What Variance Reports Show
After scanning, ScanIt Vehicles checks your scans against your DMS records. It then builds a variance report. This report is the core of the count. It shows where your lot count differs from your records.
The report has three groups:
- Matched vehicles — In your DMS and found on the lot. Confirmed present.
- Not scanned (missing) — In your DMS but not scanned. These need to be looked into.
- Extra vehicles (not in DMS) — Scanned on the lot but not in your DMS. May be new arrivals, trade-ins, or vehicles from another store.
Finding Missing or Moved Vehicles
The "not scanned" group is where the biggest issues show up. For each one, figure out why:
- Check the transit list — Is it out on a test drive, at auction, in service, or being shipped? Check your pre-count transit list.
- Check if sold — Was it sold but not yet removed from DMS? Ask sales and F&I.
- Re-walk the lot — Some missing vehicles just parked in a wrong spot. Use GPS to check the last known spot.
- Check other stores — It may have been moved to another lot without a transfer being logged.
- Escalate if truly missing — If you can't find it after all checks, tell management right away.
Checking Scan Results vs. DMS
This step explains every gap and fixes your records:
- Update sold vehicles — Remove sold ones from your DMS if the sale wasn't posted yet
- Post new arrivals — Add scanned vehicles that weren't in your DMS (new ones, trade-ins)
- Log transfers — Make transfer records for vehicles found at the wrong store
- Note exceptions — Log vehicles in transit, at body shops, or away for good reason
- Confirm the final count — Once all gaps are explained, your scan count should match your DMS count exactly
Exporting to Excel for Audits
Send any variance report to Excel. This is great for sharing with auditors, managers, and finance:
- Build the report — Once all zones are done, run the full variance report.
- Click "Export to Excel" — The system makes a sheet with all three groups (matched, missing, extra).
- Add notes and sign-offs — Use Excel to add notes for each gap and columns for manager sign-off.
- Save the report — Keep it on file. Most stores save count records for at least 18 months.
Color-Coded Reports
ScanIt Vehicles uses colors to make reports easy to read at a glance:
- Green rows — Matched. Vehicle is on the lot.
- Red rows — Missing. In the DMS but not scanned.
- Yellow rows — Extra. On the lot but not in the DMS.
- Blue rows — In transit or expected to be away.
These colors stay when you export to Excel. Printed reports read just as easy as on-screen ones.