What an auto parts inventory tracker should answer
A parts inventory is money sitting on shelves. A useful tracker answers three questions at any moment: what is in stock, what did each part cost, and how much did you make on the parts you sold. If the answer lives in a notebook, a supplier invoice folder and somebody's memory, the stock count never matches and parts margin is a guess.
Car Dealer Tracker keeps automotive parts inventory as its own area next to vehicle inventory, in the same app on iPhone, iPad, Android and the web. Parts revenue and profit appear in the same monthly report as vehicle sales.
Parts, batches and purchase cost
Each part has a part number, name, category, photo and notes. Stock arrives in batches: every delivery is recorded with the quantity received, the unit cost and the purchase date, and the batch remembers how many units are left. Buying the same filter at three different prices over a year is normal, and batches keep each price instead of overwriting it.
- Part number, name, category, photo and notes
- Batches with quantity received, quantity remaining, unit cost and date
- Purchase paid from a cash or bank account you choose
Part sales and margin
When parts go out, you record a part sale with the buyer, payment method and one or more lines. Each line takes its quantity from a batch, so stock goes down and the sale knows its real unit cost. The difference between the selling price and that cost is the parts margin, without a separate spreadsheet.
Parts revenue and parts profit are shown separately from vehicle revenue and profit in the monthly report, so you can see whether the parts counter is pulling its weight.
Parts stock check and stocktake
A parts inventory stock check compares what the system says with what is on the shelf. Count by location, compare each line with the remaining quantity in its batches, and investigate large variances before adjusting. The car parts stocktake guide in our resources walks through the full count, from preparation to stock accuracy and stock value.
Parts you fit to one of your own vehicles are recorded as an expense on that vehicle so its profit stays correct. The parts stock is not reduced automatically in that case, so post the adjustment when you count.
Who it is for
Independent used car dealers with a small parts store, dealers who sell parts from cars they break, and reconditioning shops that buy and resell parts. It is not a parts catalogue or an ordering system: there is no supplier catalogue lookup and no automatic reordering. You can start free; unlimited vehicles, reports, cloud sync and team roles come with Dealer Pro.