Inside the dealership: Managing performance

A practical program that turns dealership numbers into decisions that drive profitable growth

Two colleagues inside their car dealership workplace.

Dealerships operate on high turnovers and small margins, so a performance mindset isn’t optional, it’s essential. Profitability underpins cash flow, the ability to meet OEM demands and continued investment in people, systems and customer experience.

Our two-day program aims to provide participants with a clear blueprint to interpret financial performance, apply key metrics and use benchmarking to drive sustainable dealership profitability.

What the workshops will cover

Day 1 | Understanding performance across the dealership

Day 1 focuses on how dealership financial performance is generated and managed across core operating departments (new vehicle department, used vehicle department, and service and parts department), including the key metrics and operational drivers of profitability.

Module 1: Dealership financial foundations

Understanding the financial structure of a dealership and how profit is generated across different operating models.

  • Core financial characteristics of automotive dealerships
  • Gross profit versus net profit and their impact on performance
  • Front end and back-end models, including the concept of the “pool of gross”.

Module 2: New vehicle department

Applying financial, operational and market insights to improve new vehicle performance.

  • Key financial and operational performance indicators
  • Optimising people, structure and sales processes
  • Leveraging Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Primary Market Area (PMA) insights.

Module 3: Used vehicle department

Managing used vehicle operations to improve return on investment and overall dealership contribution.

  • Key financial indicators and ROI principles
  • Inventory and stock management for profitability
  • Cross department collaboration to optimise results.

Module 4: Service and parts departments

Improving aftersales performance through effective labour management, inventory control and customer retention.

  • Core financial indicators in service and parts
  • Labour efficiency and time management
  • Aftersales retention and parts inventory management.

Day 2 | Control, risk and improvement

Day 2 focuses on strengthening financial control, managing risk and using benchmarking to support better decision-making and sustained profitability. This includes examining:

  • Finance and insurance (F&I) performance
  • Cash, expense and fraud management
  • Benchmarking and integration.

Module 5: Finance and insurance

Using F&I performance, process and compliance to enhance customer value and dealership profitability.

  • Key F&I financial performance indicators
  • Customer retention through F&I products
  • Process efficiency, compliance and risk management.

Module 6: Cash, expense and fraud management

Strengthening dealership financial control through effective cash management, cost oversight and fraud risk mitigation.

  • Cash management fundamentals
  • Key expense categories and cost drivers
  • Fraud risk areas and control frameworks.

Module 7: Benchmarking and integration

Bringing performance insights together to identify opportunities and support continuous improvement across the dealership.

  • Dealership benchmark metrics
  • Cross department performance analysis
  • Action planning for continuous improvement.

Who we work with

  • Dealership management teams and finance professionals looking to broaden their understanding of dealership financials, leveraging learnings to interpret and improve dealership performance.


Get in touch

BDO’s automotive team delivers practical workshops designed to help dealership owners and leadership teams strengthen financial performance and gain clearer insight into what drives profitability. Drawing on the team’s extensive automotive industry experience, our sessions focus on real‑world challenges facing dealerships and provide practical guidance to support better decision‑making.

For more information on Inside the dealership: Managing performance, contact Randall Bryson or a member of BDO’s automotive team.