Posted on June 21, 2012

The technology available to dealers is constantly changing, and
more and more companies are turning to the digital world for their
F&I menus. Specifically, they are taking advantage of the
application technology offered by iPad and Android tablets. The
following companies are keeping up with this technology and reinventing
the process of presenting F&I menus to customers.
IAS
IAS’
SmartPad was designed to be used during the transfer from the showroom
to the F&I office. The application takes the form of a survey that
can be customized for individual dealerships to help F&I managers
shape their presentation before the customer enters their office.
Answers can be sent to the managers in real time and negative comments
(if any) can be flagged and addressed immediately. The SmartPad survey
is available on the iPad, most Android tablets and the Blackberry
Playbook.
The Impact Group
The Impact Group’s
FUSION and FS Presentation menus are were designed with flexibility and
simplicity in mind. Both offer paper and interactive presentation
capabilities and are supported by an array of sales and presentation
tools for each of the branded F&I products being offered. Any
payment parameter (term, rate, cash down, monthly/biweekly payment,
product), can be changed on the fly with instantaneous resulting
calculations. These current production versions are available on Android
tablets and the company reports that its next major release will be
accessible through any mobile device.
iTapMenu
iTapMenu is an iPad-exclusive menu application that was launched
in January with the goal of offering a customer-friendly and completely
transparent selling process. iTap is built on a patent-pending,
industry-exclusive “drag and drop” feature that allows the F&I
manager or customer to drag any product or group of products into a
“Customer Selections” column. The prices can then be recalculated so the
customer knows exactly how much they’ll be paying each month.
MaximTrak
Created in 1982, MaximTrak
has been adapting their business with technology ever since. MaximTrak
has a suite of products that are designed to make the F&I process
simple and quick for the customers. MaximTrak’s latest addition,
MOBILETRAK, leverages their entire suite of products and provider
connection and renders it completely mobile working with both the iPad
and Android tablet devices. MOBILETRAK is a highly interactive consumer
facing technology that customizes the sales presentation and the
payments all in real-time from the convenience of a tablet. This
application eliminates the need for inputting the same data in multiple
places because it was designed to integrate with all major dealer
management systems.
MenuSys
The standard offerings from
MenuSys
include desking, finance and service menus along with real-time
reporting and more. The tablet version of
MenuSys includes the
company’s touch-enabled finance menus. Drag-and-drop technology enables
F&I managers to move products between columns to create a customized
suite of offerings. Additional features include the ability to present
charts for select products, a customer interview interface and built-in
compliance tools.
OptionSoft Technologies
OptionSoft
Technologies came onto the F&I scene nearly 10 years ago.
OptionSoft’s interactive product and dealer videos were designed to
create a dealer-driven customer interview that supplies the F&I
manager with insights into the individual customers needs and ease the
customers’ concerns about the experience. This application is available
on the iPad and also includes video presentations and product
selections.
Ristken
Ristken offers
web-based reporting and menu platforms, collaborative sales tools and a
full suite of e-business solutions. The company is currently deploying a
multimodule, multiphase mobile platform designed to extend the existing
functionality of their ASP platforms while at the same time enhancing
and adding functionality that is specifically suited to leverage the
emerging mobile and tablet market. Ristken is certified with all major
DMS providers, and offers comprehensive training and client support.