F&I tip: Know your software programs inside and out

In the wake of the recent CDK Global outage, finance and insurance managers should make sure they know the ins and outs of their software, said Teasha McMillion, an independent dealership consultant.

The number of F&I staff "that did not know how to calculate a lease was mind-boggling," McMillion said. "It's not magic, it's math."

Finance staff should specifically make sure that they know where numbers are coming from when they use software and the formulas the software uses to calculate them, she said.

Ask yourself: "Do you know everything that your software can and cannot do when you can't push or pull a deal and how to manually complete a transaction by using minimal technology?" McMillion said.

Have a good F&I tip to share? Email John Huetter at [email protected] and Paige Hodder at [email protected].