Lightspeed DMS
DealershipSoft and Lightspeed DMS, compared
Lightspeed is the long standing recreation DMS and they market on parts and service profit, which is the right thing to market on. DealershipSoft runs the whole dealership across seven trades, publishes its price, and lets you try it without talking to anyone.
It runs the whole dealership
Units in and out, deals and trade-ins, parts, customers, management reporting and the books, with your own accounting package behind it. All of it, in one system.
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.
You can see the price, and you can try it
Gold is $279 a month on the yearly plan including one user, additional users $20 a month, no setup fee, no training fee, no cancellation penalty. It is on the website. You do not need a discovery call to find out whether you can afford it.
And you can run it for fourteen days on the full plan with no credit card, with your own stock file loaded so you are evaluating your business rather than a demo database. Most dealer software in this market is demo led. A trial tells you more in an afternoon than a demo tells you in a week, because in a trial the software has to survive your data rather than someone else's.
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
| Lightspeed | DealershipSoft | |
|---|---|---|
| Trades covered | powersports, marine, RV, trailers, OPE, golf carts | powersports and golf buggies, marine, farm machinery, motorcycle, OPE, caravan and RV, mixed rural |
| Pricing published | contact them | yes, on the website |
| Free trial without a salesperson | demo led | 14 days, full plan, no card |
| Setup fee | ask them directly | none |
| Cancellation penalty | ask them directly | none |
| Service department | yes, and they market on it | 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 |
| Website | check with them | included on Platinum |
| Accounting | check with them | QuickBooks or Xero |
| Credit bureau and integrated financing | yes | no |
| Sales tax | yes | yes |
| Title and DMV paperwork | check with them | no |
Where Lightspeed goes further
Credit reporting through the major bureaus and integrated financing through Worldpay sit inside their system. We do not match that, and if the finance desk has to live in the same software as the deal, that is a real difference.
They also have scale and a long integration list. What they do not publish is a price, and what they do not offer is a way to try it yourself.
Where we draw the line
So there are no surprises in week three
No credit bureau access and no integrated financing desk.
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
Can I try DealershipSoft without a sales demo?
Yes. 14 days on the full Gold plan with no credit card. We will load your own stock file so you are testing against your data rather than a demo database.
Does DealershipSoft do credit checks and financing?
No. There is no credit bureau access or integrated financing desk. If those need to sit inside the same system, this is not the right fit.
Is the workshop side as strong?
It is the strongest part of the platform. Multi-technician jobs, clocking against the unit and the job, parts on the job, inspections with photos, and full service history by serial number.
How much does DealershipSoft cost?
Gold is $279 a month on the yearly plan including one user. Additional users are $20 a month. No setup fee, no training fee, no cancellation penalty.
What trades does DealershipSoft cover?
Powersports and golf buggies, marine, farm machinery, motorcycle, outdoor power equipment, caravan and RV, and mixed rural yards. It is not built for new car franchises.
See the price, then try the thing
Fourteen days on the full plan, your own stock file, no credit card, no setup fee, no lock in contract.