Glossary
Automotive software terms, explained
From DMS and F&I to telematics and VIN decoding, the words you will meet when buying software for a dealership, fleet, workshop or taxi business.
A
- Automotive CRM#
- A customer relationship management system built for vehicle sales and service: it tracks leads, test drives, quotes, financing, deliveries and after-sales follow-ups rather than generic contacts.Learn more
B
- Bay scheduling#
- Allocating workshop bays and technicians to jobs by time and skill so that vehicles move through the service centre without idle bays or waiting customers.
C
- Car leasing#
- Renting a car for a fixed term, usually one to five years, for a monthly payment within an agreed mileage allowance, often with the option to buy the car at the end (a buyout).Learn more
- Certified pre-owned (CPO)#
- A used vehicle that has passed a manufacturer or dealer inspection and is sold with a warranty. CPO stock needs inspection records and warranty terms tracked in the DMS.Learn more
D
- Days in stock / stock ageing#
- How long each vehicle has been in inventory. Ageing reports show which units are tying up cash and need repricing or promotion.
- Dealer management system (DMS)#
- The core software platform of a dealership, bringing vehicle inventory, sales, F&I, CRM, service, parts and accounting into one system.Learn more
- Digital price stand#
- A tablet placed beside a car in a showroom in place of a printed price sheet, showing its price, specifications, colours and offers, and updated centrally so every stand shows the current price.Learn more
- Digital retailing#
- Letting customers complete most of the car-buying journey online: browsing stock, pricing, trade-in valuation, financing and reserving a vehicle before visiting the showroom.Learn more
- Dispatch#
- Assigning a ride, delivery or job to the most suitable driver or vehicle. Automated dispatch uses location, availability, rating and vehicle type to decide in seconds.Learn more
- Driver scorecard#
- A rating of each driver based on telematics events such as speeding, harsh braking, rapid acceleration and idling, used to coach drivers and reduce accidents and fuel use.Learn more
E
- ELD / electronic logging#
- Digital recording of driver hours and vehicle use for compliance, replacing paper logbooks.
F
- F&I (finance and insurance)#
- The part of a vehicle sale where financing, insurance, warranties and add-ons are arranged. A DMS automates the paperwork and tracks F&I income per deal.
- Fleet management system (FMS)#
- Software that tracks vehicles, drivers, fuel, maintenance and compliance for a business that operates many vehicles.Learn more
G
- Geofencing#
- A virtual boundary on a map. The fleet system raises an alert when a vehicle enters or leaves it, for example a depot, customer site or restricted area.Learn more
J
- Job card#
- The record of a single workshop job: the customer's complaint, diagnosis, parts used, labour, technician and time. Digital job cards replace paper and feed invoicing and history.Learn more
L
- Landed cost#
- The total cost of an imported vehicle or part including purchase price, shipping, customs duties, taxes and handling. Essential for pricing in import-heavy markets.
- Lead scoring#
- Ranking enquiries by how likely they are to buy, using signals such as source, vehicle interest, response time and behaviour, often with machine learning.Learn more
M
- Multi-branch / multi-location#
- A dealer or service business operating more than one site. Software must share stock and customers across branches while reporting on each separately.
O
- OBD-II#
- The standard diagnostic port in modern vehicles. Plug-in devices read fault codes, mileage, fuel and engine data for fleet and service applications.
- OEM#
- Original equipment manufacturer, the vehicle brand. Franchised dealers often need to exchange stock, warranty and parts data with OEM systems.
P
- Parts catalogue#
- A structured list of spare parts by vehicle make, model, year and part number, used to search, quote and order the right part first time.Learn more
- Predictive maintenance#
- Using vehicle data and machine learning to forecast when a component is likely to fail, so it is serviced before it causes a breakdown.Learn more
- Proof of delivery (POD)#
- The record that a delivery was completed: typically the receiver’s name and signature, a photo and the time and place, captured by the driver at the stop.Learn more
R
- Ride-hailing platform#
- A system of rider app, driver app and admin panel that matches passengers with nearby drivers, handles payments and tracks every trip.Learn more
- Roadside assistance#
- Help for a broken-down vehicle where it stopped, such as towing, a flat tyre change, a jump start, fuel delivery or a lockout, usually requested by phone or app and dispatched to the nearest available truck.Learn more
- Route optimisation#
- Calculating the best order and path for multiple stops to cut distance, fuel and time, taking traffic, vehicle capacity and time windows into account.
S
- Service reminder#
- An automated message by SMS, WhatsApp, email or app notification telling a customer their vehicle is due for service, generated from mileage or time since last visit.
- Surge pricing#
- Raising fares automatically when demand for rides exceeds available drivers, to attract more drivers onto the road.
T
- Telematics#
- The combination of GPS, vehicle sensors and mobile data that sends location, speed, fuel and engine information from a vehicle to fleet software in real time.
- Test drive management#
- Scheduling test drives, recording driver licences and vehicle checks, and following up afterwards, as part of the sales pipeline.
- Trade-in valuation#
- Estimating what a customer's current vehicle is worth as part-exchange, using condition, mileage, market data and sometimes AI image inspection.
U
- Utilisation#
- The share of time a fleet vehicle is earning money rather than idle or in the workshop. The main measure of fleet efficiency.
V
- VIN#
- Vehicle identification number, the unique 17-character code of every vehicle. Decoding it gives make, model, year and specifications for stock and service records.
W
- Walkaround check#
- A pre-trip inspection in which the driver checks tyres, lights, brakes, mirrors and fluids before a run, recording any defect with a photo so it is fixed before the vehicle leaves.Learn more
- White-label app#
- A ready-made app that is rebranded with your name, colours and content so it looks like your own product and can launch quickly.Learn more
- Workshop management#
- The software side of a service centre: bookings, job cards, technician scheduling, parts, invoicing and customer communication.Learn more
No terms match. Try a different word, or ask us.
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