Blackpurl
DealershipSoft and Blackpurl, compared
Blackpurl is a modern cloud dealer management platform with a real service module, and it is the closest thing to us in this market. Here is where the two genuinely differ: what you sell, how deep the workshop goes, and what is included before you start paying extra.
It runs the whole dealership
Units in and out, deals and trade-ins, parts, customers, management reporting and the books. Both systems cover that ground. The difference shows up underneath it.
Most systems in this category were built for the sales floor and had a workshop added later. This one was not, and it shows in the things that only bite once you are using it every day. Splitting a job across two technicians. Reopening a closed card without a workaround. Seeing every repair a unit has had under three previous owners, so a trade-in valuation is a fact rather than a guess.
Seven trades, not five
Blackpurl names trailer, powersports, equipment, golf car and RV. DealershipSoft covers powersports and golf buggies, marine, farm machinery, motorcycle, outdoor power equipment, caravan and RV and mixed rural.
If you sell boats or farm machinery, or you are a rural yard moving a ride-on in the morning and taking a boat on trade in the afternoon, check which vendor has written a page about your trade before you compare feature lists. That is usually the faster test.
Things worth checking for elsewhere
Business intelligence
Included from Gold, not sold as a premium analytics tier. Where the margin actually came from this month, by department, by technician, by unit type.
A full mobile app
Not a technician companion app. Create the booking, open the job, add parts and photos, clock on, complete the inspection and finalise the job, all from the phone. No extra charge.
Unit inspections
Structured inspections against the unit, with photos, that turn into quoted work instead of a scribbled list that never gets sold.
A website, on Platinum
WorkshopWeb is included on the Platinum plan and it is built to be found. We do not run your ad campaigns, but you are not left without a site.
Side by side
| Blackpurl | DealershipSoft | |
|---|---|---|
| Trades covered | trailer, powersports, equipment, golf car, RV | powersports and golf buggies, marine, farm machinery, motorcycle, OPE, caravan and RV, mixed rural |
| Cloud based | yes | yes |
| Service department | yes, a named core module | yes, and it is where this platform is strongest |
| Business intelligence | check with them | included from Gold |
| Mobile app | check with them | yes, and it runs the whole job: booking, job card, parts, photos, clocking, inspection, finalise |
| Unit inspections with photos | check with them | yes |
| Service history by serial number | check with them | yes, and it follows the unit through every owner |
| Website | no | included on Platinum |
| Accounting | QuickBooks | QuickBooks or Xero |
| Pricing published | check with them | yes, on the website |
| Free trial without a salesperson | demo led | 14 days on the full plan, no card |
| Users | check with them | one included, additional users $20 a month |
| Setup fee | ask them directly | none |
| Sales tax | yes | yes |
| Title and DMV paperwork | check with them | no |
Where Blackpurl is a fair fight
Their interface is modern, their service module is real rather than a checkbox, and they run from single store family businesses up to multi-location groups. A powersports or trailer dealer looking at both is choosing between two systems that will do the job.
What tips it is usually one of three things: whether your trade is on the list above, whether you run Xero rather than QuickBooks, and whether you would rather see the price and try it than book a demo.
Where we draw the line
So there are no surprises in week three
We do not run SEO or paid advertising campaigns for you.
No inventory syndication to marketplaces in the United States.
No title or DMV paperwork. Sales tax is handled.
Not built for new car franchises.
Everything else is on the table for fourteen days, with your own stock file in it.
Questions dealers ask
Is DealershipSoft cloud based like Blackpurl?
Yes. Both are cloud based, and the DealershipSoft mobile app is included at no extra charge.
Does DealershipSoft work with QuickBooks?
Yes, and also with Xero. Blackpurl integrates with QuickBooks. If you run Xero, that is a practical difference between the two.
Which is better for a marine or farm machinery dealer?
DealershipSoft names marine, farm machinery and mixed rural among its trades and has a page and a feature set for each. Blackpurl names trailer, powersports, equipment, golf car and RV.
Do I get a website?
On the Platinum plan, yes. WorkshopWeb is included and built to be found. We do not run ad campaigns for you.
Can I try it before deciding?
Yes. 14 days on the full Gold plan, no credit card, no setup fee, no lock in contract. We will load your own stock file so the trial is not empty.
Load your own stock file and see
Fourteen days on the full plan. That is a faster way to tell two systems apart than any comparison page, including this one.