Reynolds and Reynolds ERA-IGNITE Alternative for Car Dealerships

Keep ERA-IGNITE running accounting, parts and service. Put the sales floor on a platform built for leads, conversations and speed.

Most managers who type this search are not trying to rip out their accounting system. They run ERA-IGNITE because the controller trusts it, the parts and service departments live in it, and the store has years of history in it. What they are really asking is narrower and more urgent: why does the sales floor still feel slow, and is there a better tool for the part of the business that talks to customers every minute of the day?

The reasons come up in the same order in almost every conversation. Leads arrive from six different places and nobody can say which ones turned into a sold car. Salespeople text customers from personal cell phones because it is quicker than the tools on the desk, so the store loses the conversation when the salesperson leaves. Follow up depends on memory. The desk quotes payments on one screen while the salesperson texts on another. And the store pays a lead vendor, a texting vendor, a desking vendor and a CRM vendor, then spends every month reconciling them.

None of those problems live in the general ledger. They live on the front of the store, and that is exactly where LeadLocate is built to win. The smart move for most Reynolds stores is to keep ERA-IGNITE doing the job it was chosen for and give the sales floor a platform that puts leads, conversations and the desk on one screen.

ERA-IGNITE is publicly positioned as the core dealer management system in the Reynolds and Reynolds retail management lineup. It is known among franchise dealers for accounting, vehicle inventory and deal posting, F&I document work, parts and service, and for working inside a family of Reynolds products that includes showroom, document and CRM tools. Stores that have run Reynolds for a long time value the depth of its back office and the consistency of the processes their staff already know.

Reynolds contracts, modules and pricing are typically set as part of a larger relationship, and the details change over time. Confirm current pricing and terms with the vendor directly, in writing, including what any add on for the sales floor costs on its own.

The useful comparison is about purpose. A dealer management system is built to keep the books right and the departments in sync. LeadLocate is built by LeadLocate around one goal: getting every shopper answered, followed up and desked faster than anyone else in your market. The two do different jobs, and they work well side by side.

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.

Accounting, deal posting, parts, repair orders, service scheduling, title work and floorplan all keep running in ERA-IGNITE. Nobody in the office learns a new ledger, and nothing about month end changes. LeadLocate runs beside the dealer management system you run and beside the manufacturer programs your store already uses.

LeadLocate is live from the first day on its own. Neither a DMS connection nor an inventory feed is required to operate. If your store has an inventory feed, Inventory Link ingests it; if not, Inventory Link imports inventory from your website. Either way, your units appear in the CRM, in the phone app and behind the vehicle button in every text and email composer, so a salesperson can send a customer photos and a price from the conversation they are already in.

When a deal is ready for the business office, SecureWebX exports the credit application in the format your lender or DMS expects, including STAR XML, the standard the DMS side of the industry uses. The desk, the customer record, the trade and the full conversation history are already collected, so the handoff to ERA-IGNITE starts from a complete file instead of a stack of sticky notes.

Exclusive leads from the same vendor as the CRM. In Leads Manager you draw your zone with the zone editor, pick the campaign type and the prescreening questions you want answered, and preview sample ads with See Samples. Our team builds and runs the campaigns from those selections on the webXintel Ads Network, included with every plan. Every lead in your zone is delivered to you and only you, prescreened at capture, and backed by a replacement review, so a bad lead costs you nothing. Buyer leads fill the showroom, and opt in seller leads from local owners who asked for an offer help stock the used lot.

Every conversation on one timeline. Two way texting with MMS and delivery status on every message, RCS with automatic SMS fallback, a browser softphone with click to call, call recording and call transcription, voicemail drop, email, bulk texting and bulk email all land on the lead record. Call Alerts check transcribed calls for the words you choose, such as trade in, payment or cancel, so a manager hears about the call that matters while the customer is still warm.

Follow up that runs itself. Automated Templates answer each new lead the moment it arrives, Follow Up Processes carry every lead type through a multi step cadence, and Texting Chatbots answer after hours. Manager Lead Copies put a sales manager on any lead feed so nothing important arrives without a second set of eyes. The phone validator and email validator show a validity dot right on the lead, so the team knows which number to call before dialing.

Features change on every platform, so confirm each row marked for the vendor directly before you decide. The LeadLocate column is what your store runs from its first day, with training included in every plan.

Here is what a single lead looks like on LeadLocate. A shopper in your zone answers the prescreening questions and lands in the inbox with the source attached. The Automated Template texts back within seconds, round robin assigns the lead, and the salesperson sees the validity dots, the vehicle of interest and any trade details on one record. The customer replies with trade photos by MMS, and the rep scans the trade VIN from a phone.

The desk opens EZ Desking from the lead, builds cash, finance and lease pencils side by side in the multi pencil grid, and applies the correct state tax from the fifty state tax matrix. The Incentives Showroom inside the deal view shows the manufacturer incentives that apply to the unit. The salesperson sends a DealTracker deal page the customer opens with a PIN, reviews and signs.

For financing, the rep texts a SecureWebX apply link. The customer completes a five step application on a phone, with co-applicant support, versioned consent and document uploads. The store works stipulations in SecureWebX and can send the file to a lender of its choice through the Send to Lender secure share, which is code gated, expiring, revocable and watermarked. Contracting and funding then continue in the F&I tools and the ERA-IGNITE process your business office already runs.

Because the back office never moves, a LeadLocate rollout is a sales floor project, and it goes smoothly in this order.

1. List every lead source. Third party lead providers, manufacturer lead programs, website forms and chat all get pointed at LeadLocate. Lead Feeds Manager gives each source its own feed, website forms connect to your account's form intake link, and each source can carry its own tracking number.
2. Bring your customers over. Contact import loads the list and merge duplicates keeps one customer as one record.
3. Set routing and cadence. Distribution rules, round robin, custom lead statuses, Automated Templates and Follow Up Processes are set before the first lead arrives.
4. Connect the phones. Call forwarding, the IVR call flow builder and business hours routing are configured, and every salesperson records a voicemail greeting in the browser.
5. Train the floor. The video training library, Live Training and Schedule Training come with every plan.

If the store also runs the Reynolds CRM today, the FOCUS alternative page walks through moving the front office, and the guide to running two CRMs during a migration covers the overlap weeks.

The strongest case for any platform is your own numbers. Pick one rooftop, or one team inside a rooftop, and run it on LeadLocate for three to four weeks with a defined slice of lead flow. Compare time to first response, follow up touches and appointments set against the same weeks on your current process. Managers see it in the activity, company and management reports on the dock.

Month to month terms make that easy. CRM Only starts at $199 a month for stores that keep their own lead sources, and plans with exclusive local leads start at $799. Every plan with leads includes the CRM, because the CRM is what receives and works those leads. The full list is on the pricing page.

We cannot guarantee lead counts, close rates or results, and no vendor can. What we can do is show you the platform running on a real store. Start with the demo, or contact us and call 844-376-2274 to map a zone around your rooftop.

Do we have to leave ERA-IGNITE to use LeadLocate?

No. ERA-IGNITE keeps running accounting, parts, service and deal posting. LeadLocate runs beside it for leads, texting, calling, follow up, desking and credit applications.

Is a DMS connection required to start?

No. Neither a DMS connection nor an inventory feed is required to operate. Inventory Link ingests a feed if you have one or imports inventory from your website if you do not.

How does a deal get from LeadLocate to the business office?

The desk, customer record and conversation history are already on the lead, and SecureWebX exports the credit application in the format your lender or DMS expects, including STAR XML. Contracting continues in the tools your business office already runs.

Can our manufacturer lead programs flow into LeadLocate?

Yes. Lead Feeds Manager sets up a feed per source, and every lead lands in the same inbox with the same distribution rules, templates and follow up processes.

Are LeadLocate leads shared with other stores?

Every lead in your zone is delivered to you and only you, prescreened at capture with the questions you choose, and backed by a replacement review, so a bad lead costs you nothing.

What does LeadLocate cost?

CRM Only starts at $199 a month. Inbound buyer leads start at $799, Marketplace Acquisitions seller leads at $999, and the Buyers and Sellers Hybrid Plan at $1,599. Every plan is month to month.

See exclusive local leads, texting, calling with transcription, desking and credit applications working together on one screen. Month to month, so we earn your business every month.

Prefer to talk right now? Call or text 844-376-2274.