Added Costs

General Information

Figure 1: (Click To Enlarge)

Repairs

If repairs or any kind of work is done to a vehicle after a sale has been completed, access the customer through Customer Activity, then click on J - Vehicle Information.  In the box labeled vehicle costs, there is a field labeled Added Costs, with a button with 3 dots next to it (Figure 1).  Click on the (...) button, then click on Add Costs.  This will allow you to enter a description of the work done on the vehicle, the date the work was done, the supplier, the parts cost, and the labor cost.  The total cost of the work is simply the parts supplier, the parts cost, and the labor cost. It is displayed in the box labeled "total", and cannot be changed directly.  This number is for your records only and will be factored into the profit you are making from that sale.  The amount you would like charged to the customer should be entered into the field labeled Amount Billed. If no number is entered here, nothing will be charged to the customer! (Figure 2)

Anything you enter in the Amount Billed field will be added to the customer's repair balance, which will be listed separately from their regular balance, and labeled (simply enough) Repairs Balance. 

Figure 2: (Click To Enlarge)

The next time you enter a payment for that customer, you will find a new field in the lower right of the Enter Payments screen, in the box labeled Apply Payment To.  This area will list how much of the payment is being applied to their contract (or principal) balance, and how much is being applied to their Repair Balance.  These numbers can be manually changed when you enter the payment.  If you want the Repairs Balance to print on receipts (or not), go into Miscellaneous, 1 – System Options, then tab 4 – Payment Options, and in the box labeled Factors affecting Receipts, check (or uncheck) the box next to Check here to print repairs due on payment receipt.

Labor Rate

When you add costs to a vehicle, the total cost is determined by what you enter for the parts and labor costs.  You can either enter the labor costs manually, or enter the labor rate and the number of hours of work, and the system will automatically compute the labor cost.  If you usually charge the same labor rate, you can set it in your system options to always default to this rate (you will still be able to change it manually if you need).  To set this, go to Miscellaneous, 1 - System Options, then tab 5 - Vehicle Options.  On this screen there is a box labeled Added Costs Options, where there is a field for Default Labor Rate.  The rate you enter here is the hourly rate.

Added Costs & Costs To You

Figure 3: Click To Enlarge

There are some system options you can set up for how these added costs are factored into the total cost to you for the car (for your reports).  If you go to Miscellaneous, then 1 – System Options, then tab 5 – Vehicle Options, you will see a box labeled Added Costs Options (Figure 3). If the box next to "Add cost to car after car is sold" is checked, then any costs of repairs or other added costs after the sale will be factored into the total cost of the vehicle.  Doing this may skew your numbers from an earlier date, thus many dealers choose to keep this box unchecked, which will not include added costs after the sale in the original cost of the car, but will keep added costs separate in a added cost balance.

If the box next to "Reduce cost of car by amount billed to customer" is checked, then the cost of the car to you (used in figuring out your profit on the car and your reports) will be reduced by whatever amount you enter in the "Amount Billed" field.  If the box is unchecked, then the total cost will either remain unchanged, or will increase by the added cost if the first box is checked (next to "Add cost to car after car is sold"). 

To view a listing of any added costs during a specified date range, go to Reports, 1 – Vehicle Inventory Reports, 0 – Added Costs Listings.  With this report you have a choice to view either all added costs, only costs added before sales (inventory costs), or only costs added after sales (customer costs).  To view a summary of all added costs during a specific date range, go to Reports, 1 – Vehicle Inventory Reports, A – Added Costs Analysis. 

Helpful Hints

How Do I Get There?

ALTERNATE METHOD 1

Click on the Added Costs BUTTON in the lower left hand corner of the Browse Vehicle Window. You will then be able to add costs for whichever vehicle was highlighted.

ALTERNATE METHOD 2

Select Vehicle from the main FRAZER screen and then select Option 2 - Added Costs.

See Also: