How to Floor a Vehicle

Floor plans are a popular purchase method for dealerships with new or specialized inventory. But tracking the growing costs of flooring can be a difficult task, especially for those with a large lot. 

To better manage your floored vehicles, DeskManager Online makes it easy to estimate the fees and interest accrued on a floor plan. Once a flooring term is paid, the cost is immediately added to the vehicle, keeping your profit margins up-to-date. 

How to Floor a Vehicle 

Flooring a vehicle can be accomplished from anywhere in DeskManager by clicking Inventory in the side menu, then selecting Inventory List.

Next, select a vehicle you wish to add a Floor Plan to.

Finally, navigate to the Purchase Info tab.

In the Purchase Method dropdown field, select Floor Plan. A flooring info section will appear below. 

If you have already added a default flooring plan to DeskManager Online, click the blue dots to the right of the Plan Code and pull the plan now. If you have a default flooring plan that has not been set up, refer to our flooring plan article here: Flooring Plans Setup

If you do not have a default plan, continue adding the information manually. In the Finance Company field, click the blue dots to add the flooring company. If you have not yet added this flooring company, you can do so from this menu, or by following our finance company article here: Finance Companies

In the Flooring Term section, enter the Days, Curtailment Percentage, and Fee. These fees are separate from the curtailment fee.

The Due On field is calculated by adding the Days to the initial Flooring Date. If a payment has already been made, the Due On field will be equal to the previous term’s Due On date plus the Days of the next term. 

The Principal Due is equal to the Curtailment Percentage of the Flooring Amount.

If the flooring is marked as a Declining Balance, then curtailment rate will only apply to the current Flooring Balance. As each term is paid off, the Principal Due will continue to decrease. 

Estimated Interest is calculated daily, according to your Flooring Rate and the number of Days until you make a payment. 

The Total Due is the sum of the Fee, Principal Due, and Estimated Interest. 

When it’s time to pay for the flooring term, click Pay Now. 

Enter the amount paid and the details of the actual payment breakdown, which may vary from the estimate calculated in DeskManager Online.

Then click Save. 

Before paying out, some smaller flooring companies may require the title of the vehicle.

Once a payment is made, the Date Paid and Amount Paid will appear in their respective fields. 

If the vehicle is sold before the completion of the plan, any curtailments can be removed.

The payment will be entered as a Flooring cost within the vehicle expenses list, along with the payment date. For more information on vehicle expenses, refer to our article here: Vehicle Costs

Additionally, when the first payment is made, the remaining Flooring Balance will appear in the Flooring summary. 

The Flooring Cost is equal to the total fees and interest you’ve paid towards flooring. 

If entered manually, DeskManager will notify you if any prices were entered incorrectly and calculate them accordingly.

To add an additional curtailment, click the plus sign in the top-right. 

If you want to pay off the remaining flooring balance, click the Pay Off button in the bottom-right, and enter the remaining flooring balance amount. Then click Save. 

The curtailment tool is not necessary if you prefer to pay the amount due directly.