Two-wheeler dealers: bookings, finance payouts and the workshop

How a dealership is organised

Vehicle makers appoint main dealers for a territory, who may in turn appoint sub-dealers or run branches in smaller towns. The main dealer buys vehicles from the company, usually against payment or trade-finance arrangements, and sells to customers and sub-dealers. Most makers require dealers to use their own dealer management system for vehicle sales, registration and warranty; the dealership's overall accounts, receivables and payables are often also kept in TallyPrime.

Income streams include the vehicle margin, incentives on targets, finance and insurance commissions, accessories, extended warranty, workshop labour, and spare parts and lubricants.

Booking to delivery

A typical sale runs: enquiry and test ride, booking amount, finance approval, invoice, insurance, registration, number plate, and delivery. Each step involves money from a different party: the customer's down payment, the financier's disbursement, insurance premium, registration fees and taxes collected and paid on the customer's behalf. If these are not recorded separately, the customer ledger becomes confusing and pass-through amounts get mixed with income.

Ask your accountant to set up separate ledgers for pass-through collections so they never appear as income.

Bookings and advances

During festive seasons, customers book weeks ahead with a booking amount, sometimes for a specific colour or variant that the dealer does not yet have. Each booking is the customer's money until the vehicle is invoiced. Record every booking amount against the customer in Tally, give a receipt that states the variant, colour, expected delivery period and refund terms, and review open bookings weekly. When a customer cancels, refund promptly through the same mode wherever possible, and record the refund against the original receipt. Open bookings that are months old usually mean either a refund owed or a vehicle that should have been delivered; both need attention.

Finance payouts

A large share of two-wheelers are sold on finance. After delivery, the financier releases the loan amount to the dealer, sometimes less a processing charge or subvention. Payouts can take days, and documents missing from the file delay them further. With many financiers and dozens of deliveries a week, unmatched payouts pile up quickly. Keep each financier as a party, record the expected amount against each customer's bill, and review pending payouts daily during festive months. Read ageing analysis to set up the review.

Workshop, spares and accessories

The workshop brings steady income: free services in the warranty period (reimbursed by the company), paid services, repairs, accident jobs with insurance claims, and spares and lubricants sold with each job. Job cards should record the vehicle, complaint, work done, parts and labour, and every job should be closed and billed the same day. Accessories sold at delivery, such as helmets, guards and covers, carry better margins than the vehicle itself and must be billed separately. See job cards and service invoices.

Sub-dealers and seasons

Sub-dealers in rural areas take vehicles on credit and pay after selling, often after the harvest. Demand peaks around Navratri, Dussehra, Diwali, regional new-year festivals and wedding seasons, and dealers stock heavily in advance. Track each sub-dealer's vehicles and dues, and do not release more stock to a sub-dealer whose earlier vehicles are unpaid. The guide on festive season stock planning helps size the pre-festival order.

GST and other taxes

Two-wheelers have their own GST treatment, which can depend on engine capacity; the rates have been revised, so check the current position on the GST portal and with your CA. Spares, accessories, lubricants and services carry different rates. Road tax and registration fees are state levies collected on behalf of the authority. This is general information, not tax advice.

Cashflow OS alongside your dealer system

Where your accounts are in TallyPrime, Cashflow OS puts them on the owner's phone: financier receivables, sub-dealer dues and ageing, company payables, and daily sales, receipts and bank balances. Service jobs can be used for workshop or accessory fitting jobs outside the maker's system, with parts and labour, closed and invoiced. Walk-ins can be looked up by mobile number for follow-up. Cashflow OS does not replace the vehicle maker's dealer management system. See outstanding receivables.