INNOVATION IN AUTOMOTIVE ACCOUNTING By Tobey Bryant, Accumatic We have all heard automotive experts talk about how the automobile industry is changing more today than it has in the last five decades combined. And for those of us in the industry, working within dealerships every day, we experience those changes every day. The automotive industry has historically focused on the front end of the dealership to increase the movement and margin of car inventory while streamlining the customer experience. The adoption of technology initially focused on the front end has paved the way for dealerships to pay more attention to the back office as well, specifically around the benefits of data automation. What is Automation in Data Analytics? In simple terms, it means using technology to perform analytical tasks, reducing manual processes and minimizing human error. Why Do You Need It? There are many benefits to data automation, including, but not limited to, the following: • Increased accuracy — manual data entry is incredibly time-consuming and error-prone • Improved efficiency, which, in turn, allows staff and management to focus on other critical aspects of their business • Easier training and onboarding of new employees • Higher operating margins The shift to focus on back-office automation has expanded across the marketplace; examples include Cox Automotive, CDK, DealerTrack and Open Track, to name a few. In addition, data automation (as opposed to manual keying) allows dealers to use their existing technology platforms (like their DMS) in a more substantial and efficient manner. Automation and Accounting The finance and accounting departments are the backbone of any dealership, and expectations for the F&I staff are mounting as technology evolves and customer expectations rise. Accounting personnel within a dealership are challenged with retrieving real-time reporting, resulting in even more paperwork. They are overwhelmed with heaps of transactional work — expense reporting, collections, analyzing cash flows, making predictions and so on — leaving little time to focus on growth goals and higher returns for the business. Meanwhile, implementing intelligent automation into your financial workflow promises to improve accuracy, maintain compliance and scale enterprise-wide so you can unify your workforce, transform your operations and expand your automation across departments. Automation can return thousands of employee hours a month and improve processes by up to 75% for the average dealership. Intelligent automation enables your people to focus on higher-value work and improve efficiency across your organization. Automotive Accounting Trends for 2023 • Dealerships are looking towards automating data intake processes for hundreds of factory, warranty, discount and financial reports. • DMS companies are moving to unlock your data, making accounting, analysis and reporting of your data an easily achievable task. • The use of AI and improved computing allow your programs to do more than ever before. • Back-office technology allows the automotive industry to keep employees focused on value-driven analytics with less employee turnover and training. In Conclusion Data is a valuable resource that many car dealerships underutilize. Data offers a powerful set of tools, but in raw form, data is just a bunch of numbers. It takes the right tools to turn that bunch of numbers into a clear picture that then helps dealers boost sales, increase efficiency and spot deficits. Accumatic, an accounting automation company, was born when a franchise owner approached one of the founders and described the arduous process of posting factory and F&I reports into their DMS. Accumatic began working with the automotive industry to streamline data entry into dealer management systems, as well as reduce error-prone, manual processes. It soon became apparent that reconciliation processes and financial reporting beyond the factory, warranty and discount report ingest also needed automation. For more information on automating your accounting processes, call us today at 1-877-500-7049. 26
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