Tag: digital contracting

Six Ways it Pays to Go Paperless

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When Earth Day comes around, it’s a good time to think about saving paper. But saving trees and doing good for the planet aren’t the only benefits of using less paper at your dealership.

If you’re using dealer software, you’re already familiar with the digital efficiency of submitting credit apps to multiple lenders with a click, accurately crunching deal numbers, signing deals on devices, or cutting down the wait for trade-in title release. But digital solutions also remove hassles associated with paper workflows and make your daily tasks easier to manage. Here’s how:

1. You can’t get a paper cut from a mobile device

Does anyone really enjoy printing and collating paper documents? It’s a lot of work and even when you do everything right, you’ll be presenting them to customers who immediately envision a case of writer’s cramp on the horizon when they just want to take their new vehicle and go.

If you made an error? Then you must start over and use up more time and paper.

And let’s not forget what those reams of paper cost! Record Nations estimates that the average business spends as much as $8,000 a year on paper.

Digital submission of credit apps and contracts can be handled on a tablet, so you don’t need to juggle stacks of paper to collect the information and signatures you need. No paper cuts, no writer’s cramp – just fast, efficient processes that help keep car buyers engaged in the excitement of their purchase.

2. We all remember the great toner explosion of 2019…

Printers and copiers can go from being useful tools to messy, annoying hindrances in an instant. Paper jams, the inability to connect to a data source, and mishaps replacing ink or toner cartridges can lead to frustrating downtime and delays for customers. Copiers and printers require expensive, often proprietary supplies, and service maintenance calls are even more costly. And printing checks often requires special equipment and more paper handling with mailing and stamps.

With digital processes, the war with printers is over. Online solutions allow you to submit credit apps, build funding packages, get electronic signatures, transfer trade-in payoffs via ACH, and connect securely to lenders – with no need to involve paper documents.

3. Valuable time and real estate

Did you know that a four-drawer file cabinet takes up an average of 9 square feet of floor space? That sounds like the beginning of an algebra problem, but think about what else your dealership could put in place of all the paper files you currently store.

Gartner research shows that every day, between 2% to 5% of an organization’s files are lost or misplaced. It takes an average of 18 minutes for an employee to locate a paper file and for misplaced files, the time spent jumps up to two hours! In contrast, digital files are securely stored in a customer’s digital deal jacket for easy, on demand access.

4. Keeping data out of the wrong hands

Speaking of secure storage, mishandling paper documents and files can compromise data security and expose your customers’ personally identifiable information (PII). For instance, if you forget to pick up a document from the copier or leave it out on your desk, anyone could pick it up and potentially misuse the information printed on it.

Digital solutions help keep your files password protected and available only to authorized staff members. And electronic transactions are encrypted and more secure than mailing or shipping paper documents, so sensitive customer data stays protected throughout the deal.

5. No need to get up

It’s easy for a customer to miss a signature in the haze of colorful sticky flags on stacks of paper forms. With digital signing, customers can review and sign once on a tablet or mobile phone, then simply click to apply the rest of the necessary signatures. They can do it on the lot, in the showroom, sitting in the vehicle they’re about to buy, or even handle deal completion from their home or office.

Dealerships can create full funding packages with an eContracting solution for uploading stips and deal documents, adding signature and date fields to create eSignable forms, and set up secure, single signing sessions for their customers wherever it’s most convenient for them.

6. Too much? Too little? Just right!

The most paper-intensive part of manual trade-in payoffs is cutting and mailing checks. If it’s a short pay, you have to generate another check. If you’ve overpaid, you get a check back from the lender to process and deposit. Meanwhile, your lien sat release or title release gets delayed until the finances are sorted out.

A digital trade-in titling solution removes all that extra time and paper from the equation with reliable payoff amounts calculated from lender data and payoff submission via ACH. Liens and titles get released faster and your staff no longer has to deal with all the back and forth.

The bottom line

Switching to digital processes can save you up to $65 per deal on average1 – and approximately 52 sheets of paper per deal.2 Don’t let the inefficiency of paper deals impact your business – start adopting more digital credit applications, digital contracts, and electronic trade-in payoffs so you can maximize your savings!

In the spirit of conservation, Dealertrack is rewarding dealerships that use digital solutions throughout April of 2024. Learn how you can earn rewards >

1Savings estimates based on $50 savings from printing, shipping, and forms costs plus $15 savings when using Accelerated Title. Figures based on dealer calculations using Dealertrack’s Accelerated Title Savings Calculator and Digital Contracting Calculator as of 2022. Not a guarantee of savings.

2Based on Dealertrack and dealer customer data as of August 2022

More Power to You with eSigning

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How digital signing gives your dealership the versatility to improve service for a variety of customers

Over the past several years, Digital Contracting with eSigning has become a valuable way for dealerships to provide elevated service to address a variety of consumer needs. Whether a customer is patient or hurried, in the dealership or remote, there’s an eSigning scenario to help them complete their deal the way they prefer.

See how many of your customers you recognize!

Ready to Go

This customer has done their test drive, completed their negotiations, and just wants to drive off the lot as soon as possible. The last thing they want is a pen in their hand and a big stack of paperwork in front of them. With eSigning, the process is finished much more quickly.

Says Max Tiraboschi, finance manager at Foundation Automotive of Wichita Falls, “eSigning is at least 30 minutes faster than paper: you sign once, then tap to sign the rest of the documents. It helps us finish on a high note and gives our customers a better experience at the point when they’re ready to sign and go.”

Down the Road a Ways

For dealerships with rural or otherwise distant customers, remote signing can help enable off-site delivery. A truck buyer working from sunup to sundown during harvest season might not know that his deal documents could be sent with a click of button and delivered securely via email for him to view and sign on his mobile phone, but he will certainly appreciate it!

In Two Places at Once

There are lots of reasons that a signer and co-signer might not be able to meet up to finalize the deal. A parent may co-sign for a kid away at college, working couples may have challenges scheduling time off at the same time, or a co-signer might just be under the weather the day the deal gets finalized. In any of these situations, remote signing comes to the rescue. Each person can sign on their own device with no need for special arrangements or shipping paperwork that can delay deal completion.

Security Conscious

With high-profile data breaches in the news, it’s understandable that many consumers are extra cautious. For car buyers who are concerned about the safety of their personally identifiable information (PII), eSigning offers reassuring security features, beginning with the legally required eSign Disclosure and Consent. Whether it’s an emailed link with multifactor authentication for remote signing or secure device pairing in-store, eSigning is designed to encrypt data and limit access to it. The dealership also has access to an audit trail of the signing for additional protection.

Comprehensive Reader

A car buyer doesn’t have to be an attorney to want to read and understand each document before signing. But many customers may feel rushed by the experience of signing manual paperwork. Both in-store and remote eSigning give customers the opportunity to hold the signing device and read through the digital documents at their own pace with less pressure.

Physical Challenges

eSigning can be helpful for a customer who has challenges reading “fine print” or repeatedly signing on paper. According to Jonathan Bowling, variable operations director at Liechty Automotive Group, “Most of our customers love it because you only have to sign your name a handful of times rather than signing a hundred times. Especially with our elderly customers, because they’re able to hold the tablet and actually zoom in and make those words bigger where they can read them. And that’s a huge benefit for them.”

The ability to enlarge the text can make the signing experience much easier for any customer – regardless of their experience with digital technology outside the dealership.

One and Done

It’s safe to say that no customer wants to have to come back into the dealership to deal with a missed signature once they thought they were done. With eSigning, the signer literally cannot continue without each required signature being tapped into place, so it eliminates that problem altogether. According to Victor Hong, finance manager at Acura of Laurel, “We like having lender documents automatically generated for eSigning, and that it also shows you where to sign next, so you don’t miss signatures.”

Customers can be assured that they have completed their signing with the single ceremony, and there’s no risk for the dealership of damaging CSI scores with the last-minute hassle of needing one more signature or having to re-contract.

Making the Most of eSigning at Your Dealership

Ultimately, eSigning demonstrates to customers that your dealership is up to date with the latest technology and that you care about their convenience. Make eSigning part of your daily workflow by having tablets paired and ready each morning for in-store signing and enabling remote signing for customers who can use it.

If you need additional guidance to make the most of eSigning opportunities to benefit your customers, download Best Practices Guide for eSigning and Dos, Don’ts and Tips for Signing Your Deal to keep handy for reference.

5 Things You Can Do To Speed Up Your Deals

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Compared to manual F&I processes that involve paper forms and pens, digital deals are lightning fast. But there are things you can do to help ensure that you get more of your deals done quickly. Ilan Dee, Dealertrack Director of Product Management says, “Every enhancement made to Dealertrack’s Digital Contracting is done with the recognition that dealers need time and speed on their side to handle transactions more efficiently. We know this is especially important with a customer sitting right in front of you – that’s when those incremental time savings add up.”

We asked Ilan to share his top five tips for improving deal speed and here is what he recommended:

1. Use DMS import

DMS integrations help you save time by reducing the amount of information that needs to be keyed in and ensuring that you’re working with the same data set throughout the credit application and contracting stages of the deal. When you have Dealertrack DMS integrated with Dealertrack F&I, you get 75% of data fields pre-filled in the credit application. For contracts, Dealertrack DMS integration helps you go from import to submit for verification in less than a minute. Integrations with other DMS providers also give you a head start on quickly and reliably completing key fields for credit applications and contracts.

Ultimately, importing information from your connected DMS helps you avoid errors that can inconvenience your staff and customers and slow down funding.

2. Preset as many default values as you can

Many of your deals have common values for specific fields, for example Paid To and Charge Type for contracting. Work with your system administrator to pre-set contracting preferences that are likely to remain the same on most deals, including taxes, fees, and aftermarket products. This will reduce the time you spend manually entering this information – and you can still edit the field contents as needed.

3. Digitize your deal documents

To be able to submit a digital funding package, it’s important to digitize all documents and stips to avoid trailing documents that can delay the deal. Using a combination of Local File Upload and Point of Sale Capture, you can easily bring digitized documents into the funding package. Local File Upload lets you upload files directly from your computer, including email attachments that you’ve saved. With Point of Sale Capture you can use your tablet or mobile device camera to take high-quality images of stips and upload them directly into your deal jacket.

4. Save eSignature templates

To give customers the flexibility of eSigning, be sure to use the Ready Sign feature to add signature and date fields to make digitized documents eSignable. Maximize time savings by creating templates for your most commonly used documents. This will help you quickly and easily pull up those documents for eSigning whenever they’re needed for a deal.

5. Follow the Live Funding Checklist

One of your most powerful tools for building complete, accurate funding packages is the Live Funding Checklist. It includes many of the lender-specific forms and requirements for any given deal and helps guide you on where various documents should be uploaded. Based on continuous dealer feedback, this feature has been enhanced with highlights, asterisks, and a key so dealers know what the lender needs for submitting a complete funding package.

Myles Bauer, Financial Services Director for Muller’s Woodfield Acura, says, “Thanks to the Live Funding Checklist, we are up to date on our lender requirements and there are fewer mistakes in our contracting process.”

Fewer mistakes mean fewer delays in funding, which is one of the reasons that Dealertrack Digital Contracting can fund deals 83% faster* than with manual processes.

Want to know more? Visit our resource page full of information about faster contracting and funding.

5 Tips to Reduce Contracts in Transit

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As dealerships seek ways to maximize efficiency and cash flow, many are taking a close look at their contracts in transit (CIT). Traditional paper contract packages spend an average of five days in transit according to Dealertrack data. They get packaged into an envelope and shipped to the lender, which means they can’t be reviewed – much less funded – until they’re delivered and opened.

That’s the best-case scenario. If the lender requires additional documents or there’s an error such as a missed signature that leads to re-contracting, the funding can get delayed further.

Here are five things your dealership can do to cut down on contracts in transit:

Tip 1: Know Where Your Contracts Are

Tracking your contract status is essential to finding out the scope of your funding delays. Make sure you have regular meetings and discussions with your F&I and back office teams about the number and dollar amount of contracts in progress that not yet funded and potentially holding up cash flow.

Make this information part of your daily heat sheet/CIT meetings with all teams to stay aware of your cash flow situation. Some dealerships have found that they can effectively manage their CIT by making it a part of each a team’s goals.

Tip 2: Look to Technology

Dealertrack data shows that one out of every four paper contracts contains an error such as missed signatures, contracts not meeting lender requirements, missing stips, and other errors that can lead to re-contracting and make the contracts in transit period longer than usual. In a recent survey of dealers, nearly 70% said that missed stips contribute to delays in funding or their CIT.

eContracting technology is designed with checks in place and built-in verifications to ensure that you can’t proceed without required information and signatures. It also reduces data re-entry by importing information from the DMS, so you can avoid accidentally introducing errors that can come from re-typing.

Another big advantage to taking your contracts digital is that you save money, not only by making the contracting process faster, but also by reducing hard costs such as floor plan, shipping charges, and paper forms.

Tip 3: Keep Your Lenders Close

Get to know the requirements of your preferred lenders to help ensure that everything they need is included in the funding package the first time around. Make sure your support staff gets a checklist to help them gather the necessary documents for your lenders – or use a digital solution with an integrated checklist to remove the guesswork from the process.

We also recommend staying connected with your lender reps so you always know who to work with to address any funding that gets stuck in transit.

Tip 4: Start the Clock Sooner

To really optimize your processes, rethink when “contracts in transit” begins. Rather than starting the timer at the end of the day or the next day, look at integrating your front and back office processes to get the deal out the door before your customer drives off the lot.

Take advantage of technology to speed up stip collection: scanners, copiers or tablets can get the documents into your computer and ready to submit in seconds. Make it a goal to submit each funding package as soon as it’s ready and see how that helps speed your cash flow.

Tip 5: Get Your Whole Crew Involved

Funding should not be the F&I department’s responsibility alone. Provide access and visibility to your software solutions so that sales, F&I and the back-office staff can improve the dealership’s overall workflow efficiency, including speeding trade-in titling to keep from holding up that portion of the deal.

With all your staff trained on the software, checklists and equipment you use in the dealership, you can work as a team to support F&I to get deals finalized, submitted and funded. Be sure to establish a process for training new employees and make use of free online training sessions from OEMs, lenders and software providers.

Start Today

There’s no need to wait to start reducing contracts in transit. From optimizing internal processes to adopting technology solutions, your dealership can begin to overcome cash flow roadblocks now.

Learn more about increasing your contracting efficiency and speeding funding with Dealertrack Digital Contracting.

An Easier Lease Process with eContracting

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Leasing can be an attractive option for car buyers who enjoy the bells-and-whistles of a late model car but seek to keep their payments in check. Cox Automotive forecasts an overall lease penetration rate of 29% for 2021 – and the rate is often much higher for many top brands. So, handling lease deals is a task every dealership’s back office faces regularly.

The problem is that lease contracts are not as standardized as their retail counterparts and preparing them manually can be a complex and difficult process. Fortunately, lease contracts from many major lease providers can be handled electronically.

Here’s what to look for in an eContracting provider for lease deals:

  • Forms and Calculations – Choose an eContracting solution that provides the specific lease forms and custom calculations for each lender, to help ensure that each lease deal is includes all of the correct forms and is calculated accurately.
  • Lender Certification and Verification – Each lease deal needs to be certified by the lender on the eContracting platform before signing to ensure that the contract is handled properly and that every calculation is correct. Doing so helps avoid errors that could lead to re-contracting.
  • Accuracy and Completeness – Real-time error display working in sync with lenders can help improve accuracy in funding, while close collaboration with each lender makes it possible to have a live funding checklist to further take the legwork and guesswork out of the process.
  • DMS Integration – DMS integration helps minimize data re-entry required for lease deals.

The right eContracting solution should align the dealership’s workflow for retail and lease contracts and create a more efficient process across the board. Going digital with the lease contracting process can help make those transactions faster and more efficient for dealership staff and lease customers.

Digital Contracting with Dealertrack uniFI has DMS integration for lease available across many top DMS providers. Click to learn more and see the list of available DMS integrations!

14 Reasons to Start eContracting Now

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As more and more dealerships adopt eContracting, you might be wondering if now is the time for your dealership to look into getting or using an eContracting solution. The fact is, there’s no good reason not to use eContracting today for the growing list of lenders that currently accept it.

When you adopt and use eContracting with your current lenders, you benefit from more efficient workflows, fewer returned contracts and faster funding from those lenders. Each time an additional lender joins the platform, you’ll be ready to expand those efficiencies in your daily transactions.

Here are some of the many ways your dealership can benefit from using eContracting today:

  1. Move away from the hassles and costs of paper contracts – Using less paper in your contract process means less printing, copying, faxing, toner cartridge replacement, shipping and paper files.
  2. Make your contract process more efficient and customer-friendly – Streamline your workflow with a single electronic deal jacket, integrations that reduce data re-entry, and a smoother contract review and signing process for your customers.
  3. Improvements to your bottom line – Investing in eContracting can cut contract in transit time so you get funded as fast as the same day, and also save on printing and shipping costs.
  4. The convenience of electronic signatures – “Sign and tap” functionality allows buyers to sign one time per signing session and pre-fill all subsequent signatures with just a tap
  5. Faster funding from lenders – eContracting includes features that increase accuracy, which helps reduce the need for re-contracting and allows lenders to review and fund more quickly.
  6. Optimize your contracting workflow – The right eContracting solution should allow your dealership the flexibility to develop eContracting processes that support the way you do business.
  7. Submit and store contracts securely – The security features built into eContracting can help keep data safe within the dealership, in transit to lenders, and after the deal is completed.
  8. Cut down on data re-entry – Integrated technology systems allow customer and deal information to flow more smoothly from lead to contract with less duplicate data entry.
  9. Submit a complete deal that includes aftermarket products – A complete eContracting solution should give your dealership the ability to create and digitally submit service contracts to aftermarket providers and aftermarket sales contracts to lenders.
  10. Extend the convenience of digital retailing to the in-store experience – Support your dealership’s digital retailing initiatives with eContracting technology that meets customer expectations for a seamless online to in-store process and a speedy shopping transaction.
  11. Increase customer satisfaction – The number one frustration for car buyers is negotiation and paperwork according to Cox Automotive 2019 Car Buyer Journey research. Digital review and signing of contracts can save a customer 45 minutes at the dealership.
  12. Make lease deals easier – eContracting helps standardize lease contracts and align them with your dealership’s workflow for retail contracts to create a more efficient process across the board.
  13. Reduce contracts in transit – Overcome cash flow roadblocks with an eContracting process that can get your dealership funded faster.
  14. Offer customers flexible signing options – Have your customers review contracts and eSign from anywhere.

Dealertrack has the fastest growing digital contracting lender network. Find out how we can help you experience the benefits of eContracting today.

Why eContracting and Digital Retailing Go Hand-in-Hand

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More and more dealerships are seeing the value of digital retailing for bringing in customers from a variety of online sources to help counter declining retail profit margins.

Consumers are definitely shopping for vehicles online. Recent research by Google/Kantar TNS found that 92% of car buyers now research online before they buy. Today, 76% of shoppers are open to the idea of buying completely online, according to the Cox Automotive 2020 Digitization of End-to-End Retail Study.

Dealerships are utilizing a wide range of digital retailing initiatives. On one end of the spectrum, there is the all-digital deal. This is where customers complete the entire deal online – including the eContract – and receive remote delivery of their vehicle to their location.

However, most dealerships currently use digital retailing to give customers the opportunity to start their deal online and then transition smoothly to complete their deal in-store. Research shows that 83% of consumers want to do one or more steps of the purchase process online, so even when the plan is to engage customers in person at some point in the deal, it’s important to have the technology in place to continue the shopping experience they prefer.

Allowing car buyers to do their research online can also add to a dealership’s profitability, as 63% of shoppers are more likely to purchase aftermarket products if they can learn about them on their own time before finalizing their vehicle purchase.

How does eContracting fit in with digital retailing? It’s a logical step in the purchase process, extending the convenience of technology-enabled car shopping to the contract review and signing stage of the deal.

With digital retailing in place on your dealership’s website and third-party websites, here’s some of what your customer may have done online before they walk in the door:

  • Select and reserve a vehicle from your inventory
  • Figure their car payment
  • Calculate the value of their trade-in
  • Research aftermarket options and add-ons
  • Complete a credit application
  • Submit an offer on the vehicle

After the car buyer has filled out their information online and taken steps to complete their purchase, would it make sense to print out paper contracts for them to sign at the very end? Of course not!

At a time when consumers are accustomed to a high level of convenience and efficiency from online shopping, eContracting features such as mobile contract review and sign-and-tap help meet those expectations as they complete their vehicle purchase at the dealership. And for customers who wish to to do more of their purchase process online, remote contract review and eSigning provide the flexibility for them to sign from anywhere.

Click to discover how Digital Contracting with Dealertrack uniFI complements your dealership’s Digital Retailing initiatives.

How eContracting Works with Aftermarket Products

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Aftermarket sales are an important part of the deal process, but sometimes there is confusion about how eContracting figures in.

For each aftermarket product, there are two types of contracts: one with the aftermarket provider and another that becomes part of the lending package submitted digitally to lenders. A complete eContracting solution should give your dealership the ability to create and digitally submit both.

Let’s take a closer look at the two types of contracts.

Service contracts submitted to aftermarket providers

Aftermarket or F&I offerings include protection products for the consumer such as Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) waivers, debt cancellation agreements, service contracts, extended warranties, roadside assistance agreements and maintenance agreements, and other vehicle protection products such as paint corrosion warranties or tire repair warranties. These products are offered by a wide variety of providers, so it’s possible that a deal that involves more than one aftermarket add-on will require contracts with multiple providers.

When a car buyer chooses an aftermarket product with their vehicle purchase, here’s how each service contract is digitally created:

  1. The system receives an accurate price quote and rating for a protection product from the aftermarket provider and generates the aftermarket provider contract.
  2. Depending on the aftermarket provider, this contract may be able to be electronically signed by the car buyer.
  3. The aftermarket provider receives deal data directly so they can initiate the coverage for the car buyer.
  4. In turn, the aftermarket provider generates an aftermarket sales contract for the dealership that becomes part of the funding package.

When a dealer rates a contract from an aftermarket provider, it’s a similar process to verifying vehicle purchase contracts. Both processes ultimately produce data that is used to create documents for the finance portion of the deal.

Sales contracts submitted to lenders

The resulting aftermarket eContracts are individual retail installment sales contracts that are handled by the lender in a comparable way to the eContract for the sale of the vehicle.

Although these aftermarket sales contracts are separate from the vehicle purchase contract, it’s ideal to be able to include them all in the funding package that is electronically submitted to the lender. Being able to submit a single, complete funding package helps ensure quick processing and fast funding for the entire transaction.

Digital solutions across the board

To maximize convenience and efficiency, look for a solution that enables you to handle all aspects of the aftermarket process in one platform, including:

  • Presenting aftermarket products
  • Allowing customers to make their selections
  • Generating electronic contracts to be sent to the aftermarket providers
  • Electronically sending the aftermarket contract(s) to lenders.

With an all-digital process, you should be able to calculate the payment for the customer including aftermarket products and store the documents within a single deal jacket, with no need to log into another system.

Click to find out how Digital Contracting with Dealertrack uniFI provides eContracting for your entire deal.

eContracting and Data Security

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Dealerships collect a significant amount of personally identifiable information (PII) about their customers in the process of selling them a vehicle and arranging financing. Information including the customer’s name, date of birth, place of residence, employment information, phone number, email address and social security number can all be at risk of misuse when not properly handled and secured.

The vulnerability of paper documents

Many people tend to associate data breaches with electronic transactions, but paper records can actually be much more vulnerable. Companies have been fined thousands and even millions of dollars for exposing printed customer information in ways that include:

  • Mailing letters with social security numbers visible through the envelope window.
  • Faxing sensitive information to an unauthorized individual.
  • Leaving customer files on public transport.

Paper document mismanagement isn’t always so dramatic. It can include letting paper records sit on a printer or copier or out on a desk where unauthorized people could view them, or putting files in a dumpster when they should be shredded. Even sending documents by mail or via a delivery service can increase the risk that a paper file may fall into the wrong hands.

eContracting security

Federal legislation that applies to eContracts, including the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (E-SIGN) Act, includes provisions that electronic transactions must be conducted through secure channels to protect sensitive information. The law requires that digital information be securely archived, indexed, and retrievable in a timely manner.

Access to a dealership’s eContracting solution is password protected and limited to authorized dealership personnel. The system encrypts all contract and customer data, and it flows securely and directly into a lender’s Loan Origination System (LOS).

Contract packages are stored in a secure eVault with multiple backup systems to protect the data and keep it accessible when needed. In cases where paper is required later, authorized representatives of the lender or dealer can easily export the eContract documents and print them without requiring the customer to re-sign.

The system also ensures that only one “authoritative copy” of the eContract can exist at any time. This security measure prevents fraud and potential misuse that can come from multiple contracts for the same deal.

Your dealership’s compliance protocols should include practices that encourage secure handling of customer data regardless of whether it’s on paper or stored digitally. The security features built into eContracting can help keep that data safe within the dealership, in transit to lenders, and after the deal is completed.

Find out more about how Dealertrack Digital Contracting helps secure and streamline your contracting processes. To learn more about regulations around data security, download the 2024 Dealertrack Compliance Guide.

How econtracting can improve your dealership’s bottom line

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When a dealership is considering a switch to electronic contracting from traditional paper contracts, it’s important for them to figure the value they’ll receive from modernizing their processes.

Some paper contract expenses are easy to identify:

  • Paper, ink, toner
  • Maintenance of copiers and fax machines
  • Shipping costs and related materials

Then there are the expenses related to the time the process takes. Dealertrack data shows that the average time in transit for paper contracts is five days. In the meantime, holding costs accumulate and cash flow is halted.

Doing the math

A Savings Calculator can help dealerships estimate their projected savings using digital contracting.

Here’s how the calculator works:

Let’s say a dealership has an average of 200 contracts each month with an average loan value of $18,000. Their floorplan rate is 3% and it costs them $15 for overnight shipping and $2 to prepare basic ancillary documents on paper for each deal. Their contract in transit time using paper contracting averages 5 days. Plugging these figures into the calculator, we find that using eContracting for all their contracts would save them $4,879 per month, which adds up to $53,765 per year.

Interested in seeing how your dealership’s numbers add up? Use our Savings Calculator to find out.

Selecting a cost-effective eContracting solution

To maximize cost savings, it’s important for dealerships to choose a solution that doesn’t trade one type of expense for another. If an eContracting solution requires that a dealership purchase expensive equipment or pay a transaction fee for each contract they submit, it will take a lot longer to see a positive return on the technology investment.

An eContracting solution should maximize efficiency and time-savings so that the dealership staff has the capacity to work with more customers. That means a solution that requires less data re-entry and includes functionality to catch input errors and missed signatures to cut down on re-contracting is ideal.

Digital Contracting on Dealertrack uniFI is hardware-agnostic so it can be used on any device including tablets, touchscreens and laptops. And, there’s no transaction fee for dealers. Take into account the savings of submitting all deal documents to lenders instantly and getting funded as fast as the same day, and that’s the ROI dealerships are looking for.

Find out how quickly your dealership can start saving with Digital Contracting on Dealertrack uniFI.