c-Systems reporting: the numbers an OPE dealer needs

What the vendor lists

The c-Systems homepage lists analytics and reporting with in-depth reports and business metrics. Public pages do not show the report catalog, so test it live. Bring your five most-wanted reports to the demo and ask to see each one.

Reports an OPE dealer should ask for

• Gross profit by department: sales, parts, service, rental.
• Aged inventory: units and parts sitting too long.
• Tech hours paid versus billed.
• Open quotes by rep and by age.
• Seasonal comparisons: this April versus last April.

The rekeying audit

If your office exports data to spreadsheets to build the reports the system does not cover, count that time. Hours per month times the loaded hourly cost is real money. Use the tool below. The analytics and reporting c-Systems lists should make most of that labor go away.

What to ask

• Which reports come standard?
• Can I build my own report without a support ticket?
• Can I schedule a report to email itself every Monday?
• Can I export to Excel when I need to?
• How does our outside accountant get what they need at tax time?

Honest limit

A 2012 c-Systems manual floats around online. It cannot prove how the current product's reports work. Judge only what you see live in the demo.

A worked task: bring your five reports

c-Systems lists in-depth reports and business metrics, but public pages do not show the catalog. Suggested demo test: bring your five most-wanted reports written on paper and ask to see each one built. Inputs: your five report names. Expected output: five screens or five honest answers about what it takes to build them. The exception to ignore: the 2012 manual floating around online. It cannot tell you how the current product's reports work, so judge only what you see live.

Do this week

Write your five reports down now: gross profit by department, aged inventory, tech hours, open quotes, and this April versus last April is a solid starting five.