Motorline Group claims to have cut the time it spends compiling forecast data for its 47-site operation from two days to less than three hours with help from Cooper Solutions.

The Kent-based dealer group, which represents 11 manufacturers and has increased its number of sites from 22 in just five years, has adopted the digital solutions providers’ FullForecast and FullAccounts systems after turning away from a labour-intensive paper-based system.

Paul Betts, financial director of Motorline Group, said: “FullForecast provides us with an automated daily financial month-to-date and year-to-date report, including several department drill downs, such as vehicles sold and ordered or even labour hours and work in progress.

“This used to be a manual process for line managers to conduct every 10 days, and would take a good couple of days to compile.

“Now, it’s done automatically, within hours, and the accuracy means we can plan strategically and react to trends against both budget and forecast, which is vital given the wide geographic spread of the business.”

FullAccounts delivers additional reporting such as profit and loss, balance sheet and model analysis which has enabled Motorline to consolidate eight separate ledger systems. 

Betts said that the new system has ensured “consistency across the business”, adding: “Our partnership with Cooper Solutions has been instrumental in taking Motorline closer to becoming a virtually paperless system across the Group.”

Andrew Whicher, Cooper Solutions’ development manager, said: “We work closely with retailers like Motorline to help them implement the latest, web-based solutions putting them back in control of their business. ”