A manual stock check records what a person wrote down. A LotCount audit records photographic proof of every VIN, timestamped and GPS-located, matched automatically against the DMS and the floorplan funder's statement. For a multi-site group, the manual version takes around five weeks; the digital version takes a day. This page sets out the differences honestly, including where a manual count is still adequate.
| Manual stock check | LotCount | |
|---|---|---|
| Time for a multi-site group | Around five weeks, site by site | A single day, all sites in parallel |
| Evidence per vehicle | A tick on a list | VIN photograph, timestamp, GPS location |
| Who can do it | Experienced staff who know the stock | Any staff member with a smartphone, four clicks per vehicle |
| Data freshness | Stale before the last site is counted | Same-day snapshot across the group |
| Reconciliation | Manual, against the DMS only | Automatic, three-way: lot, DMS, funder statement |
| Funder acceptance | Rarely accepted as audit evidence | Accepted as audit evidence |
| Fraud resistance | Low: relies on trust in the counter | AI validation of every image, location and timestamp |
| Disruption | Ties up staff for days, interrupts sales activity | Runs alongside normal trading |
| Cost model | Hidden: staff time, errors, undiscovered bleed | Subscription; not charged per asset, audit or user. First site audit free |
The clipboard is free. The cost sits in what the clipboard misses. Across every audit LotCount has run, around 11% of vehicles on the DMS are inaccurate in their location, status or existence. When groups switch from manual to digital auditing, on average almost 2.5% of assets turn out to be sold but not invoiced, which means cash sitting unbilled while floorplan interest continues to accrue. A manual count reconciled against the DMS alone will never surface a ghost vehicle, because a ghost vehicle exists only on the funder's statement.
There is also the timing problem. A five-week rolling count means the first site's data is five weeks old when the last site finishes. Vehicles move between sites faster than that, so the group-level picture never actually exists at any single point in time.
Staff photograph the VIN of each vehicle using their own smartphones: four clicks per vehicle, multiple auditors working in parallel across every site. AI validates each image for VIN accuracy, location, time and context. Every scanned VIN is then matched against the DMS record and the funder's statement, and each vehicle is categorised as matched, discrepancy or missing. A timestamped, VIN-traceable report arrives within 48 hours, with discrepancies grouped by type: sold-not-invoiced, ghost vehicles, location confusion, funded-not-located, aged stock and fraud indicators.
A single-site operation with under a few dozen vehicles, no floorplan funding and stable staff can run an adequate manual count. The risk profile changes the moment stock is funded, spread across locations, or moving quickly, because the cost of each missed discrepancy rises while the reliability of the count falls.
One 37-site group's first LotCount audit surfaced 259 sold-not-invoiced vehicles and returned close to $300,000 to the business within 48 hours. See what yours finds.
Book a demoFor a multi-site dealer group, a full manual stock count typically takes around five weeks, because sites are counted sequentially and results are keyed in and reconciled by hand. A digital audit with staff scanning in parallel completes the same work in a single day.
Because the DMS records what staff have entered, not what is on the lot. Sold units remain as live stock when invoices are delayed, transferred vehicles keep their old location, and trade vehicles arrive without being booked in. Audit data shows around 11% of DMS records are inaccurate in location, status or existence at any given time.
A spreadsheet can compare two lists, but it cannot verify that a vehicle physically exists, and it rarely scales across sites. It also depends on the same manually keyed data that caused the mismatch in the first place. Photographic VIN evidence removes the transcription layer entirely.
Funders accept LotCount reports as audit evidence because every line carries a VIN, timestamp, location and photo, and the output has been validated. A paper count carries no such evidence and is generally not accepted.
