Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/719034
SOLUTIONS 40 • September 6, 2016 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com Summer will soon come to an end, and Labor Day has already passed. This is the time of year your dealership should be doing a tune- up. Some of you may be asking — how do I tune up my dealership? While you are likely busy tuning up units that come into the service department, you should also be looking for ways to do a busi- ness health tune-up on your dealership. Every department at your dealership should be checked out and adjusted, when you find an area that needs improvement. During the busy season, there are many things that slip through the cracks: Over- stocked parts and backlogged end-of-days are just a couple of examples. Take time now to get your business in order, so you can end the summer selling season on a high note. Doing a tune-up at least twice a year is good for the dealership and the employees. Start with the parts department. Parts is the central department for the dealership. Parts effects every other department at the dealer- ship and has dealership-owned assets, i.e. typically the dealership pays for parts within 30 days of receiving them, thus they own the parts. (Unlike unit inventory, which usually is not paid for by the dealership, but rather is floored, then paid off when the unit is sold). If you begin the tune-up in parts, a lot of times other misaligned areas in the dealership will auto-correct themselves. Move onto to other departments after that until you feel your business is completely in order. Following are some tune-up tips by department. PARTS 1. Run a report that gives you any parts that have a negative on-hand quantity. Correct the quantities. 2. Run an inventory valuation report to see what the value of your inventory is. Do not just look at it; analyze it. 3. Do a random count to verify on-hand quantities. Inventory can go out of balance quickly. 4. Cross-reference the value with the inven- tory general ledger account. 5. What is the value of your inventory? One common problem is too much in inventory. Do you have excess inventory? The dealership does not want money tied up in inventory. 6. Check on special orders waiting for pickup. Watch the amount of days special orders are on the shelf. Many manufacturers have a return policy with a time limit. SERVICE 1. Run a repair order report and list them oldest to newest. Find out how the old ROs can be acted on. 2. Complete a physical inventory for all open repair orders to make sure the units are still on site. (I just heard of a dealership that sold a customer's unit that was in for service! This is not as uncommon as one would think). 3. Repair orders that are complete need to have the units picked up, paid for and cashiered out. 4. Remove estimates. Many dealerships create estimates and never remove them. Old estimates clutter your system and cause confu- sion. 5. If the service department has shop sup- plies, such as a drum of oil, check on the levels and restock, if needed. 6. Clean the shop. A clean and organized shop is more efficient and allows the techs to do their job without hazards. SALES 1. Run a report and verify/count your unit inventory, both new and used. 2. Review the status of all sales deals. Deals that are complete should be cashiered, and if waiting on payment, sent to accounts receivable. 3. Remove all old or unneeded quotes. 4. Make sure all paperwork is completed and filed. 5. Clean up offices. During the busy season, offices tend to get messy, and papers are all over the place. 6. Remember the law — personal and cus- tomer information cannot be sitting around the dealership for anyone to see. ACCOUNTING 1. Make sure all of the end-of-days are complete. 2. Be sure all bank deposits are done. 3. Reconcile all scheduled accounts and others as needed. 4. Review expenses. You should be able to look at the P&L and see immediately that something is off. If not, do a comparison from month-to-month or year-over-year. 5. Audit and analyze data. 6. Accounting, GMs and owners should all review the data together. DEALERSHIP 1. Have a meeting. Discuss how the season went: what went well and what can be done better. 2. Organize and clean up. Nothing is more unappealing than walking into a dealership that is unorganized and messy. Department tune-up time offers a fresh start FOLLOW ME should be doing a tune- PAULA CROSBIE See Crosbie, Page 41