The hidden reason your F&I is losing time (and profit)

If you’ve ever worked a busy day at the dealership, you know how fast things can go sideways. Customers are excited, units are rolling, and your desk is stacked with deals, but then the F&I process slows everything down.

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Half the time is spent bouncing between your DMS, lender portals, F&I provider portals, rate sheets, and whatever notes you scribbled on paper. It’s not that anyone’s doing something wrong — it’s just the old way of doing things. But the truth is, the old way is costing you time and money.  

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Why manual processes slow you down

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Anyone who’s ever worked a weekend rush knows the pain. For years, the powersports F&I manager workflow looked like this:

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• Review paper-based deal jacket with handwritten worksheet

• Build the deal in DMS manually

• Jump into one or more F&I provider portals  

• Re-type the VIN, mileage, and customer info to price products

• Create an Excel spreadsheet-based paper menu

• Present and negotiate those with the customer

• Go back into DMS and update the deal with products selected

• Jump back into the F&I provider portal (or DMS) to print product contracts for signature

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And here’s where the trouble sneaks in:

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• Slow-downs: When you’re bouncing between systems, customers have time to think, hesitate, or get cold feet. We all know how fast "I’m not so sure" can show up.

• Transcription mistakes: Rating and pricing powersports deals is tricky. One wrong digit in the VIN or wrong input for unit type or class, and you get the wrong pricing for protection products, underwriting, and everything else.

• Compliance issues: When the process depends on memory, something is eventually going to get missed.

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Wouldn’t it be nice to do everything in one system?  

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Well, that’s exactly what happens when your CRM, DMS, and your F&I providers are connected to each other.

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Why dealers using integrations increase F&I PVR

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Instead of juggling 2-3 systems and multiple warranty provider portals, integrations let your dealership run smoother, faster, and with way fewer headaches.  

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With F&I provider integration, you can:

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• Save time: With digital workflows and integrations, the F&I turn can drop down to 20 minutes — and nobody’s rushing or cutting corners.  

• Avoid mistakes: When systems are connected, you don’t have to re-type the same customer and unit info three or more times. Integrations cut data‑entry errors by up to 80%, which sure beats fixing wrong unit and deal information at the end of the night.

• See live rates instantly: Instead of digging through rate books or logging into separate sites, the system just pulls the live product rates for you based on what the specific deal and unit are eligible for.

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So instead of wrestling with paperwork and re-typing everything like it’s 2004, integrations give you a faster way to get things done. Let’s dig a little deeper into the benefits of direct F&I integrations.

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Faster turn times, fewer delays

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You know how much time gets chewed up by typing, re‑typing, and fixing the stuff that was typed wrong in the first place. In a fully manual setup, an F&I turn can drag out close to an hour or more. And when customers have too much time to sit and think, trade values come into question, and someone starts Googling F&I products and prices in the lobby.

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With F&I provider integrations, all the needed info (product ratings, financing terms, customer info, VIN validation) is available instantly. Normally, a powersports deal takes 60-120 minutes, and a chunk of that is just typing, printing, and correcting forms. With integrations, that data entry time drops to seconds, letting you handle more deals in less time.

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Precision that saves you from chargebacks & unwinds

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Nobody likes an unwind — it’s wasted time, wasted paperwork, and usually a painful conversation.

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Powersports units are tricky, especially with all the trim levels, displacements, and package codes. One digit wrong and you can go from a mid-range sport bike to a liter-bike classification, which can totally change product pricing, underwriting, and eligibility.  

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Additionally, certain types of personal watercraft and snowmobile units don’t offer reliable and accurate VIN or serial number decoding, putting you at risk of presenting the wrong product or coverage level to customers.

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Integrations with finance and insurance providers help you price and rate F&I products correctly. Plus, contracts created digitally are validated before signing, so missing initials, dates, or signatures get caught before the deal leaves the desk.

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Customers trust what they can see in digital

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Let’s be real: when the F&I manager disappears into a back office and comes back with a stack of forms, customers start wondering what just happened.

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Digital menus flip that dynamic.

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Instead of a secret back-room calculation, you and the customer look at the numbers onscreen as you build the deal. Customers trust digital pricing way more than handwriting, which means they’re more open to upgrades and F&I products.

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That kind of consistency pays off. Dealers using digital menus have seen a 3x PVR increase because customers understand what they’re seeing and feel like they’re part of the process. When customers trust you, they say yes more often. Simple as that.

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F&I integrations that make a difference

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All the benefits we’ve talked about — faster turn times, fewer mistakes, and higher PVR — really hit when your systems are connected. The good news is that One Dealer Lane did the heavy lifting for you and built connections between F&I providers and leading powersports DMS systems.

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ODL integrates directly with top powersports F&I providers:

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• AMPLI-FI

• Aftercare

• Galt Enterprises

• iA Americal Warranty Group

• McGraw Powersports  

• Rider's Advantage

• Safe-Guard Products (Ducati, BMW, Honda, Harley, Extra Protect)

• Torque Group

• Other powersports OEMS (BRP, Polaris, Suzuki, Kawasaki, etc.)

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Additionally, ODL also allows you to setup your own in-house offered products like maintenance plans, GPS, etc.

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So, when you use ODL, all the customer info and unit details are pulled out from your CRM and DMS and saved for the paperwork stage at the F&I office. Plus, your powersports F&I products get a digital upgrade – fully integrated, automatically rated, and ready to present on interactive F&I menus. You can add custom dealership products as well!  

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Ready to see how ODL takes your F&I operations to the next level? Learn more, schedule a demo, and get a free 60-day trial to see it yourself!

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