Inventory, CRM, and workshop running on separate systems with no shared data -- a customer who booked a service is unknown to the sales team?
Vehicle inventory managed in spreadsheets because the current DMS cannot handle your mix of new, used, and fleet stock?
Dealer Management System Development
Custom dealer management system for automotive dealerships and dealer groups -- vehicle inventory, CRM, F&I, workshop, and parts management in one integrated platform, not three disconnected systems with no shared data.
Built for dealerships where the sales team, service advisors, and parts team each work in a different system, and a customer who booked a service is a stranger to the sales desk.
VIN-based vehicle inventory with stock status, specification data, and multi-location support
Sales CRM and pipeline from lead to deal with test drive scheduling and finance proposal
Workshop job cards, technician assignment, parts linking, and service invoice
RaftLabs builds custom dealer management systems covering vehicle inventory management, sales CRM and pipeline, F&I workflow with finance proposal and document generation, workshop and service job card management, parts inventory and supplier ordering, and performance reporting across sales, service, and parts. Most DMS projects deliver in 14-18 weeks at a fixed cost.
100+Products shipped
·24+Industries served
·FixedCost delivery
·12-14Week delivery cycles
Three systems, no shared data -- that is the root cause of most dealership inefficiency
The pattern is consistent across dealerships of all sizes. Vehicle inventory lives in one system or a spreadsheet. Customer and lead data lives in a CRM. Workshop job cards are created in a service management tool. Parts stock is tracked separately. None of these systems share a customer record. A service customer who enquires about buying a new vehicle has to be re-entered into the sales system. A trade-in customer who had three services done over two years has no service history visible to the sales desk when they come in.
The practical result is duplicated data entry, missed cross-sell opportunities, and reporting that requires manual extraction from each system to build a picture of dealership performance. Managers work out gross profit by deal, service revenue, and parts margin in spreadsheets rather than seeing it in a single dashboard.
A custom DMS built around your dealership's workflows replaces that patchwork. One customer record shared across sales, service, and parts. One vehicle record from the moment it enters stock to the moment it is sold or de-fleeted. One reporting layer across every revenue line.
What we build
Vehicle inventory management
VIN-decoded vehicle records capturing make, model, variant, colour, engine, transmission, mileage, and optional equipment. Stock status tracking from point of entry -- new, used, fleet, demo -- through preparation, available, reserved, and sold. Multi-location stock management for dealer groups with stock transfers between sites. OEM data feed integration for new vehicle specifications and pricing. Vehicle age and days-in-stock reporting to flag aged stock before it becomes a margin problem. The inventory record that gives every department a consistent view of what is in stock.
Sales CRM and pipeline
Lead capture from web enquiries, phone calls, and walk-in traffic recorded against a customer record. Lead assignment and follow-up task sequences for sales executives. Test drive scheduling linked to vehicle availability. Deal progression through a configurable sales pipeline -- enquiry, test drive, valued, offer made, accepted, finance submitted, handover booked. Sales executive activity reporting and pipeline value by stage. Customer purchase history and service history visible to the sales team at the point of conversation. The CRM that keeps every lead followed up and every deal visible to management.
F&I workflow
Finance proposal creation from deal data -- vehicle price, part-exchange value, deposit, finance term, and rate. Affordability and eligibility check integration with lender APIs. F&I product presentation covering paint protection, gap insurance, extended warranty, and tyre insurance with commission tracking per product. Proposal comparison across lender options. Document generation for finance agreements, part-exchange valuations, and vehicle handover packs. F&I commission reporting per deal and per finance manager. The workflow that structures the F&I conversation and captures every commission correctly.
Workshop and service management
Service booking linked to the customer record and vehicle record. Job card creation from booking with work description, labour operations, and parts required. Technician assignment and labour time recording against each operation. Work-in-progress tracking so service advisors can give customers an accurate update without walking into the workshop. Customer communication at key stages -- vehicle received, work completed, ready for collection. Invoice generation from completed job card with parts and labour charges. The service workflow that connects every customer visit back to the same record the sales team can see.
Parts inventory and ordering
Parts catalogue with manufacturer part numbers, descriptions, and supersession chains. Parts stock levels per location with minimum stock alerts triggering reorder suggestions. Supplier ordering workflow with purchase order generation and goods receipt recording. Core return management for exchange parts with core charge tracking. Parts usage linked to workshop job cards so every part fitted is invoiced correctly. Slow-moving and obsolete stock reporting to reduce parts investment tied up in non-moving stock. The parts operation that keeps workshop first-time fix rates high and parts write-offs low.
Reporting and performance
Sales pipeline reporting showing leads by source, conversion rates by sales executive, and deal count and gross profit by period. Aged stock report flagging vehicles by days in stock and identifying profit risk before it materialises. Workshop utilisation showing productive hours vs. available hours by technician. Gross profit by deal across vehicle margin, F&I products, and part-exchange. Service revenue by operation type and labour category. Parts margin by supplier and product line. One reporting layer across sales, service, and parts -- not three separate exports and a spreadsheet.
Frequently asked questions
A dealer management system is the central operating platform for an automotive dealership. It manages vehicle inventory from stock entry to sale, the customer and lead management process through the sales CRM, the finance and insurance workflow for each deal, workshop and service operations including job cards and technician scheduling, parts inventory and supplier ordering, and financial reporting across all revenue lines. Off-the-shelf DMS platforms like CDK, Dealertrack, and Reynolds and Reynolds cover standard dealership workflows. Custom DMS development makes sense when your operation has a workflow, stock mix, or integration requirement that standard platforms cannot accommodate without significant configuration or workaround.
Yes. OEM integration requirements vary by manufacturer. Common integration points include new vehicle order management and delivery scheduling via manufacturer portals, OEM parts catalogue and pricing feeds, warranty claim submission and tracking, and manufacturer sales reporting. Some OEMs provide APIs; others require file-based integration via SFTP or proprietary EDI formats. We scope OEM integration requirements during discovery by reviewing what data flows need to be supported and what connectivity the manufacturer provides. Manufacturer integration timelines and complexity depend on the OEM rather than on the DMS build -- some manufacturers have well-documented APIs, others require navigating dealer portal access agreements before integration can begin.
The F&I module is triggered when a deal progresses past the offer accepted stage. The finance manager opens the deal record and sees the vehicle price, part-exchange allowance, and deposit already populated from the sales CRM. They select one or more lenders to propose to the customer and the system calculates monthly payments for each term and rate option. F&I products are presented from a configurable menu with retail prices and commission rates per product per lender. The customer's selections are recorded and the system generates the finance agreement and supporting documents for signature. All products presented, whether accepted or declined, are recorded against the deal for compliance purposes. Commission is calculated and recorded per deal ready for payroll processing.
A core DMS covering vehicle inventory, basic sales CRM, workshop job cards, and reporting typically delivers in 12-14 weeks. A full DMS with F&I workflow, parts inventory management, OEM feed integration, multi-site support, and lender API integration typically runs 18-24 weeks. Timeline depends on the number of OEM and lender integrations required, multi-site complexity, and the depth of reporting required. We scope every project before confirming the timeline and give you a fixed cost before development starts.
Fleet Management Software -- GPS tracking, telematics, and maintenance scheduling for commercial fleets
Talk to us about your DMS project.
Tell us your current system setup, the stock mix you manage, and where the disconnects between sales, service, and parts are costing you. We will scope the right platform and give you a fixed cost.
