empowered to help customers resolve any issue as quickly as possible.

For Rio Vista Chevrolet, Auto/Mate’s DMS provides a solution robust enough to streamline complex processes, along with an easy-to-use interface that simplifies daily tasks for Arnett and other employees.

“You can actually talk to someone without having to wait half an hour. The contrast in customer service made everybody at Rio Vista very happy.”

Sandy Arnett

Business Manager

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