Glossary

What do the terms used in car showrooms mean?

This glossary explains the terms used every day in Egypt's used-car showrooms, such as consignment (أمانة), partnership (شراكة), preparation (تجهيز), deposit (عربون), instalment (قسط), power of attorney (توكيل) and the real balance, and how AutoSync handles each one.

Consignment(أمانة)

A car whose owner leaves it at the showroom to be sold. When it sells, the money belongs to its owner, and the showroom takes its fee under the agreement.

In AutoSync: The owner's due is recorded as owed by the showroom until it is paid, under a fixed fee, a percentage, or everything above an agreed floor.

See the feature: Consignment

Partnership(شراكة)

A car that more than one party paid for. Each partner gets their capital back plus an agreed share of the profit.

In AutoSync: The share is set per car and doesn't have to match what the partner paid in.

See the feature: Partnership

Preparation(تجهيز)

Money spent on a car before it is sold: paint, mechanics, tyres, licensing, transport and ads. It is part of the car's true cost.

In AutoSync: Every preparation expense is recorded against its car and waits for your approval before it is paid.

Deposit(عربون)

An amount a customer pays to reserve a car until they pay the full price.

In AutoSync: A deposit is recorded as owed by the showroom, and if the reservation is cancelled you choose explicitly: refund it or keep it.

Instalment(قسط)

Selling a car in payments without a bank, with the showroom financing the sale, usually backed by cheques.

In AutoSync: Instalments and cheques are recorded with their due dates, and AutoSync alerts you to those coming due.

Post-dated cheque(شيك)

A cheque the buyer writes for an instalment's amount and due date, which the showroom cashes on that date.

Cash box(الخزنة)

All the money the showroom holds, wherever it is: cash, bank, InstaPay, wallet and cheques.

In AutoSync: Every pound is recorded with its payment method, and a cash count shows the difference on its own.

Real balance(الرصيد الحقيقي)

The cash box minus everything the showroom owes others: consignment money, partner shares, deposits, commissions and pending spending.

In AutoSync: It is worked out automatically and is the first screen the owner and the accountant see.

See the feature: Real balance

Power of attorney(توكيل)

A document that lets the showroom sell a car that isn't in its name. It expires, and once it has expired ownership can't be transferred with it.

In AutoSync: AutoSync alerts you to powers of attorney and documents about to expire.

Commission(عمولة)

An amount or percentage a sales rep earns on a sale.

In AutoSync: A commission is recorded as owed by the showroom, and paying it waits for the owner or the accountant to approve.

Owner drawings(مسحوبات)

Money the showroom owner takes out of the cash box for themselves. It isn't an expense and doesn't reduce the showroom's profit.

In AutoSync: A withdrawal waits for approval like any outflow, and is recorded separately from expenses.

Capital(رأس المال)

Money the showroom owner puts into the showroom. It isn't income or profit.

Aged stock(العربيات الواقفة)

Cars that have stood in the showroom a long time without selling, with money frozen in them.

In AutoSync: AutoSync alerts you to cars that pass 45, 60 and 90 days, and shows the money tied up in them.