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Unit Deals September 13, 2012 barney

Unit Deals is a piece of functionality added in version 4.314 of c9 that allows you to build up a unit sale over a period of time, as a purchase order.

The intent of deals is to simplify the process of managing unit sales, purchases and tradeins by making the process more intuitive and more forgiving.  Prior process for selling a unit in c9 required keying in all data in one sitting.  Unit sales can be complicated animals, and expecting a user to key in everything correctly on the spot is something of a task.

Accessing Deals

From Main Menu

  • Units
  • Sales
  • Deals

Deal Entry Screen

The deal main screen lists all deals currently in progress.

To add a new deal click on 'Add'

To modify an existing deal click on 'Modify'

To cancel a deal click on 'Cancel'.  Cancelled deals are not deleted.  They are simply flagged as cancelled. To re-open a cancelled deal click on the tab 'Cancelled Deals', select the deal to re-open and click on 're-open'

Deal Main Screen

This screen, accessed when you add a new deal or modify an existing deal is where most of the work on dealing happens. There are 3 broad functions that happen in this area:

  • Manage deal details
    • Set/Adjust Customer and Finance Company
    • Adjust Deposits Held
    • Description
  • Manage units on a deal
    • Add/modify/remove units to be brought and sold
    • Substitute units to be sold
  • Review service details and history
    • Access service history on units to be purchased
    • Access pre-delivery and assembly/floor service history on units to be sold

Use [add sell]/[add purchase] to add a unit to sell/unit to purchase respectively.

Add will open up a window to add a unit exactly same as prior sell/purchase/tradein screens.

Unlike prior sell function, you can setup a deal involving a unit not yet on the floor.  See below for more details

[View Unit] will view the unit as it appears currently on the database. The 'view' will show unit as it currently is on the floor (for a unit being sold) and on the customer (for a unit being purchased).  View does not show you changes and deal information; only current details on the unit.

[Modify] Allows you to reaccess the unit on the deal and modify its deals/pricing etc

[Delete] Removes the unit off the deal

[Substitute] Keeps the unit on the deal with all keyed in information such as pricing etc, but substitutes the physical unit for another. For example same model on the floor but have different VINs.  This function is mainly useful for handling units on a deal but not yet on the floor.  See below

[View/Modify Job] Access same job functions as you can access via workshop.

[Finish Deal] This opens up the unit sale screen preset with all the details on the deal. If you continue with the sale/purchase/tradein the deal is automatically flagged as completed and removed off the list.  If you rollback the invoice created, the deal will re-appear ready to be reprocessed (or cancelled)

[Print Deal] Print a sheet describing the deal.  Looks very similar to a unit tax invoice

[Print Paperwork] Print paperwork associated with the deal. e.g. Contract of Sale and Road Authoritory documentation

Deal a Unit Sale not yet on the floor

When you add a unit to sell, there is the ability to add a unit that is not on the floor.  So you can build a deal involving units you have not yet purchased from the supplier.  When you click on [Add Unit] click on Cancel when list of floor units is displayed.  You can then type in vital details of the unit to sell.

After adding such a unit, in main modify screen they will appear with red text and description 'On Order'. You cannot finalize a deal with on order units.

In order to move unit off 'on order',  you first receive the unit onto the floor as you would normally via Sell -> Purchase.  Once on the floor, via modify deal select [Substitute] option. You can then substitute the unit on order with the received unit on the floor and then proceed to finalize the deal.

Deals and Spare Parts & Accessories

Deals provide a way to manage spare part lifecycle similar to workshop jobs.  On a unit on a deal; spare parts can be sold and ordered for that unit.

Ordered parts, upon receive order will automatically update the deal and print details of the affected deal on the receive sheet.

Additionally a deal has a concept of tracking whether parts have been actually invoiced to the deal or simply flagged to be invoiced, but not yet sold out.

When you add/modify a sell unit and make it to the window that contains spare parts (and other line items) involved in the deal colour coding will reflect following:

RED - parts is on order or will need to be ordered

BLUE - part is tracked on the deal but has not yet been invoiced to the deal

BLACK - part has been invoiced and supplied to the deal

When you finish editing a unit on a deal that has blue line items (to be invoiced) you are presented with following window.

You can invoice now and parts will be automatically ordered/invoiced to the deal.

You can invoice later and parts will only written onto the deal. No actual ordering/invoicing will begin

If you choose to invoice later there are a couple of options for handling later invoice:

  1. Modify the unit on the deal again and go to finish the modification without making changes. The system will reask the question if you want to invoice/order parts now or later.
  2. Finalize the deal.  Any un invoiced parts will be invoiced then.  Option 1) is recommended to cope with receiving ordered parts.  Deals are designed to cope with waiting for parts on order; but invoiced sales are not.

On receiving a spares order involving parts on a deal the receive print out will list parts to supply to deals.

When you delete items off a deal unit, or delete a unit, or cancel a deal c9 will prompt you to restock items invoiced to the deal. Similar to how workshop behaves in these situations.

Workshop Pre Delivery Jobs and Deals

Another level of sophistication associated with deals on sale is the pre-existing ability to flag service jobs as pre-delivery jobs.

The items on a pre-delivery job automatically copy onto and update as items on a unit deal whenever the deal unit is accessed.  So changes to pre-delivery job affect line items on the deal more or less automatically.

When manipulating line items on a unit that are inherited from a pre delivery job you have a couple of options.

  • Modify cost of the item. The cost is fixed, All changes to the cost of the item on the service job will not affect the line item on the deal
  • Delete the item.  The item will not reappear. In order to make it reappear you need to modify the pre-delivery job, delete and re-add the item

Items inherited from pre-delivery jobs are color coded.

  • Brown : normal font.  Pre delivery items whose price will change if the job is modified
  • Brown: bolded font.  Pre delivery items whose price is fixed. Changes to workshop job will not impact line item on the unit deal

Liabilities/Encumbrances

One last point on line items on units.  For purchased units there is a new line item type. Liability.  A liability models an cost or financial encumbrance on a unit you are buying . For example you are buying a tradein unit and the customer has not paid out the finance on that unit. Part of the deal is that you will pay the finance on the purchased unit.

Liabilities entered are converted into unit costs on purchase and affect profit on purchased unit when it is subsequently sold.  Liabilities funcionally are same as 'on road costs' on purchase units.  The item is recorded as  a cost on the floor unit to the dealership.  Liabilities are just more obvious intuitive naming.

On screen they appear as red. i.e. :