Practical guides · Dealerships
How to stop manual price-sheet changes in a small dealership
Change the price in one place, produce everything else from it, and keep each customer’s agreed price separate.
To stop manual price sheet changes, keep one current asking price per car in your stock record, and print price sheets, cards and adverts from it. Nobody edits a downloaded sheet. A customer’s agreed price lives on their deal, so a price drop never rewrites it. A shared stock spreadsheet is enough for a small dealership; a dealer management system helps when it can produce documents from the same record.
Asking price and agreed price are different
The asking price is what you advertise today. The agreed price belongs to one customer’s accepted deal. They can differ, and that’s fine. Manual price sheet errors usually happen when someone tries to make them match.
Set up one stock record
- Give each car a stock number that doesn’t change, even if the registration does.
- Record the asking price, the date it changed and who changed it.
- Decide who is allowed to change prices.
- Produce the price sheet from the record (a filtered view or export). Don’t keep a separate edited copy.
Example: a £500 price drop
Scroll across the table to read every column.
| Price | |
|---|---|
| Old price sheet | £12,495 |
| Stock record, new asking price | £11,995 |
| Difference to fix | £500 |
| Earlier accepted deal (leave alone) | £12,250 |
Reprint the sheet so it shows £11,995: difference £0. The accepted deal stays at £12,250. It’s a separate agreement, not an error. If a deal genuinely needs changing, keep the old version and get the customer to accept the new one. An issued invoice needs a credit note, not a stock edit.
After every price change
- Check the new sheet against the stock number, not just the amount.
- Replace the windscreen card.
- Check external adverts actually updated. If they haven’t yet, mark them as waiting.
If prep costs triggered the reduction, see the preparation-cost worked example.
VAT, deposits and the agreed price
- A margin-scheme customer invoice shows the total and “Margin scheme - second-hand goods”, with no VAT line. Changing the asking price on the sheet must not rewrite an issued invoice or an accepted deal.
- A deposit or part-payment against an accepted price belongs to that deal’s agreed price, not to today’s asking price. If you reprice the car, leave the customer’s deal document alone unless they accept a new one.
- If an issued invoice needs changing, use a credit note and a new invoice. Don’t edit the stock asking price and hope the paperwork follows.
When the spreadsheet stops working
If prices and customer documents keep drifting apart, look at the systems work I am developing, or send the current problem with an example of where the figures differ.
One price record for each car
Describe where asking prices are changed today, and which sheets, cards and adverts are copied from them. Andrew can say whether your current stock record can produce them, or whether a dealer system would suit you better.
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Related service: PlateLedger, dealer management software