Tech Wave Makes Dealers Update Businesses by Dale Stotts

In 1968 John Gardner wrote: “History never looks like history when you are living through it. It always looks confusing and messy, and it always feels uncomfortable.” Now what a better definition could one find when describing this industry and especially the past 10 years?

The buying public is clamoring to purchase anything at the “Lowest Possible Price,” and with new technology this has become the norm in consumer buying patterns. If you are like the majority of the public I would bet you or someone in your family purchased items via the Internet especially during the holiday season. Turn on a computer, BlackBerry or cell phone, find the best price or service center and push a few buttons. In a few days the item or service van arrives at your doorstep.

Basic Guarantees Quality

Basic Software Systems is a family owned and operated corporation, founded in 1979. Thirty years later, the vision of providing a business management software solution to dealers across the country has brought this company to the top of the industry vendor chain. Our products solidify the guaranteed, professional quality that is demanded in the industry today. We make a point to see that our customers meet their individually carried manufacturer requirements and beyond. Whether through the manufacturer interfaces which submit financial statements and online catalog/ordering in real-time processing or with accounting programs of our products, our customers reap the benefits of our technological advancements every day. Our team of developers work constantly in creating what today’s equipment dealers need to make their company grow, succeed and deliver.

We have incorporated bar-coding, enabled with BlueTooth technology, within our business system, along with point-of-sale device

Ideal 7.0 Software System: Reliable, Time-saving, User-friendly

One of the top reasons Ideal users praise the system is its ease of use. The software is designed to be extremely user-friendly, allowing you to navigate the whole system based off of two screens—searching and editing. Whether you’re searching for products, customers or invoices, or adding items to an invoice or purchase order, all applications in the Ideal system follow the same suit.

InvenTrakk Add-ons Offer Variety of Features, Increase Functionality

InvenTrakk, by Paulson Computer Systems, is the software system chosen by hundreds of North American power equipment dealerships to manage all areas of business from sales orders and repairs to major units, inventory, purchasing, receiving, financial reporting and more.

In mid December, Paulson released the latest version of the InvenTrakk business management system, version 3.1.0.38, which supports 11 add-on systems, making InvenTrakk very expansive and flexible. These add-on systems offer a wide array of features and functionality for dealerships. Functions range from wireless handheld inventory auditing and QuickBooks exporting to scheduling, credit card processing and integration with all major electronic part lookup suppliers. The latest version of InvenTrakk also offers additional built-in features and enhancements for customers including support for the new Microsoft Windows 7 and faster price book importing.

New Charter Software ‘Aspen’ BMS Provides Fast, Easy Information Access

Locating specific information in the dealership can be a tedious task that sometimes requires creating a report just to get what you are looking for. By using the selection screens in Charter Software’s new business management system, Aspen, users can create a list of items quickly and easily by simply selecting from a variety of specific criteria. Aspen’s selection screens can locate information on customers, units, parts, work orders, journal entries, accounts payable vouchers, invoices and more.

For example, if you are looking for a unit or group of units, you can search by stock status, model, make, description, dates which the unit was purchased/ordered/received, date the unit record was created or modified, or across departments and or locations in the units selection screen. Even more search options can be defined in Aspen’s system settings. The resulting records appear in an easy-to-view and sort grid where they can be further refined and sorted, or opened in a view m

SofTek, NizeX Team Up

For the past 15 years, SofTek Software has been the leader in developing dealer management solutions. NizeX, Inc. has been developing cutting edge CRM and PDM applications for the past five years, using state of the art technology and processes. In 2009, SofTek Software teamed up with NizeX and has developed the first fully functional, web-based intelligent business system, specifically designed for the power equipment and power sports industries. In 2010, SofTek Software and NizeX are setting the stage for the next evolutionary steps towards intelligent business solutions with the introduction of Lizzy 2.0. Lizzy is a complete dealer management system that includes customer relationship management, payroll, financing, web store/e-commerce integration, text/SMS messaging notifications, web phone/PDA capabilities, multi-store and much more. Since the internet has become an integral resource to most businesses, Lizzy has been designed to run through a web browser. This allows you to focu

Softpower Offers Dealer Solutions

Softpower Business Solutions opens doors to every part of your business. With features such as Point of Sale, Electronic Purchasing, Accounts Receivable, Inventory Management, Serialized Inventory, Shop Management, and Backorder Control, dealers save time and money by not having to rummage through file cabinets to search for a particular piece of information. Softpower had its origins as a lawn and garden power equipment dealership more than 26 years ago and has continued to evolve to meet the anticipated needs of the ever-changing lawn and garden power equipment industry. Our software can be pre-configured for easy integration with Intuit Quickbooks and ARI Partsmart. With Electronic Warranty Claim transmission, dealers can stay on top of all warranties right from our software. Visit softpower.com.

Dealer Converts Business Into A Modern Retailer by Dan Shell

Though Black Hills Power Equipment is currently owned and operated by mom-n-pop team Kay and Tim McTavish, the first thing the couple did when buying the dealership almost three years ago was to convert it from a “mom-n-pop saw shop” into a modern retailing business. The dealership had been in business since the mid ’80s, and the previous owners had moved it to its current location in 2005.

The business had made a name for itself as a pro logging shop, but the need for logging saws had faded as the industry increasingly mechanized.

Setting Goals Improves Dealership Performance by John Walker

Especially in a downturn market, absorption rate is a popular topic. Everyone is looking for the answer to the question, “How can we improve our sales and increase our cash flow during these depressing times in our business?” More importantly, Absorption Rate is a measurement that should be reviewed monthly by equipment dealerships’ owners and all department managers—and not just during market downturns. If that is the case, then it may be too late for your dealership.

Successful dealers understand it is smart business to push Absorption Rate as high as possible. The guideline is 100%, but there is nothing that says it should stop there. I know of many dealers who have pushed it as high as 150% to 160%!

Higher Ethanol A Done Deal? by Dan Shell

Just the other day I got a call from a dealer in the Northeast who’s seeing some serious engine failures among his customers due to ethanol. He said he’s been testing some of the fuel his customers have brought in, and he’s routinely finding ethanol contents in the 15% range and sometimes as high as 20%.

It’s against this backdrop that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working to respond to a request by an ethanol industry group to raise the ethanol content in standard retail transportation gasoline by 50%—from 10% to 15%, with the goal of making E15 the most common gasoline sold at service stations nationwide.

Deep Thoughts—and a Laugh

Managing Growth—One of the main small business growth problems exists internally. This could simply be a problem of having no time to deal with problems, or not having the skills and experience necessary to tackle steady growth problems with a sound strategy.

Management issues can be overcome. If you find that you don’t have the time or just don’t know what to do to solve your business growth problems, address this scenario first. Take a course or seminar on how to gain profitable sales leads. Read books on time management. Get the skills and resources you need to achieve a plan for steady growth.

They Said It—2009 by Dan Shell

Looking back at some of Power Equipment Trade’s quotable quotes from 2009:

“In our opinion, the study downplayed the challenges, and we’re very concerned with how they interpreted the data and wrote it up.”—Kris Kiser, OPEI vice president of government affairs, on a federal ethanol study released in late 2008.

“You’d like to be right next to Wal-Mart because I think it’s a state law that you have to go to Wal-Mart at least once a week!”—Dennis Tedder, Tedder Outdoor Power, Camden, Ark.

Latest Recreation Products for Dealers

KYMCO USA is offering 17 2-wheel models and 11 4-wheel models for 2010. Completely new for the U.S. market are the Like 50, a scooter with vintage Euro styling, and the Maxxer 375 4x4, which blurs the line between sport and utility ATVs. KYMCO is also introducing new versions of existing models, including limited editions of the UXV 500 4x4, MXU 375 4x4 IRS and MXU 500 4x4 IRS.

New for 2010 is the Like 50, featuring vintage euro styling with plenty of under-seat storage, lockable glove box with 12v accessory plug and color-matched top case. The 220-lb. machine features a 49cc 2-stroke engine, seat height of 32.6”, 51.9" wheelbase, 1.8 gal. fuel tank and 12" front and rear tires. Scheduled for release in mid-2010 are a 200i fuel-injected version of the Like scooter, a 2-stroke version of the popular Super 8 50, and the Downtown 300i featuring an all-new, 4-valve SOHC engine displacing 299cc.

Supplier Sales, Distribution and Program News

Honda’s Power Equipment Division has received a MarCom Platinum Award for its computer-based dealer service training programs. Specifically, Honda Power Equipment and Honda Marine, both business units of Honda’s Power Equipment Division, were recognized by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals for their technical training in the areas of service management, carburetors and technical updates.

Honda produced its online sales and service training solution in conjunction with Irvine, California-based Pacific Technology Solutions (PTS).  The training is used in Honda Power Equipment and Honda Marine dealership facilities nationwide.

The Latest In New Products, New Technology

The new Oregon PivoTrim Pro trimmer head is the newest innovation in string trimmer head design. It is designed to dramatically increase trimmer line life and reduce line welds and breaks, while offering outstanding performance. Standard trimmer heads force trimmer lines to bend and weaken at the eyelet, but the Oregon PivoTrim Pro’s patented pivoting attachment point deflects impacts and dissipates heat from the lines by allowing them to swing freely from 4 stainless bushings. The Oregon PivoTrim Pro is universal for all gas and propane trimmers and yields unmatched performance on rough terrain like chain link fence, rock borders and heavy vegetation. Its innovative design also offers quick line loading, and it conveniently uses standard .095" or .105" trimmer line.