Custom used car stock management and trade-in software development
Appfront builds software that keeps car dealers' used-vehicle stock and trade-ins in one line: from valuation at purchase through cleaning, MOT, photography and publishing. With days on lot tracked per car, so you can see which vehicle has been standing too long before it costs you money.
What is used vehicle stock and trade-in software?
Used vehicle stock management records, for each car, what you paid for it, what you spend on it afterwards and how long it has been on the lot. That last figure is the one that matters: a used car that sits idle costs interest, space and depreciation, and that is not visible in accounts that only settle when the car is sold.
Part-exchange is the other half of the same story. During a sales conversation a car is taken in trade, and the price you give for it determines the margin on two cars at once. If that valuation is done on a scrap of paper and only reaches the system later, the link between the discount on the new car and the value of the old one is impossible to trace afterwards.
We build custom solutions because every business handles margin and VAT-margin cars differently, decides who may set a valuation, and runs a car through different steps before it is ready for sale. A dealer group with several branches needs a different setup than an independent business with thirty cars on the forecourt.
Stock per car
Purchase cost, costs incurred, selling price and days on the lot for each used car, with RDW vehicle data linked to the registration plate.
Part-exchange from the sales conversation
A valuation recorded at the customer's and attached straight to the sales order, including photos and notes on damage.
Preparation and publishing
The steps between purchase and sale-ready are tracked, so a car does not sit on the cleaning schedule for two weeks without anyone noticing.
How we build your software for used-car stock and part-exchange
We start on the forecourt and at the sales desk, because that is where the admin is created. Only then do we look at the screens.
How a car arrives, which steps it goes through and who decides what. We also look at what currently happens on scraps of paper and in group chats, because that is the part the software has to take over.
Which details a salesperson records for a trade-in, who confirms the final value and how that connects to the sale of the other car. This is the area where most of the margin can be won or lost.
Purchase price, transport, cleaning, MOT, parts and warranty provision are booked against the car, so the true cost price is visible and not just at year-end accounts.
The car goes with photos and details to your own website and to the channels where you advertise, and we integrate with your accounting. After that, we take over the maintenance.
What used-car stock and part-exchange software actually does
Which components matter most depends on your volume and on whether you operate with several branches.
Registration plate and vehicle details
When a registration plate is entered, the open RDW data is retrieved, so make, model, fuel type and MOT date do not have to be typed in by hand.
Part-exchange valuation
A valuation form that a salesperson completes at the customer's, with photos, damage points and a proposed value that still needs confirmation.
Cost price per car
Everything booked on the car after purchase adds up to the true cost price: transport, cleaning, maintenance, parts and warranty provision.
Days on the lot
How long this car has been standing, compared with what is usual for this type, with a signal when a car stays too long.
Preparation steps
Cleaning, MOT, photography and advert text as steps with a responsible person, so a car does not get stuck unnoticed.
Publishing to channels
One set of photos and details that goes to your own website and to the sales channels, without re-entering it for each channel.
Who we build used-car stock and part-exchange software for
The software is intended for businesses that see used cars as trading stock and not as a sideline to the workshop.
Independent garages
You buy in yourself and take in trade-ins on sale. Days on the lot and cost price per car are exactly the figures you currently approximate with a spreadsheet.
Dealer groups
Several branches with stock that can be moved between them. In that case, visibility across branches matters more than a polished screen for each one.
Used-car centres
High volume, short days on the lot and a tight preparation process. Monitoring throughput matters more to you than the valuation.
Commercial vehicle specialists
Your vehicles have bodywork, fit-outs and often an inspection. Those features belong to the vehicle and partly determine the selling price.
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
We pull vehicle data from the RDW's open data and integrate with the systems you already use for accounting and invoicing. If you are looking for software for an entire garage business, see garage business software. For stock outside the automotive sector, we have a stock management web app, and for sales across multiple channels, multichannel stock synchronisation.
For the shop floor, covering appraisal, the handover process and the car on the lot, there is our app for used car stock and trade-ins.
If it's not cars but tractors and harvesters with operating hours, there is our app for agricultural machinery trade-in calculation.
Why choose Appfront for your used car stock and trade-in software?
In the motor trade, the difference isn't the screen but whether the salesperson actually uses it while the customer is sitting across from them.
Usable at the counter
An appraisal that takes two minutes gets filled in; one that takes ten ends up on a scrap of paper.
The cost price adds up
Everything booked against a car counts, including valeting and warranty provision. Otherwise, every sale looks profitable.
Your way of working, not a dealer package
We build what you do. You don't have to adopt a manufacturer's process that doesn't suit your business.
Security and privacy in used car stock and trade-in software
With trade-ins and sales, you record customers' personal data, and with finance sometimes more than that. We build with data minimisation in mind: only what is needed for the transaction and the legal retention obligation, with a retention period that matches, and authorisation by role and branch.
Vehicle and margin data is commercially sensitive. We set who may see which purchase price by role, so a salesperson can see the sales floor but not necessarily the full purchase calculation. All changes to prices and appraisals are logged with user and timestamp.
Frequently asked questions about used car stock and trade-in software
Questions dealerships ask about stock and trade-ins.
It means tracking every used car as trade stock: what you paid for it, what you spend on it afterwards on valeting, servicing and parts, what the asking price is and how long the car has been on the lot. That shows you the true cost price and days in stock per car, rather than finding out how the margin turned out only at the point of sale.
Yes. The RDW makes vehicle data available as open data, and from the registration number we automatically fill in make, model, fuel type, year of manufacture and the MOT expiry date. That saves data entry and prevents typing errors in the details the advert is later based on.
Yes, that's the core idea. The appraisal is completed on a phone or tablet with photos and damage points, and is linked directly to the sales order for the car the customer is buying. That keeps the link between the discount on one car and the trade-in value of another visible.
Yes. Whether a car falls under the margin scheme or is VAT-liable determines how the margin and the invoice look. We record this per car and take it into account in the calculation and in what goes to your accounts. The tax assessment remains with you and your accountant.
Yes. Cars with their photos and details can go to your own website and to the channels where you advertise, from the same source. That prevents a car being sold while it is still listed elsewhere, and saves re-entering the same details for each channel.
Yes. Stock can be tracked per branch and still be visible across the whole group, so a salesperson can see that the car their customer is looking for is at another location. We manage who can see and move what through authorisations per branch and role.
Sometimes it does. We often see that a dealer package handles workshop and warranty processing well, but says little about days in stock and the actual cost price of the used-car inventory. In that case, we build that part alongside it and pull in the data that already exists, so you don't end up with duplicate data entry.
Control over your used-car stock and trade-ins?
Tell us how many cars you have in stock and how you currently value trade-ins. We'll review your process with you and show what becomes visible when stock and trade-ins sit in one flow.