Help Center

First-time Setup

After signing up, you'll be logged in as the company owner. Here's what to do first:

1. Complete your company profile - Go to Company Info from your dashboard to add your business details and contact information.
2. Add your locations - If you operate from multiple sites, add each dealership location with its address and contact details.
3. Create user accounts - Add your staff members through User Management, assigning appropriate roles to each person.
4. Add your first vehicles - Start building your inventory by adding vehicles with their details, photos, and pricing.

Navigating the Dashboard

Your dashboard is customised based on your role and shows the information most relevant to your daily tasks:

• Owners see sales metrics, recent activity, and quick access to all management functions.
• Managers see team performance, vehicles in preparation, and pending sales.
• Sales Staff see available inventory and recent sales activity.
• Office Staff see inventory overview and administrative tasks.
• Accountants see financial summaries and sales data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Adding Vehicles

To add a vehicle to your inventory:

1. Click "Add Vehicle" from your dashboard or the Vehicles page.
2. Enter the vehicle details: VIN (17 characters), registration, make, model, year, colour, and mileage.
3. Set the pricing: asking price, cost basis (what you paid), and optionally a minimum acceptable price.
4. Select which location the vehicle is held at.
5. Upload photos - the first photo becomes the primary image shown in listings.
6. Save the vehicle. It will be marked as "Available" by default.

Searching and Filtering

The vehicle inventory page includes search filters to help you quickly find specific vehicles:

• Search - Search by any keyword across vehicle details such as make, model, registration, or stock number.
• Status - Filter by vehicle status (Available, Sold, In Preparation, Reserved, or In Transit).
• Make & Model - Filter by specific vehicle make or model.
• Price Range - Set minimum and/or maximum price to narrow results.

Click Filter to apply your selections, or Clear to reset all filters. Active filters remain applied even when navigating between pages of results.

On mobile devices: The search filters are hidden by default to give you more room to browse your inventory. Tap the Filter button (located below the vehicle count) to show or hide the filter options. Any filters you have applied will continue to work even when the filter panel is hidden.

Vehicle Statuses

Vehicles can have the following statuses:

• Available - Ready for sale and can be shown to customers.
• In Preparation - Being serviced, repaired, or detailed before sale.
• Reserved - A customer has placed a deposit on this vehicle.
• In Transit - Being transferred between locations.
• Sold - Sale completed.
• Trade-In - Received as part-exchange on another sale.

Preparation Costs

Track all costs incurred getting a vehicle ready for sale:

1. Open the vehicle's detail page and go to the Preparation Costs section.
2. Click "Add Cost" and select the category (mechanical, bodywork, detailing, certification, parts, labour, or other).
3. Enter the amount, description, and vendor details if applicable.
4. Upload any receipts or invoices as attachments.
5. For significant costs, a manager or owner may need to approve the expense.

Preparation costs are automatically factored into profit calculations, helping you understand your true margin on each vehicle.

Vehicle Notes

Add notes to vehicles to track important information:

• General - Basic information about the vehicle.
• Customer Inquiry - Record customer questions or interest.
• Internal - Staff-only notes not visible to customers.
• Inspection - Findings from vehicle inspections.
• Service - Maintenance and repair notes.
• Pricing - Notes about pricing strategy or adjustments.
• Urgent - High-priority alerts that flag the vehicle for attention.

Price Changes

When you change a vehicle's price, select a reason for the change:

• Price Increase - Raising the price (e.g., after improvements).
• Price Reduction - Lowering to encourage sale.
• Market Adjustment - Aligning with market conditions.
• Correction - Fixing an error in the original price.

All price changes are recorded with timestamps, allowing you to review pricing history and analyse your pricing strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Taking a Deposit

When a customer wants to reserve a vehicle:

1. Go to the vehicle's page and click "Record Deposit".
2. Enter the customer's name, email, and phone number.
3. Enter the deposit amount (between £100 and £10,000).
4. Select the payment method (card, bank transfer, cash, or cheque).
5. Add a payment reference if applicable.
6. Set the reservation expiry date (defaults to 14 days).
7. Save the deposit. The vehicle status will change to "Reserved".

Creating a Sale

To record a vehicle sale:

1. Go to the vehicle's page and click "Create Sale" (or go to Sales and click "New Sale").
2. Select or add the customer.
3. Enter the total sale amount.
4. Choose the delivery method: Collection (customer picks up) or Delivery (you deliver, with optional delivery charge).
5. If there's an existing deposit, it will be automatically applied to the sale.
6. If the customer is trading in a vehicle, record the trade-in details and value.
7. Save the sale. It will be marked as "Pending" until payment is complete.

Recording Payments

Sales can be paid in instalments:

1. Open the sale and go to the Payments section.
2. Click "Record Payment".
3. Enter the payment amount and method.
4. Add a reference number if applicable.
5. The outstanding balance updates automatically.
6. When fully paid, mark the sale as complete.

Trade-In Vehicles

When accepting a vehicle as part-exchange:

1. During sale creation, enable the trade-in option.
2. Enter the trade-in vehicle's details and the agreed trade-in value.
3. The trade-in value is deducted from the sale price.
4. The trade-in vehicle is added to your inventory with "Trade-In" status.
5. You can then prepare and list it for sale like any other vehicle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Adding Customers

Build your customer database to track leads and buyers:

1. Go to Customers and click "Add Customer".
2. Enter their contact details: name, email, phone, and address.
3. Select the lead source (how they found you): website, referral, advertising, social media, walk-in, phone, or other.
4. Set their contact preferences: preferred method and how often they want to hear from you.
5. Record any marketing and data processing consent for GDPR compliance.

Customer Profiles

Each customer profile shows:

• Contact Information - All their details in one place.
• Purchase History - Every vehicle they've bought from you.
• Vehicle Preferences - What types of vehicles they're interested in.
• Communication History - Notes and interactions with this customer.

Vehicle Preferences

Record what each customer is looking for:

1. Open the customer's profile and go to Vehicle Preferences.
2. Add their preferred makes, models, and body types.
3. Set their budget range.
4. Note any specific requirements (e.g., low mileage, certain colours).

This helps you proactively contact customers when matching vehicles arrive.

GDPR Compliance

4-Court helps you comply with data protection regulations:

• Consent Tracking - Record when customers gave marketing and data processing consent.
• Data Export - Provide customers with a copy of all data you hold about them.
• Right to Erasure - Remove customer data when requested (records are soft-deleted to maintain audit trails).
• Audit Trail - All access to customer data is logged for accountability.

Frequently Asked Questions

Available Reports

Access different reports based on your role:

• Sales Summary - View sales by period (today, this week, this month, custom date range). See total revenue, number of vehicles sold, and average sale price.
• Inventory Report - Current stock levels, vehicles by status, and stock aging (how long vehicles have been in inventory).
• Profitability Analysis - Profit per vehicle, margins, and identification of best/worst performers.
• Location Performance - Compare sales and inventory across your different locations.
• Financial Summary - Revenue, costs, and profit overview for accounting purposes.

Using Filters

Most reports can be filtered by:

• Date Range - Preset periods or custom start/end dates.
• Location - All locations or a specific site.
• Vehicle Criteria - Make, model, year, or price range.
• Status - Available, sold, in preparation, etc.

Exporting Reports

Managers and Accountants can export reports for use in other systems:

• CSV Format - For importing into spreadsheets or accounting software.
• PDF Format - For printing or sharing formatted reports.

Look for the Export button at the top of each report page.

Understanding Profit Calculations

Vehicle profit is calculated as:

The profit margin percentage shows this as a proportion of the sale price. Vehicles showing in red on reports indicate a loss or very low margin.

Managing Locations

If you operate multiple dealership sites:

1. Go to Company Info and find the Locations section.
2. Click "Add Location" to add a new site.
3. Enter the location name, address, phone, and email.
4. One location must be marked as your primary location.
5. Locations can be deactivated if you close a site (this preserves historical data).

Transferring Vehicles

To move a vehicle between locations:

1. Go to the vehicle's page and click "Request Transfer".
2. Select the destination location.
3. Set the priority level (normal, high, or urgent).
4. Add any notes about the transfer.
5. A manager at the destination location must approve the transfer.
6. Once approved, the vehicle status changes to "In Transit".
7. When the vehicle arrives, mark the transfer as complete.

Frequently Asked Questions

Subscription Plans

4-Court offers several plans to suit different dealership sizes:

• Adhoc (Free) - Pay per vehicle sold, limited to 6 users, ideal for small operations.
• Standard - Up to 200 vehicles per year, unlimited users.
• Professional - Up to 1,000 vehicles per year, unlimited users, priority support.

Managing Your Subscription

From the Billing page, you can:

• View your current plan and its benefits.
• See your billing history and download invoices.
• Upgrade to a higher plan (takes effect immediately).
• Schedule a downgrade (takes effect at the end of your billing period).
• Update payment methods via the billing portal.
• Cancel your subscription.

Frequently Asked Questions

Your Profile

Manage your personal account settings:

• Profile Picture - Upload a photo (JPEG, PNG, GIF, or WebP, max 5MB).
• Personal Details - Update your name and contact information.
• Password - Change your password (must be 8+ characters with uppercase, lowercase, and numbers).

Password Requirements

For security, passwords must:

• Be between 8 and 128 characters long.
• Include at least one uppercase letter.
• Include at least one lowercase letter.
• Include at least one number.
• Not be a commonly used password.
• Not contain your name or email address.

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Add an extra layer of security to your account by enabling two-factor authentication:

Setting up 2FA

1. Go to your Profile page.
2. Click Enable 2FA or Setup 2FA.
3. Install an authenticator app on your phone if you don't have one (Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, Authy, or 1Password).
4. Scan the QR code with your authenticator app.
5. Important: Save the backup codes shown - these are your only way to access your account if you lose your phone.
6. Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app to complete setup.

Signing in with 2FA

Once enabled, you'll need to enter a code from your authenticator app after entering your password. The code changes every 30 seconds.

Changing your authenticator or adding a new device

To change your authenticator app or add 2FA to a new phone, you need to:

1. Go to your Profile page.
2. Click Disable 2FA and confirm.
3. Click Enable 2FA to set it up again with your new device.

Note: Each time you set up 2FA, a new secret key is generated. You cannot add the same account to multiple authenticator apps - only the most recently scanned QR code will work.

Lost access to your authenticator?

If you've lost your phone or can't access your authenticator app, contact your account administrator (owner or manager) to disable 2FA on your account so you can sign in and set it up again.

Forgotten Password

If you've forgotten your password:

1. Go to the sign-in page and click "Forgot Password".
2. Enter your email address.
3. Check your email for a reset link (valid for 15 minutes).
4. Click the link and set a new password.
5. All your existing sessions will be logged out for security.

Frequently Asked Questions

User Security Activity Log

4-Court tracks security-related events for each user account to help you monitor account activity and investigate any security concerns:

• Login Success - When a user successfully signs in, with timestamp and IP address
• Failed Login Attempts - Unsuccessful sign-in attempts (helps identify potential unauthorised access attempts)
• Logout - When a user signs out
• Password Reset Requested - When a password reset email is sent
• Password Changed - When a password is updated, including how it was changed:
  • Via profile settings (user changed their own password)
  • Via password reset link (user forgot their password)
  • By an administrator (manager or owner reset the password, with their name recorded)

Viewing User Security Logs

Owners and managers can view security activity for users they manage:

1. Go to User Management from your dashboard
2. Click on a user's name to view their profile
3. Scroll down to the Security Activity Log section
4. Click the section header to expand and view the most recent 25 security events

Each event shows the date and time, event type, relevant details (such as who changed a password), and the IP address.

When to Review Security Logs

Consider reviewing a user's security log when:

• A user reports they can't log in or their account seems compromised
• You notice unusual activity in the system
• Following up on a password reset request
• Investigating access from unexpected locations (check IP addresses)
• Verifying who made changes to a user's password

Frequently Asked Questions