How should a tint shop handle dealership and fleet accounts?
Run dealership and fleet accounts as a separate line of business: a written rate card by vehicle class, a signed agreement covering payment terms and work authorization, timestamped per-VIN intake photos, consolidated invoices on net terms, and a firm credit cap. Priced and papered that way, fleet work becomes steady base load instead of your slowest-paying headache.
A good dealership or fleet account can keep your bays busy through the slow weeks — and a bad one can quietly become the lowest-margin, slowest-paying work in the shop. The difference is rarely the dealer; it's whether the shop runs the account deliberately. Dealer work needs different pricing, different paperwork, different intake habits, and different billing than retail, and shops that bolt it onto their walk-in process end up eating damage claims and chasing months-old invoices.
Why the answer is what it is
Price it as its own line of business
Dealer and fleet work runs on volume at thinner margins, so it needs a written rate card — one fixed price per vehicle class, not a per-car negotiation. Know your floor before you set it: film cost plus labor for each class, and hold that line when a used-car manager pushes for one more discount. If your pricing already lives in a matrix by vehicle type, the dealer rate card is just a second column.
Get the agreement on paper before the first car
A one-page agreement should name who can authorize work, the payment terms (net-15 or net-30), how redos and warranty claims are handled, and who is liable for vehicles sitting on your lot. Verbal deals with a sales manager disappear the day that manager changes stores.
Document every vehicle at intake
Dealer and fleet cars arrive with unknown history, and a lot bruise discovered at pickup becomes your problem unless you can prove it was there at drop-off. Log the VIN or stock number and take timestamped photos on every car, every time — the boring habit that ends 'your tech scratched it' disputes before they start.
Batch the billing and cap the credit
Dealership offices pay from consolidated invoices with a PO or stock number on each line, not from a card at pickup — so bill weekly or monthly with per-VIN line items and offer ACH. Then watch the aging: set a credit cap in writing and pause new vehicles when the open balance crosses it.
Protect the retail calendar
Retail customers pay full margin; fleet work exists to fill slow capacity, not consume the shop. Slot dealer cars into off-peak windows, keep same-week bays open for retail, and review each account quarterly — an account that crowds out retail at wholesale prices is costing you money.
What to look for
- Build a dealer rate card by vehicle class; review it yearly
- Sign a one-page agreement: terms, authorization, redos, lot liability
- Require a PO or authorized name before film touches the car
- Photograph and VIN-log every vehicle at drop-off
- Invoice weekly or monthly with per-vehicle line items; take ACH
- Set a written credit cap and pause new work when it's hit
- Slot fleet cars off-peak; keep prime bays for retail
Related questions
How much of a discount should a tint shop give a dealership?
Only what committed volume earns. Start from your floor — film plus labor per vehicle class — and trade a lower rate for a predictable car count, not a vague promise of steady work. A dealer who won't commit to volume pays closer to retail.
Should a tint shop invoice dealership work per car or monthly?
Consolidated, on a weekly or monthly cycle, with one line per vehicle carrying the VIN or stock number and the PO. That matches how dealership accounting offices actually process payables, so you get paid faster and any dispute is about one line, not the whole invoice.
Can software like SalesThumb manage dealership and fleet accounts?
SalesThumb is built with fleet and B2B accounts alongside its per-vehicle CRM, so each dealer car keeps its own VIN-searchable record with intake photos, and invoicing with ACH support and QuickBooks sync handles the billing side. It's pre-launch — shops can request early access.
How Roffik addresses this
The operating system for auto service shops — booking, CRM, AI photo-to-quote, payments, warranty certs, and a technician mobile app, all in one place. Learn more about SalesThumb.