How it runs for auto repair shops and dealerships
Reports come from closed, reconciled books in QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop, so the lender package and the manufacturer's financial statement use the same numbers.
What is outsourced financial reporting?
Outsourced financial reporting means a remote accounting team prepares your periodic financial statements and management reports instead of an in-house controller. The team works from your own accounting file, applies a consistent close and review process, and issues a report pack on a fixed date each month. You keep the data, the software and the decisions.
What we handle for auto repair shops and dealerships
- Departmental P&L: service labor, parts, sublet, sales, F&I and body shop where applicable
- Effective labor rate, technician efficiency and parts margin after returns and cores
- Front-end and back-end gross per unit for vehicle sales
- Balance sheet with floor plan, contracts in transit and warranty receivables aged
- Manufacturer financial statement and lender package from the same closed books
The KPI that matters here
Report pack issued within 2 business days of the close with a written variance note.
Auto compliance notes
State dealer rules and title work
Licensed dealers must remit sales tax on vehicle sales, submit title and registration applications within the state's deadline, often 30 days, and in some states charge no more than a capped documentation fee. We track sales tax, title fees and registration fees collected as liabilities per deal, reconcile them to what the DMV or tag agency was paid, and list any deal where the paperwork or the payment is late. Your compliance officer or attorney interprets the rules; we keep the schedule.
Floor-plan financing
Floor-plan lenders charge interest daily per unit, require curtailment payments as units age and reconcile their records to the lot at audit. We post interest and curtailments per unit, reconcile the lender's statement to the ledger every month, and flag any sold unit whose payoff has not cleared inside the contract window so a sold-out-of-trust position never goes unnoticed.
Parts inventory and core charges
Parts inventory must be counted, valued consistently and reconciled to the ledger, with obsolete stock written down under your CPA's policy. Core charges paid to suppliers are receivables until the core is returned, and supplier returns are receivables until credited. We track both by supplier so the balance sheet reflects what will actually come back.
Cash reporting and consumer financing
Dealerships must file IRS Form 8300 for cash over $10,000 and keep records supporting each finance contract. We list every 8300-reportable transaction from the deal file for your compliance officer to file, and we reconcile finance reserves and chargebacks from lenders to the contracts they relate to. We do not file the forms or give legal advice.
Auto software we work in
- QuickBooks Online
- QuickBooks Desktop
- Square
- Gusto
- Tekmetric
- Shop-Ware
- Mitchell 1
- Shopmonkey
- Dealertrack DMS
- CDK
- All 50 platforms
More for auto repair shops and dealerships
Other services for auto
Financial reporting in other industries
Frequently asked questions
What is effective labor rate and why report it?
Effective labor rate is labor sales divided by the technician hours actually billed, compared with the posted door rate. If the door rate is $150 but the effective rate is $118, discounts, warranty rates, comebacks and unbilled diagnostic time are absorbing the difference. Reporting it monthly alongside technician efficiency shows where labor revenue is leaking.
Can you produce the manufacturer's monthly financial statement for a franchised dealer?
Yes, when the ledger's accounts are mapped to the manufacturer's chart, the monthly factory financial statement is prepared from the closed books and tied to the DMS. We prepare and review it; the dealer principal or controller approves and submits. Departmental gross, expense ratios and balance sheet items then agree with what the lender and CPA see.
How do you report gross per unit for vehicle sales?
Each deal's front-end gross is sale price less vehicle cost and reconditioning, and back-end gross is finance reserve and F&I product income less chargebacks, both posted per unit from the deal file. The report shows units, average front and back gross, days to sale and floor-plan cost per unit. The KPI dashboards service for auto repair shops & dealerships tracks the same figures weekly.
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