Custom app for registering exchange parts
Appfront builds apps for parts wholesalers, garages, remanufacturers and dealers who work with exchange parts: starters, alternators, turbos, brake callipers, injectors and gearboxes supplied against the return of the old unit. For each part sold, the app tracks the deposit on the core, the deadline for its return, the assessment on receipt, the credit to the customer, and the return to the supplier or your own remanufacturing operation. So no deposit stays outstanding and no core disappears into a corner of the warehouse.
What is an exchange parts registration app?
An exchange part is sold against the return of the old part, the core. The core carries a deposit: the customer pays it at purchase and gets it back if they return the core on time and in usable condition. The core then goes back to the supplier or the remanufacturer, who rebuilds it, and the wholesaler in turn is credited. An exchange parts app tracks every core through that chain, from sale to credit on both sides.
In many businesses the deposit appears as a separate line on the invoice, and the core is matched by hand on return, if someone can find the original invoice. Cores pile up in the warehouse, some are never sent back to the supplier, and the deposit the supplier still has to credit appears nowhere. A customer who returns an unusable core still gets their deposit back, because nobody assessed it.
We build custom because the registration needs to fit your chain: which suppliers you buy exchange parts from and on what terms, whether you refurbish in-house, which ERP, which till and which workshop software you use, and which deadlines and rejection rules you agree with customers. An ERP knows a deposit rule; it rarely knows the core as an item in its own right with a way back.
Deposit per core
For every exchange part sold, the deposit on the core, the return deadline and the customer, so you can see per customer which cores are still due back.
Assessment on receipt
On return, the core is scanned, matched to the sale, assessed against the supplier's criteria with a photo and reason, and then credited or rejected.
Return to the supplier
Cores collected per supplier or remanufacturer, dispatched with a return note, and the supplier's credit reconciled against what you have sent back.
How we build your exchange parts registration app
We start with the outstanding deposits: how many cores are out with customers, how many sit in the warehouse, and how much deposit you still need to recover from suppliers.
Your suppliers of exchange parts and their core return terms, your own remanufacturing, the deadlines and rejection criteria towards customers, and the systems you use.
Recording the deposit per core at sale from your till, ERP or workshop software, and an overview per customer of what is still due back.
Return with a scan, matched to the sale, assessment with photo and reason, and a credit or rejection to the customer.
Return of cores to suppliers and remanufacturers, reconciliation of their credits, reporting on deposits and rejections, and ongoing management afterwards.
What an exchange parts registration app does in practice
The components below come up in almost every business dealing in exchange parts. Which ones you need depends on whether you sell, remanufacture, or both.
Deposit registration
For each exchange part sold, the deposit, the core that must be returned, the deadline and the customer, taken over from the till, ERP or work order.
Core intake
Returns at the counter or via the driver, with a scan matched to the original sale, even when the customer doesn't have the invoice with them.
Assessment
For each core, the supplier's criteria such as complete, not broken, correct type, with a photo and reason for any rejection.
Customer credit
Once approved, the deposit is returned to the customer via a credit note; if rejected, a notification is sent with the reason and the photo.
Return to supplier
Cores collected per supplier or remanufacturer and dispatched with a return slip, with the supplier's credit matched per core.
Reporting
Outstanding deposits per customer and per supplier, cores past their deadline, rejections by reason, and core stock in the warehouse.
For whom we build an app for exchange parts registration
The app is designed for businesses where cores and deposits are currently matched to sales and suppliers by hand.
Parts wholesalers
Many exchange parts to many garages, and cores returned from many suppliers. The deposit per customer and the return per supplier are at the heart of it.
Garages and dealers
Replacement parts fitted to the work order, with the old core going back to the wholesaler. The integration with the workshop matters most.
Remanufacturers
Cores received from customers and wholesalers, remanufactured and resold. Assessment and core stock are what you need.
Specialists in drivetrain and braking
High-value exchange parts with a high deposit. Photo-based assessment and matching with the supplier are at the heart of it.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
This page is about replacement parts and the return route for the core. To find the right part for a vehicle, see our page on a TecDoc parts matching app; for parts for machines and installations, our page on spare parts software; and for the workshop, our page on garage business software. You can read about our approach under building software.
Why choose Appfront for your exchange parts registration app?
A core that doesn't come back is a deposit you've lost. We build on that: every core is tracked from sale to credit, on both the customer and the supplier side.
No more deposits left outstanding
For each customer and each supplier, you can see which cores and which deposits are still open. Anything past its deadline appears at the top.
Assessed before credited
A core is only credited after assessment. An unusable core doesn't generate a deposit you then fail to recover.
No more core clutter
Cores go back to each supplier with a return slip. What sits in the warehouse is recorded in stock and has a destination.
Security and privacy in an exchange parts registration app
The app holds customer data, prices, deposit amounts and supplier agreements. Access is set up by role: the counter takes cores in, the warehouse assesses and dispatches, and administration issues credits. Every assessment and credit is logged with name and time.
The app runs in a European data centre, with encrypted storage and daily backups. Integrations with the till, ERP and suppliers use their own keys, which can be revoked.
Frequently asked questions about an exchange parts registration app
Questions parts businesses ask before getting started.
For every sale of a replacement part, it records the deposit on the old core and the deadline, matches the returned core to the sale, logs the assessment with photo and reason, credits or rejects the customer, and tracks the core back to the supplier or remanufacturer until the credit has been received there.
Via the reference on the sale, a scan of the part number or the customer, and the type. If the customer doesn't have the invoice with them, the app searches that customer's open cores for that part.
Yes. You set per supplier or product group when a core is considered usable, for example complete, not broken, correctly executed, and what deadline applies. The assessment follows those criteria, so you don't credit cores the supplier would reject.
Yes. Cores you remanufacture yourself go to your own workshop rather than to a supplier, with stock of cores by type and a link to the remanufactured part that is sold on again.
They appear on a list per customer, with a reminder or, under your terms, a final settlement of the deposit. You set the rules; the app applies them.
Yes, provided those systems record sales and make work orders available. The deposit is then registered at the point of sale, without the counter having to do anything extra.
Check this first. Some ERP packages for parts trade include a core module, and that is enough if your flows are simple. Custom development makes sense if you work with many suppliers with their own terms, if you remanufacture yourself, or if assessment and credit notes are still manual work.
No more outstanding deposits and no cores gathering dust in the corner?
Tell us which exchange parts you sell, from which suppliers, and how you currently keep track of deposits and cores. We will show you what deposit registration, assessment and returns look like.