The History Of Innovation

David Baker | QA Manager

I have been fortunate enough to work at AutoStar Solutions, helping to develop the most cutting-edge dealership software available, for the past 16 years, and have seen the company grow from a small organization into the industry leader that it is now. When I first started working here, the company was located in a small office in the Fort Worth stock yards. Reflecting back on those humble beginnings, I can’t help but be filled with pride. Over the years we’ve grown, and have remained committed to fulfilling the dealer management software needs of our customers. This commitment has allowed us to enhance our products and expand our business over time, and once again we are in the process of moving into a new, larger office space. We often talk about our software features, benefits, and usage, but almost never discuss their evolution as it relates to our company’s development and growth... until now.

Common Misconceptions of Tax Season in the BHPH Industry

Chris Fedorcek | Tax Refund Services

For many cash-driven industries, tax season is the one time a year that your customer base will be walking around with thousands of dollars on them. Research shows that the average tax refund is spent within 24 hours! Are you capitalizing on the market during tax season or are you letting more aggressive businesses take advantage of this captive audience? Don’t let the industry’s common misconceptions deter you from having the best 1st quarter in your dealership’s history!

Why Invest in Training for You and Your Employees

Steve Hall | Implementation Manager

Today there are more opportunities than ever before to get educated on just about any subject imaginable. These include the plethora of colleges and trade schools, online webinars, online manuals and materials, blogs and much more. In this information age, with access to virtually unlimited information, one could argue that the challenge is in wisely choosing where you want to invest your time and resources. One thing is sure, knowledge is power, and the more knowledgeable that you and your employees are, the more productive and effective you and your organization will be.

Pay or Prepare to Pay the Price

Steve Hall | Implementation Manager

As I was recently participating in defining some of the sessions that we will be leading at Innovate 2011, Autostar’s Annual Users’ Conference, in October, I was thinking back through the past several months that I have spent with dealership personnel either getting them started with AutoStar’s integrated accounting system, AccountMate, or working with those that have used AccountMate for some time and needed some help improving their processes in order to produce the results they wanted. Since our goal is to make sure the Innovate sessions are relevant and accurately address the real issues, I was forced to delineate the most common errors, misunderstandings and missteps that we observe our clients having. Our resolution is that effective training and tools are imperative to your success.

Understanding Leasing: Using AutoStar's New Module

Jim Sutton | Senior Director of Engineering

For years now, the Lease Here Pay Here model has grown in prominence amongst BHPH dealers, and why not? There are many advantages to leasing automobiles, and many of our customers are beginning to weigh the benefits of this new concept. By far, the most significant advantage of leasing is that you retain ownership of the vehicle at the end of the lease. You also have the opportunity to retain the customer and lease a different vehicle to them at the end of the term. In addition to this, there are also many tax benefits to the leasing business model. As a matter of fact, in many states, leasing allows auto dealers to spread their tax liability over several years and only pay taxes based on the money collected. Furthermore, dealers also enjoy a reduction in federal regulatory requirements when leasing vehicles as opposed to selling them.