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Set price and track costs

Set a vehicle's selling price and log acquisition + recon/vendor costs to see your true cost and projected margin. Costs stay private.

Who: Owner, Manager, or SalesPlan: All plans

Price the car for shoppers, then log everything you spent on it. The asking price shows publicly; every cost stays internal. AutoDealer.io adds it all up so you see your true cost and projected margin at a glance.

Set the selling price

The price lives on the vehicle's Edit form, in the Pricing section.

  1. Open the car from Inventory, then click Edit (top right).
  2. Scroll to the Pricing section.
  3. Fill in Asking price (public) — this is the number shoppers see on your storefront and in marketplace feeds.
  4. Optionally fill in Internal / floor (private) — your walk-away / floor number. This is never shown publicly.
  5. Click Save changes.

Money uses the format 9500 or 9500.00 — whole dollars or up to two decimals. You can leave the asking price blank while you're still working the car; it just won't show a price until you add one.

Record the acquisition cost

The acquisition cost is what you paid for the car. You set it when you add the vehicle, and you can change it later from the Edit form.

  1. On the vehicle's Edit form, go to the Acquisition section.
  2. Pick the Source (Auction, Trade-in, Private purchase, Dealer trade, Consignment, or Other).
  3. Enter the Acquisition cost (required).
  4. If the source is Auction, choose the Auction vendor from the list.
  5. Click Save changes.

When the source is Auction, the vendor you pick must be one whose type is Auction — otherwise the save is rejected. If none are listed, the field shows an Add one link to create a vendor on the Vendors page first (its type must be "Auction").

Add recon and other costs

Acquisition cost is just the start. Log recon, parts, transport, and other spend in the Costs card so your true cost-of-goods is accurate. This is separate from the acquisition cost above.

  1. Open the car (not the Edit form — the main vehicle page) and find the Costs card.
  2. Click Add cost.
  3. Pick a Category: Recon, Parts, Labor, Detail, Transport, Fees, Inspection, or Other (defaults to Recon).
  4. Enter the Amount.
  5. Optionally pick a Vendor. Choose No vendor (one-off) for a quick spend, or click + New vendor to create one inline (name + type) without leaving the form.
  6. Add an optional Description, Incurred date (defaults to today), Paid date, and Invoice #.
  7. Click Add cost.

To change or remove an entry, use Edit or Delete on its row. The card header shows a running Total of all logged costs.

Leave Paid blank for a cost you still owe — the row shows Unpaid until you set a date. Use it to track outstanding recon bills per car.

See your true cost and margin

Open the vehicle and look at the Details card:

  • Acquisition cost — what you paid for the car.
  • Total invested — acquisition cost plus every logged cost.
  • Projected margin — asking price minus total invested. It appears once you've set an asking price, and shows green when positive, red when negative.

Pricing help (Book value)

The Book value & pricing card on the vehicle page gives you an AI price suggestion (a target plus a range) based on your cost basis and days on lot.

  1. To save a book value by hand, type a Wholesale and/or Retail number, then click Save book value.
  2. If Black Book is connected, click Refresh from Black Book (top right of the card) to pull values automatically.

Don't see the Black Book refresh button? Connect Black Book under Settings → Integrations first — the button only appears once it's connected. Without it you can still enter book values manually.

Costs and the internal/floor price are internal only. Acquisition cost, recon and vendor costs, book values, and the internal price never appear on your public storefront or in any marketplace feed. Only the asking price is public. Every price or cost change is written to the audit log (who changed what, and when).

FAQ

What's the difference between asking price and internal price?

Asking price (public) is the number shoppers see. Internal / floor (private) is your walk-away number for your team only — it never leaves the dashboard.

Are my costs ever visible to customers?

No. Acquisition cost, recon/vendor costs, book values, and the internal price are all private. Shoppers only ever see the asking price.

Acquisition cost vs. the Costs card — which do I use?

Use Acquisition cost (on the Edit form) for what you paid for the car. Use the Costs card for everything you spend after that — recon, parts, transport, fees. Together they make up Total invested.

Can I attribute a cost to a vendor I haven't added yet?

Yes. In the Costs form, click + New vendor, enter a name and type, and Create + select. It's added and selected without leaving the page. You can fill in the vendor's contact details later on the Vendors page.

Why is my projected margin negative?

Projected margin is asking price minus total invested (acquisition cost + all logged costs). A negative number means your asking price is below your total cost in the car — raise the price or review the costs.

My acquisition cost is wrong. Can I fix it?

Yes. Open the car, click Edit, update the Acquisition cost in the Acquisition section, and Save changes. The audit log records the change.