Month-end in a franchise car dealership is a bit like hosting Thanksgiving dinner. You think you’ve got everything under control until you realize the turkey’s still frozen, the cranberry sauce is missing, and Aunt Linda has arrived two hours early asking why the table isn’t set.
For controllers, it’s the same kind of scramble: dozens of small but vital tasks, all needing to be finished in exactly the right order, with everyone expecting perfection and no one entirely sure how it happens.
The truth is, month-end can be messy, but with a solid checklist, it doesn’t have to feel like you’re basting a bird with one hand and signing checks with the other. This guide will help you keep your head, your humor, and – most importantly – your numbers in order.
When the whole room knows you’re right
I recently spoke at the ADOMA conference – the Auto Dealer Office Managers Association, for those of you who don’t speak fluent acronym – on the very real headaches plaguing today’s controllers and dealers today. This time, I dove into my favorite unsettling topic: the Great Dealership Controller Disappearance. There’s nothing quite like looking out over a sea of 200 heads bobbing in unison, like dashboard hula dolls, all silently confirming that yes, it’s as bad as I say it is.
Where have all the controllers gone?
Even on my days off – if such things exist – I stumble across reminders of how critical and how rare skilled dealership controllers have become. The issue seems to be everywhere, like a bad sequel no one asked for. Last year’s CDK ransomware attack, for example, practically put a neon sign on the situation. The lack of skilled professionals is becoming alarmingly obvious, and it’s hitting dealerships harder than I think they realize.
The case for a month-end lifeline
After my talks, I always invite people to come up and share their war stories or ask questions. In speaking one-on-one with attendees, it was clear that everyone wants more support in making their job easier. Judging by their concerns, a month-end checklist could help new and not-so-new controllers close their books timely and more accurately.
These are rough times for dealers and controllers alike, and if I’ve learned anything, it’s that they’re in dire need of something more than sympathy. They need systems, processes, and checklists like a ship needs a compass in a storm.
10 Step Month-End Checklist for Franchise Car Dealership Controllers
Think of this as a starter checklist, the IKEA instructions for month-end, only without the tiny Allen wrench or the parts you’ll inevitably lose under the couch. You’re welcome to add, subtract, or rearrange to suit your particular brand of chaos. In a larger office, say at a high-volume store or auto group, certain tasks (like car deal administration) might be parceled out among two or three people. But for most operations, this list should help smooth the process and, with any luck, let you close the books without feeling like you’ve been trapped in an accounting escape room.
Step 1: Gather everything from Operations and Post It
This is the dealership equivalent of asking a teenager to clean their room. You think it’ll take ten minutes, but somehow it turns into a two-day archaeological dig. The goal here is simple: collect every scrap of paperwork, deal jacket, and receipt Operations has been “meaning to give you,” and get it posted. Yes, all of it. No, not “most of it.” If you don’t, you’ll spend the rest of the month hunting down missing documents like a detective in a very boring crime drama.
- Car deals
- Repair Orders
- Parts Tickets
- Accounts Payable Invoices
- Service Work in Process
- Factory Incentives
- Credit card statements
- Any other departmental sales transactions (body shop, rentals, extended warranty sales, etc.)
Best Practice opportunity: If you’re posting transactions promptly, the only items left to post should be from the previous day. Problems start when documents trickle into the office late, so stay in close communication with department managers about the importance of submitting everything daily. Do this, and on the 1st of the month, the only work left will be posting the prior day’s business (not chasing paperwork from last Tuesday).
Step 2: Reconcile Schedules
- Each office person is responsible for specific GL accounts, those of which have corresponding schedules. If schedules are reconciled weekly, you’re already ahead of the game compared to those who wait until month-end.
- As soon as someone finishes posting their work, they should run their schedules, reconcile them, and make any necessary correcting entries right away.
- Best Practice: Schedules should be turned into the controller for review by the night of the second working day of the new month.
Step 3: Reconcile Bank Accounts
- This includes the operating account, as well as the payroll account (if you have one).
- Whether you reconcile daily or monthly, remember this: until you post the corrections, you haven’t actually reconciled anything—you’ve just admired the problem. It’s like spotting a sink full of dirty dishes and thinking, Well, at least I know where they are.
Step 4: Prepare and post payroll
- Whether you have a payroll manager or handle payroll yourself, your payroll process should be mapped around your month-end timeline. If it’s not, make that a priority because it will save time and headaches.
- Train managers to calculate commissions quickly, ideally by the end of the first working day of the new month.
- Accrue any necessary amounts so payroll expenses are booked in the month they were incurred.
- Best Practice: Two semi-monthly payrolls work best for dealership operations; if you’re running more than that, consider what it would take to reduce it to two.
- Prepare and submit payroll tax payments (and tax returns, of course, after you close)
Step 5: Calculate and post any statistical data required.
Every manufacturer’s financial statement requires certain data to be manually counted and entered so their calculations can produce trending reports and other key information. These requirements are provided through your DMS and should be updated each month.
Step 6: Run your first preliminary financial statement
Once all entries are posted, run your first preliminary financial statement and check for anything unusual – any entries or expenses that seem out of line. Be sure to:
- Review the Balance Sheet
- Review the Income Statement
- Review the Gross Profit Analysis
Step 7: Research and correct anything that needs adjusting.
If you’ve been reviewing your statement monthly, you get a feel for when something is out of whack. You know immediately where you want to investigate.
If you’re new, there are common areas that sometimes deserve a deeper dive. As you become accustomed to each month’s process, you’ll begin to see where something might need a closer look.
- Policy adjustment
- Commissions
- Accrued Other (This account should be scheduled, which means you would’ve already reviewed it)
- Prepaid Other (This account should also be scheduled)
- Misc/Other Income and Deductions
Step 8: Run a copy of the financial statement for the General Manager or Owner for she/he to review.
- Be ready to answer questions, and don’t worry if you don’t know the answer on the spot, you can always follow up once you have it.
- Review any adjustments that others suggest. Everyone should agree that edits are made solely to produce a more accurate financial statement. If a suggestion doesn’t meet that standard, stand your ground. You may not win every time, but you’ll know you did your part. If a suggestion could put the store at risk or cause noncompliance, request it in writing via email.
- Post any adjustments you both agreed to.
Step 9: Pull the final financial statement and transmit to manufacturer.
Run your final financial statement, review it one last time, then begin the process to transmit to your manufacturer(s) and lenders.
Step 10: Run all month-end reports for archiving.
Initiate your DMS’ required month-end process, paying close attention that all schedules, GL Summary, GL Detail, and Trial Balance are archived for future needs.
Bonus Step: Reconcile Sales and Payroll Tax
After you’ve completed month-end, it’s a Best Practice to complete any quarterly tax returns early so that they’ll be done before the end of the month. In California, we have multiple tax-related reporting requirements and I’ve found that getting them done right away can be a real lifesaver.
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