Locations and Providers

Two small lists that hang off a vehicle rather than off a deal. A location is where a car physically is — your lot, a storage yard, a body shop. A provider is who you bought it from — an auction, another dealer, a private seller. Neither is required to sell a car, and neither goes on state paperwork; they exist so you can answer “where is that Tahoe?” and “what did we pay, and to whom?” without ringing round.

What it costs

Nothing. Both lists are free to add to and free to use.

Locations — where a vehicle is

Use Locations when your cars are not all in one place. If everything sits on one lot, you can skip this list entirely.

A location record asks Location Type first — Person, Dealer or Company — because that decides what it asks for next. Most locations are a Company: you give it a Company Name (this is what the list shows as its name — “North Lot”, “Miller’s Body Shop”), then its physical address, a mailing address if that differs, and a phone and email.

The Locations list shows name, type, ID number, and the address, city, state and zip, which is the view you want when you are trying to work out where something is.

Attaching a location to a vehicle

Open the vehicle and go to its Location tab. Pick a location you have already saved, or use Add New Location to create one without leaving the vehicle. Open Full Location Record takes you to the location itself if you need to change its address.

A vehicle has one location at a time. Moving a car means changing which location is attached, not adding a second.

Providers — who you bought from

Use Providers for the auctions, dealers and private sellers you buy from. Saving one means their details are ready the next time, instead of being retyped or lost.

A provider record is the same shape as a location: a Provider Type — Person, Dealer or Company — a name, physical and mailing addresses, contact details, and the tax and license numbers when it is a business.

Attaching a provider to a vehicle

Open the vehicle, go to its Provider tab, and pick an existing provider or use Add New Provider. As with locations, a vehicle has one provider: the party you acquired that car from.

Where this pays off is alongside the vehicle’s Vehicle Value tab. What you paid sits in the vehicle’s costs; the provider record says who you paid it to. Together they answer “we are into this car for how much, and where did it come from?” months later, when nobody remembers.

When you actually need them

Honestly: often you do not.

One lot, and cars bought from one or two auctions you know by heart — skip both. Nothing in the app will nag you for them.
More than one lot, or cars regularly out at shops — locations start earning their keep the first time somebody has to phone round to find a car.
Buying from several sources and caring about cost per car — providers, paired with the vehicle’s costs, keep that question answerable.

Neither list appears on a bill of sale, a title application or a temporary tag. They are your records, not the state’s.

If it will not let you continue

“Your account does not have permission to view locations” (or sellers). The Location and Provider tabs on a vehicle are controlled separately from the vehicle itself. Someone at your dealership can change this — see Adding or Removing Users.
A message about how many locations or providers your account can add per month. You have reached a monthly limit. Contact us and we will look at it.
Deleted the wrong one? Use Show Deleted Locations or Show Deleted Providers on the list and restore it.

After you finish

Use them. Vehicles and Your Inventory covers the vehicle record both tabs live on, and how costs turn into profit per car.
Sell the car. Creating a Deal Jacket.