Which dealer software handles consignment?
We read the websites of eight dealer software vendors. Of the ones that sell to US car dealers, GARAGEBIRDS is the only one whose site shows it working out the owner’s payout: your cut, the costs the owner agreed to, their loan payoff, and an itemized statement they can follow. Pro, which includes consignment, is $49 a month billed yearly ($588 a year), and you start on the Free plan.
AutoManager and Wayne Reaves handle consignment too, but their sites don’t describe the payout. DealerClick does consignment for RV dealers, CarcoCRM is built around it but is onboarding dealers across Canada, DealerVLO says it has no consignment feature, Frazer’s help manual mentions it only as a location code for marking consignment sales, and DealerCenter doesn’t mention it. A feature a vendor doesn’t mention can still be in the product, so treat “not mentioned” as a question to ask them.
Five questions that decide whether consignment software saves you work
Most systems can mark a car as consigned. The work is in the money after it sells, and that’s where a spreadsheet usually takes over. Ask any vendor these, and here’s how GARAGEBIRDS answers each one:
- How is my cut set? In GARAGEBIRDS, three ways: a percentage of the sale, a flat fee, or a fixed amount to the owner with the rest yours. An admin can lower it before the payout, say to cover a discount.
- Can costs go to the owner? You agree a cost allowance with the owner, and every cost on the car says whether it’s theirs or yours. Going over the allowance takes their OK first, on paper, by email from the address they named, or by phone, and it’s recorded.
- Does the payout include the owner’s loan? Yes: the payoff comes out of the payout, and the sale can’t be finalized while the owner would end up owing money.
- Does the owner get a statement? An itemized one: the sale price, your cut and how it was worked out, each cost with its date and the OK it falls under, the loan, and the payout last.
- Does it keep the dates? Every due date the state sets after a sale (the owner told, the loan paid, the owner paid), with a reminder in the app and by email before each one, and a return receipt if the car doesn’t sell.
Who handles consignment, from their own websites
| Consignment | The owner’s payout | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GARAGEBIRDS | Yes, on Pro: the agreement, owner-approved costs, payout due dates and the owner’s statement, with the state’s agreement form where it sets one | Worked out from the sale, line by line: your cut, the owner’s approved costs, the loan payoff and any fees, with an itemized statement and due-date reminders | Free plan $0. Pro $49 a month billed yearly ($588 a year), or $59 billed monthly |
| AutoManager | Yes: consignment management in DeskManager, its DMS, recording the consignor, the agreed selling price, notes, a summary of the agreement, and the signed agreement as an attachment | Not described on its site | DMS from $88 a month |
| Wayne Reaves | Yes: a “How to consign a car” video in its support library | Not described on its site | From $75 a month (Pro DMS Lite, for cash-only dealers) |
| DealerClick | For RV dealers: consignment as a deal type on its RV dealer software, with consignor terms and payout splits on the unit’s record. Not mentioned on its auto dealer software page | Payout splits on the RV unit’s record | Not listed; it offers a demo |
| DealerVLO | No: its own guide says it doesn’t track consignment cars, consignors or owner payouts | No | $29 a month per dealership |
| DealerCenter | Not mentioned on its site | Not mentioned on its site | DMS $99 a month |
| Frazer | A location code you can use to mark consignment sales, in its help manual | Not described in its help manual | Desktop $129 a month |
| CarcoCRM | Yes: consignment intake, agreements and payout tracking. Onboarding dealers across Canada | Payout tracking is part of it | From CAD 250 a month |
Sources. Competitor information from each vendor’s public website, checked between November 11, 2026 and November 12, 2026. Prices and features change; see the linked pages for current details.
- CarcoCRM: carcocrm.com, carcocrm.com/pricing
- AutoManager: automanager.com/inventory-management, support.automanager.com/hc/en-us/articles/5472119132443-Consignors-in-DeskManager-Online, automanager.com/pricing
- Wayne Reaves: waynereaves.com/support-videos, waynereaves.com/pricing
- DealerClick: dealerclick.com/products/rv-dealer-software, dealerclick.com/products/auto-dealer-software
- DealerVLO: dealervlo.com/blog/consignment-cars-used-car-lot, dealervlo.com/pricing
- DealerCenter: dealercenter.com/?s=consignment, dealercenter.com/pricing
- Frazer: frazerhelp.com/help-manual/vehicleinformation.htm, frazer.com/frazer-pricing
GARAGEBIRDS details are from our pricing section and features page. CarcoCRM, AutoManager, Wayne Reaves, DealerClick, DealerVLO, DealerCenter and Frazer are trademarks of their owners; GARAGEBIRDS is not affiliated with them.
Why GARAGEBIRDS stands out for consignment
- The payout is worked out for you. Not just a consigned flag on the car: the cut, the owner’s costs, the loan and the fees are on one record, and the owner gets a statement that shows every line. On the other sites, only DealerClick’s RV software and CarcoCRM in Canada describe the payout at all.
- Your profit stays honest. A consigned car has no purchase cost, so it never inflates your inventory value. Your profit on it is your cut and fees, minus the costs you paid yourself; the owner’s costs pass through you.
- It follows your state. Where a state sets the agreement form, such as Utah’s TC-120, it’s built in and fills itself in, and the state’s payout due dates come with reminders. Each rule is our reading of that state’s law, linked to its source, and following the law stays your dealership’s responsibility.
- It costs less to run. Pro is $49 a month billed yearly ($588 a year). AutoManager’s DMS is from $88 a month, and Wayne Reaves starts from $75 a month (Pro DMS Lite, for cash-only dealers). Everything for your own cars, from inventory and true profit per car to over 300 official forms, is on the Free plan, with unlimited users.
- You can try it before you pay. Start on Free, no credit card, and an admin turns on Pro’s 14-day trial from Billing when the first consigned car comes in. If you go back to Free, every consignment you have open can still be sold, paid out and closed.
The whole flow, with a worked payout and the owner’s statement, is on the consignment feature page.
When another one fits better
- You sell RVs and trailers: DealerClick lists consignment as a deal type on its RV dealer software, with consignor terms and payout splits on the unit’s record.
- Your lot is in Canada: CarcoCRM is built around consignment and is onboarding dealers across Canada.
- You want a dealer website from the same vendor: AutoManager sells a dealer website with export to 250-plus marketplaces, from $70 a month. Ask to see its payout side, since its help article covers the consignor and the agreement.
- You carry your own notes: Wayne Reaves offers full buy here pay here with collections at $145 a month, and there’s a “How to consign a car” video in its support library. GARAGEBIRDS doesn’t do buy here pay here.
- You’re on DealerCenter or Frazer and happy with it: ask their support how they handle a consigned car and pay the owner. DealerCenter’s site doesn’t mention consignment, and Frazer’s help manual only as a location code you can use to mark consignment sales, in its help manual, which isn’t the same as not having it.
Questions
What’s the best consignment software for a small used car lot?
For a small US lot that wants the money side handled, GARAGEBIRDS: on Pro it keeps the owner’s agreement, the costs they approved, the loan payoff and the payout on one record, prints an itemized statement for the owner, and reminds you before each payout due date. Pro is $49 a month billed yearly ($588 a year), and everything for your own cars starts on the Free plan. If you sell RVs, look at DealerClick; in Canada, CarcoCRM.
Does DealerCenter handle consignment?
DealerCenter’s website doesn’t mention consignment, and its own site search finds nothing for it (checked November 2026). That doesn’t prove it’s missing from the product, so if you use DealerCenter, ask its support how to sell a consigned car and pay the owner.
Does Frazer have a consignment feature?
Its help manual mentions consignment only as an example: a location code you can use to mark consignment sales, in its help manual. It doesn’t describe a consignment record or the owner’s payout, and its product and pricing pages don’t mention consignment (checked November 2026). Ask Frazer how it handles a consigned car before you rule it in or out.
Which dealer software works out the consignor’s payout?
Of the eight we checked, GARAGEBIRDS (on Pro) is the one for US car dealers: it works the payout out from the sale, with the dealer’s cut, the owner’s costs and the loan payoff. DealerClick’s RV software keeps payout splits on the unit, and CarcoCRM tracks payouts for dealers in Canada. AutoManager and Wayne Reaves handle consignment but don’t describe the payout on their websites.
Can I run consignment in a DMS that has no consignment feature?
Yes, with a workaround. DealerVLO’s own guide suggests you enter the owner’s net as the car’s acquisition cost, so the gross on the deal is your take. That keeps your profit right, but the agreement, the owner’s costs, the loan and the owner’s statement stay on paper or in a spreadsheet.
See your first consignment worked out
Start on the Free plan, no credit card. When a consigned car comes in, an admin turns on Pro’s 14-day trial from Billing, and the payout, the statement and the due dates are there from day one.