Automotive solution

Invoice processing for automotive companies on Exact Online

In automotive, complexity is in identification. A parts invoice must link to the right vehicle, warranty costs to the right claim, leasing costs to the right contract. Glimps does that identification automatically from chassis number, license plate, and historical data.

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AP cockpit
Live overview
Automotive & dealers
Typical bottleneck
Vehicle linking

The invoice is clear; determining which chassis number or contract it belongs to is the work.

Main control
Warranty or customer

A warranty claim is posted differently than a customer cost. Wrong here, margin disappears.

Operational gain
Faster passthrough

Customers pay faster when costs are passed through faster — Glimps shaves days off.

Benchmark: Ardent Partners (2024) reported $9.40 average cost per invoice, 9.15 days processing time, 32.6% straight-through processing. Source

Context

How invoice processing looks in automotive & dealers

Automotive finance has its own language: chassis numbers, license plates, work order numbers, contract numbers, and warranty claims. An average single-location dealership processes 200–500 purchase invoices per month; a multi-brand or multi-location group quickly hits 1,000–3,000. Volumes are significant, but what drives real complexity is identification: which specific vehicle or contract does this invoice belong to? Without that linkage you can't pass through to the customer, can't steer per-vehicle margin, and can't correctly allocate fleet costs.

Warranty claims add another dimension. A parts invoice can be partly covered by the importer (factory warranty), partly by the customer (out of warranty or wear part), and partly by the dealer (goodwill). That split must be exact: a wrongly passed-through line costs margin directly or, worse, leads to invoice corrections weeks later that the customer no longer accepts. For leasing companies and fleet managers, the divide between reimbursed damage and unreimbursed wear is a daily source of administrative friction.

On top of that, many dealers run a Dealer Management System (DMS) for vehicle, customer, contract, and work-order administration alongside their accounting in Exact Online. The purchase invoice must bridge both worlds: chassis number and work order from the DMS or Exact Online vehicle administration, cost and VAT codes from Exact Online, and passed-through lines to the customer invoice. Without smart automation this remains manual work per invoice — at high volumes it quickly adds up to serious admin cost.

Glimps automates this identification and linkage. VIN extraction from invoice lines, automatic matching with vehicles and contracts in Exact Online (or via API with the DMS), splitting of warranty claims per importer rules, and passthrough prepared for customer invoicing. Result: a dealer or leasing company shifts AP work from manual data entry to exception management, and finance sees real-time workshop and fleet margin per vehicle.

Does this match your situation?

Where this solution fits — and where it doesn't

Good fit
  • You process parts, warranty, or workshop costs that are posted per vehicle or customer.
  • Fleet or leasing cost invoices must link to the right vehicle or contract.
  • You work with multiple brands, importers, or dealer locations.
Less relevant
  • You don't use vehicle or contract administration in Exact Online or a linked DMS.
  • You mainly process simple cost invoices.

Process design

From intake to controlled posting

Glimps handles the routine so finance can focus on the exceptions — not the data entry.

01

1. Parts or workshop invoice

Glimps extracts chassis number, license plate, part numbers, and labor hours from invoice lines.

02

2. Link to vehicle or customer

The right vehicle or customer is found via chassis number, license plate, or customer reference.

03

3. Determine warranty or customer

Importer warranty rules, claim status, and contract data determine whether to pass through.

04

4. Post to Exact Online

Posted per vehicle or contract with correct VAT and passthrough status.

Where things get stuck

The real value is in the exceptions

High-volume AP automation only pays off when it is clear what can flow through safely — and what must be reviewed by a human.

Focused on exceptions, not data entry

Many different suppliers

Importers, parts wholesalers, tires, tools, body shops, cleaning, marketing, leasing — typically 80–200 active suppliers per dealer. Each with their own format. Classical OCR requires templates per supplier; Glimps works directly via semantic extraction.

Splitting warranty claims

Importer covers factory warranty, insurance covers damage, customer pays wear, dealer absorbs goodwill. Each claim is complex and the actual split is an operational decision for workshop or finance administration, not invoice processing itself.

Fleet and leasing costs per vehicle

Insurance, maintenance, fuel, damage, tires, cleaning — all to be linked per vehicle and contract. As long as vehicle and contract administration is available on the Exact Online side, Glimps can post the invoice to the right cost object.

VIN and license plate at line level

One invoice can contain parts for 5+ vehicles. Every line must link to the right vehicle separately. Glimps extracts VIN, license plate, and work order number per line from invoice descriptions.

Workshop passthrough to customer

Parts and labor the workshop purchases for a specific customer repair must pass through to the customer invoice. Not passing through costs margin directly. The linkage between purchase invoice and customer invoice typically runs via work-order number in Exact Online.

DMS-Exact Online linkage

Vehicles, customers, and work orders are often maintained in a Dealer Management System (DMS) while accounting lives in Exact Online. Without structured linkage between the two, systems drift out of sync — especially on price changes or work-order corrections.

Deep dive

VIN, license plate, and work order recognition on invoice lines

Linking parts, damage, and workshop invoices to a specific vehicle is fundamental in automotive. Glimps does this semantically at line level.

A Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is a 17-digit code that uniquely identifies every vehicle in the world. On a parts invoice the VIN often appears in the line description alongside work order number and license plate — e.g.: "Brake pads VW Golf 7, VIN WVWZZZ1KZAW123456, WO-2026-04823, plate 12-AB-CD". For accounting, that line must link to the right vehicle in Exact Online or the DMS, or you can't pass through or track margin.

Glimps uses semantic extraction to pull VIN, license plate, and work order from invoice lines — without IT having to set up templates per supplier. A parts supplier like Stahlgruber, a body shop like Schadenet, or a tire importer like Bandengarant: each uses their own format, but Glimps recognizes patterns at line level without configuration. With multiple vehicles on one invoice (often the case with wholesalers) every line is classified separately.

When vehicle and work-order data is available in Exact Online (directly or via a DMS connector), Glimps can match the extracted VIN, license plate, or work-order number against that master data. No match? Glimps routes the invoice to the workshop manager for manual assignment — faster than working through the whole invoice, just confirming the match.

For dealers running a DMS alongside Exact Online: as long as vehicle and contract administration is also available in Exact Online (directly or via a sync between DMS and ERP), Glimps can match against that data. For your specific setup — which DMS, how the sync runs — we are happy to advise.

Concrete exceptions

How Glimps handles the cases that would otherwise stall

Scenario 1

Parts invoice without chassis number

What Glimps checks

Work order, part number, customer reference, prior bookings, date vs open WO.

Action

Propose vehicle from patterns or route to workshop for assignment.

Scenario 2

Damage invoice without insurance claim reference

What Glimps checks

Work-order linkage, invoice text, prior bookings.

Action

Route to damage administration for claim linkage.

Scenario 3

Work order closed but invoices still arriving

What Glimps checks

Work order status, date overlap, previously billed.

Action

Reopen work order or escalate to workshop manager.

Software ecosystem

How Glimps fits in your software stack

Glimps works natively with Exact Online including the Vehicle, Customer, and Project modules automotive uses for vehicle, contract, and work-order administration. For dealers and garages running vehicle registration in Exact Online, this is the natural integration without detours.

For dealers with a DMS alongside Exact Online: vehicle and work-order data stays in the DMS where workshop and sales operate; purchase invoice and posting flow via Glimps and Exact Online where finance operates. The dependency is that the relevant vehicle, contract, and work-order data is also available in Exact Online — often already the case because many DMS systems sync this with accounting.

Importer warranty-claim portals output PDF invoices that Glimps can read via the same semantic extraction as other invoice formats. The actual claim administration and submission to the importer remains a process the workshop or finance administration runs themselves.

For leasing and fleet management companies, fleet maintenance, contract changes, and damage handling stay in existing fleet management software. Glimps focuses on incoming purchase invoices — invoices are captured and posted to cost objects in Exact Online. The dependency is that relevant vehicle and contract data is also accessible in Exact Online.

Business case

What it delivers for automotive & dealers

Scenario

Multi-brand dealer with 3 locations, ~1,200 invoices/month, integrated DMS, and 2 FTE finance.

Manual time per invoice (incl. VIN linkage + warranty split)6–10 minutes
Time per invoice with Glimps45 sec for exceptions
Monthly time saved~140 hours (≈1 FTE)
Prevented warranty mis-administration€15,000–€40,000/year
Faster customer invoicing (1–3 days × 1,000 invoices)Working capital acceleration €30,000–€90,000
Glimps Business€399/mo = €4,788/yr
Net annual savings, year 1€55,000–€100,000
Payback

Payback typically within 4–6 weeks. For multi-brand dealers and leasing companies, the combination of workshop margin insight, warranty correctness, and faster customer invoicing is the three-stage acceleration most AP investments don't deliver. Below 500 invoices/month Glimps Professional works fine without DMS integration.

Exact Online setup checklist

The prerequisites to get this solution into production.

  • Vehicles and contracts in Exact Online or linked DMS.
  • Importer warranty rules per brand documented.
  • VAT rules for parts and labor correct.
  • Approval matrix per dealer location or workshop manager.

What Glimps automates for you

The concrete parts of the process Glimps takes off your hands.

  • VIN, license plate, and work-order number recognition on invoice lines.
  • Match against vehicle and contract administration when available in Exact Online.
  • Route to workshop manager when linkage is missing.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Specific questions about this solution for automotive & dealers.

Want to see it yourself?Open the demo

Yes. Glimps recognizes VIN codes, license plates, and work order numbers and links them to vehicles in Exact Online or a linked DMS.

Our native integration is with Exact Online. For specific DMS connections we use API integrations — contact us for your setup.

Glossary

Terms you'll encounter daily in automotive & dealers

VIN (Vehicle Identification Number)
17-digit unique vehicle code, internationally standardized. Central for linking invoices to specific vehicles, warranty claims, and passthrough.
DMS (Dealer Management System)
Dealer-specific ERP tracking vehicles, customers, contracts, and work orders. Usually requires a linkage with accounting (Exact Online) so vehicle and contract data is available on both sides.
Work order number
Unique code for a specific repair or maintenance job. Used to bundle parts and labor costs for one customer or vehicle.
Factory warranty
Manufacturer warranty via the importer, typically 2–4 years or 60,000–100,000 km. Glimps splits covered from non-covered costs automatically.
Goodwill
Voluntary dealer or importer contribution to an out-of-warranty repair to maintain the customer relationship. Requires separate posting to keep per-vehicle profitability visible.
License plate linkage
Automatic matching of an invoice or invoice line to a vehicle based on the Dutch license plate. Glimps uses this as a secondary signal alongside VIN.
Parts invoice
Invoice from a parts supplier (Stahlgruber, Mister Auto, Bosch Service, importer parts). Typically contains VIN, work order number, and specific part numbers.
Damage claim
Repair cost from external damage covered partly or wholly by insurance. Requires split between customer, insurer, and possibly dealer goodwill.
Operational vs financial lease
Operational lease: lessee uses the vehicle, lessor remains owner and handles maintenance. Financial lease: lessee becomes economic owner and handles maintenance. Different passthrough regime per type.
RDW
Dutch Vehicle Authority. Central Dutch agency for vehicle registration, license plates, and type approvals. Source of official vehicle data in Glimps integrations.
Aftermarket / Independent shop
Garage without dealer brand affiliation, working across multiple brands. Warranty claim flow typically runs via insurer or customer, not via importer.
Margin per vehicle
Workshop revenue minus direct costs (parts, labor, external specialists) per individual vehicle. Central steering metric for dealers; requires exact VIN linkage of every cost item.

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Ready to automate automotive & dealers?

Open the demo to see Glimps in action, or check what a Professional plan looks like for your volume.

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