Activating /Deactivating Automatic Stock Numbering

The software can automatically generate stock numbers for your inventory. Stock numbers uniquely identify a vehicle's entry into your inventory.

To have the software automatically create sequential stock numbers, click the Options menu and select Generate Stock Numbers from the pull-down menu. A check mark next to the Generate Stock Numbers option means that the program itself will generate the stock numbers for vehicles added to your inventory. If this option is unchecked, you must manually enter your own stock numbers when adding vehicles to your inventory.

Note: if you are using the software to automatically generate stock numbers, you may at any time overwrite the stock number generated. Just type over the old stock number and save the newly entered information.

Setting the first number of the automatic stock numbering sequence

You can set the beginning number for the stock numbers the software will generate. To do this, open the Dealership Information window by clicking Maintenance in the menu bar and selecting Dealership Information from the drop-down menu.

In the Dealership Information window is a field at the bottom labeled Next Automatic Stock Number. This field contains the next stock number the program will use when adding a new vehicle to the inventory. Simply type in the number you would like to have the software use as a starting number.

Setting the Automatic Stock Number by VIN

You also have the option of letting the software create a stock number using a set number of digits from the end of the vehicle's VIN. If you wish to use this option, click the drop-down box representing the number of VIN characters you wish to use for a stock number. You may choose to use either the last 6 or 7 digits of the VIN, or you may choose to use 0 (zero) digist of the VIN. Selecting zero digits of the VIN effectively turns off this option and tells the software to use the starting number from the Next Automatic Stock Number box instead. When the software encounters a VIN-derived stock number that already exists in your inventory (because you sold the same vehicle previously), the stock number will still be generated by using the last few digits of a VIN, but a sequential letter will be placed at the end. Note: Setting this option overrides any number entered into the Next Automatic Stock Number box.

For example, suppose you inventoried a vehicle with a VIN of WMWRC33506TK64069. Using the last 7 digits of the VIN as a stock number, your stock number for this vehicle would then be TK64069. You then sell this vehicle to Jane Doe. Jane Doe then trades in this vehicle to you later on and buys another. The original entry for this vehicle is still in your inventory -- it is just marked as sold inventory rather than active inventory. Because of this, you cannot use the same stock number as stock numbers are unique identifiers for a vehicle. To overcome this, the software then generates a stock number with an appended sequential letter. So the stock number for this vehicle's new entry will then become TK64069A. If this same vehicle comes back again, its stock number would then be TK64069B.

Click the OK button to save your changes.