Index
What the monthly closing of a dealership includes
The vehicle file as a starting point
What documentation must be completed before the closing
How to reconcile the month's operations
What to send to the agency and in what format
The mistakes that most delay the monthly closing
How to reduce closing time to less than two hours
Dealcar and automated monthly closing
Frequently asked questions
What the monthly closing of a dealership includes
The monthly closing of a dealership has three distinct parts that must be managed in a coordinated manner.
The first is the tax part: all invoices issued and received for the month, classified by tax regime (REBU - second-hand goods scheme or general VAT), with taxable bases calculated for the quarterly Form 303. Although Form 303 is quarterly, the preparation work is monthly: accumulating data month by month is much more efficient than reconstructing three months of operations all at once at the end of the quarter.
The second is the accounting part: the net margin of each operation closed during the month, with all direct expenses allocated, and the inventory status at the end of the month (which cars are in stock, how many days they have been there, what financing cost they accumulate).
The third is the operational part: verifying that there are no unanswered leads, open operations that haven't been closed, or incomplete files that will generate problems in the coming days.
The three parts are different but related. A poorly closed file generates incorrect tax data. An unallocated expense distorts the month's margin. An operation without an invoice does not exist for the agency, even if the car has already been delivered.
The vehicle file as a starting point
The monthly closing is fast when each vehicle has its complete file from day one. The vehicle file is the record of everything that happens to that car from the moment it enters stock until it is delivered to the customer: purchase price, associated direct expenses, source documentation, sale price, and issued invoice.
Check which expenses are part of the real cost of a car.
When that file is complete and updated, the monthly closing is a matter of exporting data, not reconstructing scattered information. If the file is incomplete or if expenses are on loose invoices not linked to the vehicle, the closing requires hours of work to reconcile what should take minutes.
The rule of thumb is simple: each expense that arrives (invoice from the workshop, the transport company, the agency) is linked to the vehicle file at the moment it arrives, not at the end of the month. Each sale that is closed generates the invoice from the file, not independently.
What documentation must be completed before the closing
To be able to carry out the monthly closing without interruptions, the documentation for all operations of the month must be located.
For each vehicle sold during the month: the contract or purchase receipt with the seller's NIF/ID, the invoices of direct expenses with the vehicle reference, the sales invoice issued to the buyer (REBU or general regime as appropriate), and the transfer documentation if it has already been processed.
Also read what a REBU billing software for dealerships must comply with.
For each vehicle purchased during the month that has not yet been sold: the contract or purchase receipt with the seller's NIF/ID and the invoices of expenses already incurred. This information goes into the valued inventory of the month, not into the income statement, but it must be kept organized.
General expenses for the month (portals, software, rent, utilities) with their complete invoices. These go to the freelancer's purchase and expense book or the company's accounting, but they are not allocated to any specific vehicle.
How to reconcile the month's operations
Reconciling the month's operations means verifying that each sale of the month has its issued invoice, that each issued invoice is linked to a vehicle file, and that the invoice amounts match the payments received.
The most efficient process has three steps. First, generate the list of operations closed during the month: all vehicles with a sale date within the period. Second, verify that each operation has its invoice generated and its payment recorded. Third, identify discrepancies: closed operations without an invoice, invoices without payment, or payments without an associated invoice.
The most common discrepancies are deposits received but not correctly invoiced (which are not sales but advances), financed operations where the finance company's payment arrives days after delivery, and preparation expenses that were paid in cash and do not have a formal invoice.
Also read how to correctly register deposits, advances, and outstanding payments.
What to send to the agency and in what format
The agency needs four blocks of information to prepare Form 303 and the monthly accounting close.
The first is the list of sales for the month with the tax regime of each one (REBU or general), the sale price and, for REBU transactions, the gross margin on which VAT is calculated. The second is the list of expenses with broken-down VAT for the month: invoices from suppliers, portals, workshop, and any expense with a VAT invoice that is deductible. The third is the updated REBU registry book with all operations of the month. The fourth is the valued inventory at the close of the month for the company's accounting (if the business operates as a limited company).
Check what data must be recorded in the REBU registry book per transaction.
The most efficient format is an export from the management system in the format used by the agency: Excel, CSV, or direct import from the accounting software. If the agency receives the data in that format, presenting Form 303 takes them less than an hour. If they receive paper invoices or unordered emails, that work can take half a day.
The mistakes that most delay the monthly closing
The most common and time-costly mistake is not linking expenses to the vehicle at the moment they occur. At the end of the month, you have to review all invoices from the workshop, the transport company, and the agency to know which car each one corresponds to, and if the vehicle reference is not on the invoice, it has to be reconstructed from memory or by calling the supplier.
The second mistake is generating sales invoices independently of the vehicle file. When the invoice is generated manually in a separate invoicing program, the car data has to be entered twice and the risk of error is higher. If you also have to reconcile that invoice with the file to calculate the margin, the work is doubled.
Check how to prepare the accounting documentation for each vehicle.
The third mistake is leaving operations open at the end of the month. A verbal sale closed in the last days of the month but without an issued invoice or registered payment creates uncertainty that the agency has to resolve with questions and clarifications that prolong the process.
How to reduce closing time to less than two hours
With the right processes, the monthly close of a dealership with 20 or 30 operations per month should not take more than two hours.
The key is to do the work during the month, not at the end. Every time a car comes in, the file is opened with the purchase price and source documentation. Every time an expense invoice arrives, it is linked to the corresponding vehicle file. Every time a sale is closed, the invoice is generated from the file. When closing comes, the remaining work is to export the data and check that there are no discrepancies.
With a management system that automated this flow, the monthly closing is reduced to three actions: checking that all files for the month are complete, generating the data export for the agency, and verifying the reconciliation of payments and invoices. Two hours at most for any typical volume of an independent dealership.
Check the dealership management software page from Dealcar.
Dealcar and automated monthly closing
Dealcar organizes each purchase and sale operation as a file linked to the vehicle. Direct expenses are recorded in the file when they arrive. The invoice is generated from the file with the correct regime. The REBU registry book is updated automatically. At the end of the month, the data export for the agency is available without additional manual work.
You can see how the monthly close works in Dealcar at dealcar.io/facturacion-electronica-coches or request a demo at dealcar.io.
Frequently asked questions
When should the monthly closing be done if the tax quarter ends on March 31st?
The monthly closing can be done in the first days of the following month. For Form 303 of the first quarter, the data for January, February, and March must be organized before April 20th. If the monthly closing is done 5 to 7 days into the following month, reaching the quarterly closing is just a matter of accumulating the three monthly closings.
Do deposits and bookings collected in December but with delivery in January go to the December or January closing?
VAT on a REBU transaction is due at the time of delivery of the vehicle or full payment, whichever comes first. If the deposit was collected in December but delivery was in January, the VAT goes to the quarter in which delivery occurs if the payment was partial. If the full price was collected in December before delivery, the VAT goes to the fourth quarter.
Can the agency do the monthly closing without my intervention if they have access to the system?
Yes, if the management system allows it. Some dealerships give read-only access to their agency so they can export the data directly. This eliminates the step of preparing the shipment. The dealership only has to verify that the month's data is complete and the agency does the rest.
What happens if an invoice for an expense from the previous month arrives after the closing?
It is registered in the month it arrives with the actual date of the invoice. If the tax period is already closed, the agency includes it in the following quarter or manages it as an expense for the financial year if the impact is significant. There is no need to reopen the previous closing for late-arriving invoices of small amounts.
Index
What the monthly closing of a dealership includes
The vehicle file as a starting point
What documentation must be completed before the closing
How to reconcile the month's operations
What to send to the agency and in what format
The mistakes that most delay the monthly closing
How to reduce closing time to less than two hours
Dealcar and automated monthly closing
Frequently asked questions
What the monthly closing of a dealership includes
The monthly closing of a dealership has three distinct parts that must be managed in a coordinated manner.
The first is the tax part: all invoices issued and received for the month, classified by tax regime (REBU - second-hand goods scheme or general VAT), with taxable bases calculated for the quarterly Form 303. Although Form 303 is quarterly, the preparation work is monthly: accumulating data month by month is much more efficient than reconstructing three months of operations all at once at the end of the quarter.
The second is the accounting part: the net margin of each operation closed during the month, with all direct expenses allocated, and the inventory status at the end of the month (which cars are in stock, how many days they have been there, what financing cost they accumulate).
The third is the operational part: verifying that there are no unanswered leads, open operations that haven't been closed, or incomplete files that will generate problems in the coming days.
The three parts are different but related. A poorly closed file generates incorrect tax data. An unallocated expense distorts the month's margin. An operation without an invoice does not exist for the agency, even if the car has already been delivered.
The vehicle file as a starting point
The monthly closing is fast when each vehicle has its complete file from day one. The vehicle file is the record of everything that happens to that car from the moment it enters stock until it is delivered to the customer: purchase price, associated direct expenses, source documentation, sale price, and issued invoice.
Check which expenses are part of the real cost of a car.
When that file is complete and updated, the monthly closing is a matter of exporting data, not reconstructing scattered information. If the file is incomplete or if expenses are on loose invoices not linked to the vehicle, the closing requires hours of work to reconcile what should take minutes.
The rule of thumb is simple: each expense that arrives (invoice from the workshop, the transport company, the agency) is linked to the vehicle file at the moment it arrives, not at the end of the month. Each sale that is closed generates the invoice from the file, not independently.
What documentation must be completed before the closing
To be able to carry out the monthly closing without interruptions, the documentation for all operations of the month must be located.
For each vehicle sold during the month: the contract or purchase receipt with the seller's NIF/ID, the invoices of direct expenses with the vehicle reference, the sales invoice issued to the buyer (REBU or general regime as appropriate), and the transfer documentation if it has already been processed.
Also read what a REBU billing software for dealerships must comply with.
For each vehicle purchased during the month that has not yet been sold: the contract or purchase receipt with the seller's NIF/ID and the invoices of expenses already incurred. This information goes into the valued inventory of the month, not into the income statement, but it must be kept organized.
General expenses for the month (portals, software, rent, utilities) with their complete invoices. These go to the freelancer's purchase and expense book or the company's accounting, but they are not allocated to any specific vehicle.
How to reconcile the month's operations
Reconciling the month's operations means verifying that each sale of the month has its issued invoice, that each issued invoice is linked to a vehicle file, and that the invoice amounts match the payments received.
The most efficient process has three steps. First, generate the list of operations closed during the month: all vehicles with a sale date within the period. Second, verify that each operation has its invoice generated and its payment recorded. Third, identify discrepancies: closed operations without an invoice, invoices without payment, or payments without an associated invoice.
The most common discrepancies are deposits received but not correctly invoiced (which are not sales but advances), financed operations where the finance company's payment arrives days after delivery, and preparation expenses that were paid in cash and do not have a formal invoice.
Also read how to correctly register deposits, advances, and outstanding payments.
What to send to the agency and in what format
The agency needs four blocks of information to prepare Form 303 and the monthly accounting close.
The first is the list of sales for the month with the tax regime of each one (REBU or general), the sale price and, for REBU transactions, the gross margin on which VAT is calculated. The second is the list of expenses with broken-down VAT for the month: invoices from suppliers, portals, workshop, and any expense with a VAT invoice that is deductible. The third is the updated REBU registry book with all operations of the month. The fourth is the valued inventory at the close of the month for the company's accounting (if the business operates as a limited company).
Check what data must be recorded in the REBU registry book per transaction.
The most efficient format is an export from the management system in the format used by the agency: Excel, CSV, or direct import from the accounting software. If the agency receives the data in that format, presenting Form 303 takes them less than an hour. If they receive paper invoices or unordered emails, that work can take half a day.
The mistakes that most delay the monthly closing
The most common and time-costly mistake is not linking expenses to the vehicle at the moment they occur. At the end of the month, you have to review all invoices from the workshop, the transport company, and the agency to know which car each one corresponds to, and if the vehicle reference is not on the invoice, it has to be reconstructed from memory or by calling the supplier.
The second mistake is generating sales invoices independently of the vehicle file. When the invoice is generated manually in a separate invoicing program, the car data has to be entered twice and the risk of error is higher. If you also have to reconcile that invoice with the file to calculate the margin, the work is doubled.
Check how to prepare the accounting documentation for each vehicle.
The third mistake is leaving operations open at the end of the month. A verbal sale closed in the last days of the month but without an issued invoice or registered payment creates uncertainty that the agency has to resolve with questions and clarifications that prolong the process.
How to reduce closing time to less than two hours
With the right processes, the monthly close of a dealership with 20 or 30 operations per month should not take more than two hours.
The key is to do the work during the month, not at the end. Every time a car comes in, the file is opened with the purchase price and source documentation. Every time an expense invoice arrives, it is linked to the corresponding vehicle file. Every time a sale is closed, the invoice is generated from the file. When closing comes, the remaining work is to export the data and check that there are no discrepancies.
With a management system that automated this flow, the monthly closing is reduced to three actions: checking that all files for the month are complete, generating the data export for the agency, and verifying the reconciliation of payments and invoices. Two hours at most for any typical volume of an independent dealership.
Check the dealership management software page from Dealcar.
Dealcar and automated monthly closing
Dealcar organizes each purchase and sale operation as a file linked to the vehicle. Direct expenses are recorded in the file when they arrive. The invoice is generated from the file with the correct regime. The REBU registry book is updated automatically. At the end of the month, the data export for the agency is available without additional manual work.
You can see how the monthly close works in Dealcar at dealcar.io/facturacion-electronica-coches or request a demo at dealcar.io.
Frequently asked questions
When should the monthly closing be done if the tax quarter ends on March 31st?
The monthly closing can be done in the first days of the following month. For Form 303 of the first quarter, the data for January, February, and March must be organized before April 20th. If the monthly closing is done 5 to 7 days into the following month, reaching the quarterly closing is just a matter of accumulating the three monthly closings.
Do deposits and bookings collected in December but with delivery in January go to the December or January closing?
VAT on a REBU transaction is due at the time of delivery of the vehicle or full payment, whichever comes first. If the deposit was collected in December but delivery was in January, the VAT goes to the quarter in which delivery occurs if the payment was partial. If the full price was collected in December before delivery, the VAT goes to the fourth quarter.
Can the agency do the monthly closing without my intervention if they have access to the system?
Yes, if the management system allows it. Some dealerships give read-only access to their agency so they can export the data directly. This eliminates the step of preparing the shipment. The dealership only has to verify that the month's data is complete and the agency does the rest.
What happens if an invoice for an expense from the previous month arrives after the closing?
It is registered in the month it arrives with the actual date of the invoice. If the tax period is already closed, the agency includes it in the following quarter or manages it as an expense for the financial year if the impact is significant. There is no need to reopen the previous closing for late-arriving invoices of small amounts.
