In Store Customer Check In With a License Scan

A customer walks through the door. The salesperson scans the driver license on the phone, the record fills itself, In-Store Now tells the floor who is on the lot, and the visit starts with a name instead of a clipboard.

The trigger is the door. A customer walks in at 11:20 on a Saturday, either because they booked a time last night or because they were driving past. Either way, the first two minutes decide whether the store looks organized. In a lot of stores those two minutes are a clipboard, a photocopy of a license that ends up in a drawer, and a salesperson who has to walk back to a desk to find out whether this is the same customer who texted about a truck on Thursday.

The cost of that is not the paper. It is the duplicate record the desk creates, the manager who does not know how many customers are on the lot right now, the license copy nobody can find during a compliance question, and the customer who repeats their name and address three times before anyone shows them a vehicle. This page walks a walk in through LeadLocate CRM step by step, on the salesperson's phone, with the screen names you will see. The internet lead workflow covers the customer who has not arrived yet; this one starts when they have.

Step one is the record, and it starts before the license comes out. The LeadLocate app opens to the Leads screen, and a customer who booked through the salesperson's booking link is already there with the appointment on the Workspace. A customer who texted on Thursday is there under the number they texted from. A true walk in is one tap on New Lead in the bottom dock, which is the same five button dock the rep uses all day: Text, Call, New Lead, Email, Team.

Duplicates are the quiet problem at the door, and the CRM handles them rather than the rep. When the desk creates a record for a customer who already exists under a different source, merge duplicates folds the two into one, so the conversation from Thursday and the visit on Saturday are the same record. The Customer Profile is one shared buyer record, co-buyer included, and it autosaves in real time, so what the rep types on the lot is on the record when the manager opens it at the desk.

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Step two is the scan. The rep asks for the license, holds the phone over it, and the identity scanner reads it into the customer record: name, address, date of birth, license number and expiration, without anyone typing. The same scanner reads an insurance card, which is what the store needs before a test drive, and both land on the record rather than in a drawer. The scan is done on the lot, in the time it takes the customer to say what they are looking for.

The Document AI pipeline behind the scanner is the same one that reads a VIN from a photo, and it runs inside the LeadLocate app on both iPhone and Android. The customer's personal information is stored encrypted in the Customer Profile, which is the reason the store can stop photocopying licenses: the copy exists, it is attached to the right customer, it is readable only by the roles the store allows, and it is findable in a second when a question comes up months later. If a co-buyer walks in with the customer, their license goes on the same profile as the co-buyer.

Step three is the flag. On the lead record, In-Store Now marks the customer as physically on the lot, and the whole floor sees it: the lead list, the desk, the manager's screen. Nobody has to walk to the tower and announce a customer, and nobody in the BDC keeps texting a customer who is standing in the showroom. When the customer leaves, the flag comes off, and the visit is recorded.

Notifications carry the same signal to whoever wants it. A manager who asked to be notified sees the toast and hears the sound alert when a customer checks in, on the desktop or the phone. Team Chat is where the salesperson says the customer wants to see the silver one, and the porter who reads it in a channel brings the keys, with read receipts so the rep knows the message was seen. For an appointment that arrives on time, the Workspace already showed it, and the check in simply moves it from scheduled to here.

Step four is the visit itself, and every part of it runs from the record the scan just built. On the lot, the VIN lookup on the phone reads the unit the customer is looking at, and the inventory picker attaches it to the lead. If the customer has a trade, the trade-in form takes photos and a trade VIN scan at the curb. Back at the desk, Start New Deal opens a DealTracker worksheet from the lead, EZ Desking builds the structure, and the customer sees a deal page on their own phone with PIN access and e-signature. The Deal Jacket's QR intake takes the customer's documents through any phone camera straight into the deal, which is the last time a copier is involved.

If financing is part of the visit, the salesperson texts the store's SecureWebX apply link from the record, and the customer fills out the five step application on their own phone at the desk rather than on paper; the credit application link workflow walks that part in full. If the customer wants to think about it, Quick Schedule on the phone books the return visit in a few taps, and Follow Up Processes carry the next touches automatically. The Road to Sale checklist on the deal shows what is done and what is waiting, so the manager at the desk reads progress instead of asking for it.

A salesperson who knows their name after one scan instead of a form, and who already knows which vehicle they texted about on Thursday. A text from the store's own number confirming the visit, which lands on the customer's phone while they are still on the lot and carries the salesperson's booking link for the next time. If a deal is built, a deal page on their own phone that shows the vehicle, the structure and the payment, with a revision view so the first number they saw is still there next to the second. If they apply for financing, the store's branded application rather than a clipboard.

What they do not see is their license photocopy sitting on a counter. The scan went to a record, not a tray, and the record is encrypted. The what to expect page is worth reading here too: a walk in who asks about a vehicle above their budget or plans to negotiate is a normal customer, and a check in that starts with respect for their information sets up the conversation.

Who is on the lot right now, from In-Store Now, without leaving the desk. The Workspace shows today's appointments and which ones have arrived. On each deal, the visit log records each visit and the Road to Sale checklist shows the steps, so the manager walks up to a desk already knowing where the deal stands. The Reports dashboard on the dock rolls up activity, company and management reporting, which for a Saturday means how many customers checked in, how many had appointments versus walked in, how many deals were started and how many signed.

The communications log on any record holds the whole story before and after the visit: the Thursday text, the Saturday check in, the deal page share, the call on Monday. A lead source is on every record because tracking numbers and feeds are per source, so the manager can see whether Saturday's walk ins came from the store's own site, a campaign, or a referral, and Lead Feeds Manager is where that answer changes what the store spends. Quality Control Requests handle the lead a rep believes is bad, and the review behind them is why the number the manager reads is worth reading: every lead in the store's zone is delivered to that store and only that store, prescreened at capture, and backed by a replacement review, so a bad lead costs the store nothing.

The license is the first one. The scan lands on an encrypted Customer Profile, readable by role, User, Manager or Master Administrator, with a Quick Access PIN per user on the phone, which is a stronger record than a photocopy in a drawer and a findable one when a question comes up. The insurance card scan means the test drive has documentation attached to the customer rather than to a folder. The trash bin restores a record deleted by mistake, and merge duplicates keeps one record per person rather than three partial ones.

Before the confirmation text or any follow up goes out, the DNC Blacklist is in play, blocking a number in both directions with a live do not call lookup available. Every text carries delivery status, every call from the record is recorded and transcribed, and all of it lands in one communications log. If the visit turns into an application, SecureWebX captures consent with versioned terms, screens against OFAC, and stores the application encrypted with a full audit log, as its own application under the same login the store already uses. If it turns into a deal, the e-signature and the revision view keep what the customer saw and signed.

Start with the phone. Install the LeadLocate app for every salesperson, set a Quick Access PIN per user in User Management, and have each rep check in one customer this Saturday: find or create the lead, scan the license, flag In-Store Now, attach the unit. Watch the manager's screen show the customer on the lot without anyone walking to the tower. Add the trade-in scan and the Deal Jacket's QR intake the following week once the check in is a habit.

All of it is inside LeadLocate CRM, on every plan, month to month, with no long term contract. CRM Only starts at $199 per month for a store that already has its own lead sources, and the other plans are on the pricing page. An inventory feed and DMS access are not required. The platform is built so your store keeps selling every Saturday it is open: the moment a rep scans a license, flags In-Store Now or starts a deal, that record is safe and stays exactly where the floor left it, and your main phone line, your DMS and your showroom stay your own. Watch the recorded demo, or reach a person on the contact page who will set it up with you. More workflows are on the solutions hub.

Does the license scan replace the photocopy?

Yes. The identity scanner in the LeadLocate app reads the driver license into the customer record, and the same scanner reads an insurance card. Both are stored encrypted on the Customer Profile, readable by role, and findable on the record months later instead of in a drawer.

What if the walk in already texted us last week?

The record is already there under the number they texted from. If the desk creates a second record anyway, merge duplicates folds the two into one, so the Thursday conversation and the Saturday visit sit on the same Customer Profile.

How does the manager know who is on the lot?

The salesperson flags In-Store Now on the lead, and the whole floor sees it, on the lead list, at the desk and on the manager's screen, with a notification for anyone who asked for one. When the customer leaves, the flag comes off and the visit is on the record.

Can the whole visit run from the salesperson's phone?

Yes. The LeadLocate app finds or creates the lead, scans the license and the insurance card, flags In-Store Now, reads the VIN on the unit, takes the trade-in photos and VIN scan, texts the customer from the store's number, and books the return visit with Quick Schedule. Desking and the deal jacket are on the phone too.

What if the customer wants to apply for financing at the desk?

The salesperson texts the store's SecureWebX apply link from the record, and the customer completes the five step application on their own phone, with a co-applicant if needed and e-signature at the end. The application lands in the SecureWebX inbox for the finance office.

What stays the store's own in a check in?

Your main phone line, your DMS and your showroom stay yours, and every product in the check in is its own application under one login. The platform is built so the store keeps selling: a scanned license, an In-Store Now flag and a started deal are safe on the record from the second they are captured.

Watch the recorded demo or book a walkthrough on your own floor. Month to month, no long term contract, and the license goes on the record instead of in a drawer.

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