Learn & Compare
Plain-English definitions for every term you'll come across when researching dealer management software (DMS) or garage management software (GMS) — from AI features to workshop operations.
CAP HPI is a UK provider of vehicle valuation data and history checks, used by dealers for trade-in valuations and to check for outstanding finance, write-offs, or theft markers.
Churn rate is the percentage of customers a business loses over a given period — for a garage, typically customers who stop booking services altogether.
A courtesy car is a temporary replacement vehicle a dealer or workshop lends to a customer while their own vehicle is being serviced or repaired.
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is the total revenue a business expects to earn from a single customer over the entire span of their relationship.
A DMS integration is a connection between the dealer management system and another piece of software — a portal, lender, parts supplier, or accounts package — so data flows automatically instead of being re-typed.
A Dealer Management System (DMS) is software used by vehicle dealers to manage sales, stock, customer records, and finance — and, in practice, almost always workshop/aftersales operations too, since dealer stock needs preparing before sale.
A Digital Vehicle Health Check (DVHC) is a photo- or video-based inspection report that a technician sends to a customer, usually with traffic-light status ratings for each item checked.
Fleet management software helps a business that owns or leases multiple vehicles track servicing, compliance, costs, and availability across the whole fleet.
A franchise dealer is authorised by a vehicle manufacturer to sell that brand new and approved-used, under the manufacturer's standards. An independent dealer sells any make, with no manufacturer tie.
A Garage Management System (GMS) is software used by independent workshops that only offer aftersales services (no vehicle sales) to manage bookings, job cards, parts, invoicing, and technician scheduling.
HP (Hire Purchase) is a vehicle finance agreement where fixed monthly payments cover the full vehicle value, and the customer owns the car outright once the final payment is made.
A job card (or work order) is the record of work being carried out on a vehicle in a workshop — what was requested, what was found, what was done, and what it cost.
A labour time guide is industry-standard data (such as from HaynesPro) specifying how long a given repair job should take, used to generate accurate quotes.
Lead scoring is the practice of ranking sales enquiries by how likely they are to convert into a sale, often using AI to analyse enquiry data automatically.
An MOT is the UK's mandatory annual roadworthiness test for vehicles over three years old, required by law to legally drive on public roads.
OBD (On-Board Diagnostics) is the standard system built into modern vehicles that reports fault codes and performance data, typically accessed via a port under the dashboard.
PCP (Personal Contract Purchase) is a vehicle finance agreement with lower monthly payments than a loan, ending in an optional final "balloon" payment to own the car outright.
A part exchange (PX) is when a customer trades in their current vehicle as partial payment toward a vehicle they are buying from a dealer.
Parts margin is the difference between what a garage pays a supplier for a part and what it charges the customer, expressed as a percentage or cash amount.
Retail Rating is AutoTrader's 0-100 score estimating how likely a vehicle is to sell at its current price compared to similar vehicles in the market.
A service schedule is the manufacturer-recommended timetable of maintenance tasks for a vehicle, typically based on mileage and time intervals.
Stock ageing (or Days to Sell) measures how long a vehicle has been listed for sale — the longer it sits, the more it typically costs a dealer in lost margin.
A stocking loan (or stocking plan) is finance a dealer uses to fund the vehicles on its forecourt, repaying the lender as each vehicle sells.
Telematics is technology that collects and transmits real-time data from a vehicle — such as fault codes, mileage, and battery health — typically via a small OBD device.
A VRM lookup retrieves a vehicle's details — make, model, specification, MOT and tax status — automatically from its registration number (VRM), instead of being typed in manually.
A vehicle appraisal is the structured inspection a dealer carries out on a part-exchange or buy-in vehicle to assess its condition and value before agreeing a price.
Vehicle stock management is the process of tracking, pricing, and advertising the vehicles a dealership has for sale, usually within a DMS.
Workshop management software is a broader term for any system that schedules jobs, tracks technician time, and manages a vehicle workshop's daily operations — largely synonymous with a GMS.
eContracting is the process of completing a vehicle sale — finance proposal, agreement, and signatures — entirely online instead of on paper in the dealership.
