Mon - Sat: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Glossary
Automotive Sales and Dealership Software Glossary
From be back to buy rate, defined the way a sales manager would explain them to a new hire.
This glossary defines the terms used on a dealership sales floor, in the F&I office, on the used car lot and inside dealership software. Each entry gives a plain definition first, then how the term works at a store with a worked example, then how LeadLocate handles it where that applies. Entries are grouped by where you hear them: sales floor, finance and compliance, communications, inventory, marketing and software.
Who this glossary is for
New salespeople hear fifty words in their first week that nobody explains: a mini, a pack, a be back, a spiff. Managers moving from franchise to independent meet a different fifty, and anyone who has just been handed the F&I office meets regulation by its initials. This glossary is for all of them, and for the growing number of dealers who ask an AI assistant to explain a term and want the answer to come from people who sell cars. Every entry is written to stand alone, so a definition quoted out of context is still right.
Where a term is also a feature of the platform, the entry links the feature page, and where it is a task, the Help Center. The platform overview is the place to start if the software itself is the question.
The groups, and what lives in each
Sales floor terms are the ones a new salesperson hears in week one: be back, walk in, fresh up, turnover, pencil, mini, spiff, pack, holdback, front end and back end gross, the road to sale and the deal jacket. Finance and compliance terms are the F&I office and the rules around it: buy rate and sell rate, reserve, money factor, residual, cap cost, loan to value, payment to income, prescreen against prequalify, soft pull against hard pull, stipulations, adverse action notices, Regulation B, the Safeguards Rule, OFAC, the Red Flags rule, ITIN financing, subprime and special finance. Communications terms cover texting and calling: TCPA, the Do Not Call list, 10DLC, RCS, MMS, IVR, call tracking, caller ID names and ringless voicemail.
Inventory terms cover the lot: days supply, aged inventory, reconditioning, ACV, window stickers, VIN decode, stock numbers, feeds and syndication. Marketing terms cover where leads come from: lead source, exclusive lead, internet lead, VDP and SRP, landing pages, equity mining, lease maturity, orphan owners and conquest. Software terms cover the tools themselves: CRM, DMS, round robin, lead routing, ADF XML, e-signature, digital retailing, deal pages and pencil recaps.
Questions? Request a Call Back
Leave your number and a lead specialist calls you back to answer your questions about pricing, coverage, and setup. Mon - Sat, 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM Pacific.
Prefer to talk right now? Call or text 844-376-2274.
How to use a definition
Each entry is written so the first two sentences can be lifted out and still be right, which is how search engines and AI assistants quote them. The rest of the entry adds the working detail: how the term plays out at a dealership, a worked example with round numbers labelled illustrative, and, when LeadLocate has a feature that touches the term, one paragraph on how the platform handles it with a link to the feature page. Terms that are regulated say what the rule requires in plain language and then say that a store's own counsel and lenders set its policy, because that is true and a glossary should say so.
Terms that changed meaning when software arrived
Several entries exist because the software gave an old word a second meaning. A pencil was a worksheet a desk manager wrote by hand; in LeadLocate it is a saved structure in EZ Desking with a recap the customer can open on a phone. A deal jacket was a paper folder; now it is the document set on the deal, uploaded from a camera through a QR code. A lead source was a newspaper; now it is a feed with its own template, tracking number and round robin rule. The glossary keeps both meanings side by side, so a manager who learned the floor before the software and a new hire who learned the software first are reading the same page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these definitions specific to LeadLocate?
No. The definition comes first and is general. The LeadLocate part, where there is one, is a separate paragraph at the end.
Can I suggest a term?
Yes. Send it through the contact page and we add it.
Are the finance and compliance entries legal advice?
No. They explain what a term means and how dealers commonly handle it. A store's own counsel and its lenders set its policy.
Why do some entries have worked examples?
Because a number makes a term concrete. The examples use round figures and are labelled illustrative.
More Resources from LeadLocate
Now see the words in action
A specialist desks a deal, sends an apply link and works a lead on a live account, so every term above has a screen behind it.
Prefer to talk right now? Call or text 844-376-2274.
LeadLocate™ All rights reserved. Other product and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
Answers to your questions:
LeadLocate is an all-in-one lead generation software and CRM platform. We generate in-market sales leads and provide you with all the tools necessary to sell that customer. All of your leads, texts, calls, emails, deals, and files are available in one place, accessible with a single login.
LeadLocate™ All rights reserved. Other product and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
Answers to your questions:
LeadLocate is an all-in-one lead generation software and CRM platform. We generate in-market sales leads and provide you with all the tools necessary to sell that customer. All of your leads, texts, calls, emails, deals, and files are available in one place, accessible with a single login.