Profit and accounting

What is per-VIN costing?

Also called: per-car costing

Per-VIN costing attaches every expense to the specific vehicle that caused it, so profit is known per car rather than estimated at month end.

It means the parts invoice, the transport bill, the detail cash and the accruing floorplan interest all land on a VIN as they happen.

Without it, the honest answer to what a given car made you is a guess, and guesses drift in the optimistic direction.

Handle this automatically

Loturn tracks every cost against the VIN and shows live profit on every car, with real dealer accounting built in.

Front gross

Front gross is the profit on the vehicle itself: sale price minus total vehicle cost minus pack, before any financing or product income.

Recon

Recon is everything you spend to make a bought car frontline ready: mechanical repair, tires, body and paint, and detail.

DMS

A dealer management system is the software of record for a dealership: inventory, deals, customers, accounting and reporting in one place.

General information for US dealers, not legal advice. Rules change and vary by state, so confirm specifics with your state agency or counsel.