CPA Services for Dealerships & Fleet Logistics

Dealership and Fleet Accounting

Dealerships and fleets share a balance sheet built on vehicles: units bought with floor plan or fleet financing, carried at a cost that moves with the market, and sold or remarketed on a schedule. Holdback, pack, factory receivables, curtailments, residual values, and utilization all flow through the financial statements and the tax return. We work through that flow from the showroom, F&I, and the service drive to the rental counter, the lease book, and the remarketing lane.

Dealership Inventory & LIFO

• LIFO conformity elections for new and used vehicle inventories
• Annual LIFO computations and pool maintenance
• Parts department LIFO management
• Multi-franchise and multi-location LIFO coordination
• IRS compliance and LIFO recapture planning
• LIFO reserve analysis for buy-sell transactions

Floor Plan Financing & Section 163(j)

• Floor plan interest tracking, curtailment schedules, and cash flow planning
• Section 163(j) business interest planning, including the floor plan financing interest exception
• The bonus depreciation tradeoff: in a year a dealership relies on the floor plan exception, property of that business is not eligible for bonus depreciation
• Manufacturer incentive, holdback, and factory receivable reconciliation

Rental & Leasing Fleets

• Fleet depreciation policy: MACRS lives, 100% bonus depreciation for qualifying vehicles acquired after January 19, 2025, and Section 179 limits
• Lessor rules: the Section 280F passenger-automobile depreciation caps do not apply to vehicles leased or held for leasing by a business regularly engaged in leasing them
• Section 179 restrictions for noncorporate lessors, which apply unless the lease term and expense tests are met
• Fleet dispositions: depreciation recapture on sales and trade-ins, since like-kind exchange treatment no longer applies to vehicles
• Lessor accounting under ASC 842: operating and sales-type leases, residual values, and impairment
• State and local rental taxes, surcharges, and personal property tax on fleet units
• Utilization, cost-per-unit, and remarketing reporting for owners and lenders

Buy-Sell Advisory

• Due diligence for dealership and fleet acquisitions and divestitures
• Blue sky and goodwill valuation analysis
• Deal structuring — asset vs. stock transaction considerations
• Tax planning for buyers and sellers
• Post-close integration and accounting transition support
• Manufacturer approval process financial support

Manufacturer & Lender Reporting

• Financial statements that meet OEM reporting requirements
• Composite statement analysis and benchmarking
• Franchise agreement and fleet loan covenant support
• Factory image and facility program documentation
• Warranty and incentive program accounting

Fixed Ops & Service

• Internal controls for service departments, body shops, and fleet maintenance
• Warranty accounting and chargeback management
• Fixed operations absorption rate analysis
• Service and parts profitability reporting
• Labor rate and technician productivity analysis

Tax Strategy

• Cost segregation studies for dealership facilities and fleet yards
• Section 179 and bonus depreciation for service equipment and fleet units, coordinated with the floor plan financing exception
• Multi-state apportionment for dealer groups and fleets that operate across states
• Entity structure for real estate held apart from operations
• Succession and estate planning for family-owned dealerships and fleets

Who We Serve

• Franchise dealerships — single-point to multi-rooftop groups
• Independent used vehicle dealers and buy-here-pay-here operations
• Vehicle rental companies and rental franchisees
• Commercial and consumer vehicle leasing companies
• Fleet management companies and businesses that own their fleets
• Collision, aftermarket, and specialty service providers
• Private equity-backed dealership and fleet platforms

How We Work

Engagements are led by Kurt Simmons, CPA. We read DMS and fleet-system data alongside the general ledger, reconcile it to the composite or the lender package, and tie inventory and depreciation positions to the return.

With a capital markets background, we also advise on financing, multi-location groups, private equity-backed platforms, and succession planning for owners.