Why Is an Invoiced Vehicle Sale Not Showing on My Profit and Loss?

When a vehicle sale has been invoiced in Navigator, you might expect the sale and its associated profit to appear immediately on your Profit and Loss report.

However, invoicing a vehicle does not necessarily mean the sale has been fully recognised in your Profit and Loss.

While the vehicle deal remains open, the vehicle's purchase value remains in Vehicle Stock, and the invoiced sale is held in Sales Suspense. Both are Balance Sheet accounts.

The sale and its associated cost are transferred to the appropriate Profit and Loss accounts when the vehicle deal is closed.

This guide explains how the process works, why a sale may not yet appear in your Profit and Loss and what you should check.

Why is the vehicle sale not appearing?

In Navigator, invoicing and closing a vehicle deal are separate stages.

When a vehicle is invoiced but the deal remains open:

• The vehicle's purchase value remains within Vehicle Stock on the Balance Sheet.

• The invoiced sale is held within Sales Suspense on the Balance Sheet.

• The sale and associated cost have not yet been transferred to their final Profit and Loss accounts.

This means a vehicle can have been invoiced to a customer without the sale appearing in the Profit and Loss.

The vehicle deal must be closed before the associated sale and cost of sale are normally recognised in the Profit and Loss.

What happens when a vehicle deal is closed?

When the vehicle deal is closed, Navigator processes the accounting entries required to move the vehicle's value and sale from the Balance Sheet to the Profit and Loss.

This involves two main movements.

1. Vehicle stock moves to Cost of Sales

When the deal closes, Navigator:

• Credits Vehicle Stock to remove the vehicle's value from stock.

• Debits Cost of Sales to recognise the associated vehicle cost.

2. Sales Suspense moves to Sales

Navigator also:

• Debits Sales Suspense to clear the invoiced sale from the temporary account.

• Credits Sales to recognise the vehicle sale.

These movements allow the vehicle's sales income and associated costs to be reflected in the Profit and Loss.

Example: How a vehicle sale moves through Navigator

For example, a dealership purchases a vehicle for £10,000 and sells it for £12,000.

For simplicity, this example excludes VAT, preparation costs and other charges.

This is why an invoiced vehicle may not immediately contribute to the profit shown in your financial reports.

How to identify invoiced vehicles that have not been closed

Step 1: Review the Pipeline Profit Report

The Pipeline Profit Report can help you identify vehicle deals that have been invoiced but are still awaiting closure.

1. Open the Pipeline Profit Report in Navigator.

2. Select the relevant reporting criteria.

3. Review the vehicles included in the report.

4. Identify any invoiced vehicle deals that remain open.

5. Check whether these deals are ready to be closed.

This helps explain why certain sales may not yet be reflected in your Profit and Loss.

Step 2: Check that all vehicle costs have been recorded

Before closing a vehicle deal, ensure all relevant costs have been correctly allocated.

These may include:

• Vehicle purchase costs.

• Preparation and refurbishment costs.

• Any other applicable costs associated with the vehicle sale.

This is important because closing a deal before all costs have been recorded could result in incomplete or inaccurate profit figures.

Step 3: Close the vehicle deal when ready

Once the vehicle deal has been fully processed and all relevant costs have been recorded, it can be closed using your dealership's normal vehicle administration procedure.

Closing the deal allows Navigator to process the associated accounting movements and recognise the sale and cost of sale in the appropriate nominal accounts.

Important: Do not close a vehicle deal prematurely simply to make the sale appear in the Profit and Loss. The deal should only be closed when it is genuinely ready.

Step 4: Review the Profit Report and Profit and Loss

After the deal has been closed:

1. Run the relevant Closed Profit Report.

2. Locate the vehicle and review its recorded profit.

3. Run the Profit and Loss for the appropriate accounting period.

4. Check that the sale and associated costs have been reflected in the financial results.

Remember that the Profit and Loss includes other transactions and adjustments, so its overall totals may not directly match an individual vehicle's profit.

What if the vehicle has been closed but the sale is still missing?

If the deal has been closed but you cannot identify the expected accounting entries, check the following:

1. Company: Confirm you are reviewing the correct accounting company.

2. Reporting period: Ensure the Profit and Loss covers the period in which the deal was closed.

3. Deal status: Confirm the vehicle deal has been fully closed.

4. Sales Suspense: Check whether an outstanding balance remains against the vehicle.

5. Nominal transactions: Review the relevant accounting entries to determine whether the sale and cost have been posted as expected.

If you cannot explain the difference, contact the Navigator Helpdesk for assistance.

Avoid posting manual journals simply to force the sale into the Profit and Loss without first identifying why the expected entries are missing.

Summary

An invoiced vehicle sale will not necessarily appear immediately in your Profit and Loss.

While the vehicle deal remains open, the purchase value is held in Vehicle Stock and the sale is held in Sales Suspense, both on the Balance Sheet.

When the deal is closed, Navigator transfers the relevant values to the Sales and Cost of Sales accounts, allowing the vehicle's profit to be recognised.

If a sale appears to be missing from your Profit and Loss:

1. Check the Pipeline Profit Report for invoiced but unclosed deals.

2. Confirm all vehicle preparation and associated costs have been recorded.

3. Ensure the deal has been closed when genuinely ready.

4. Review the Closed Profit Report and the relevant Profit and Loss period.

5. Contact the Navigator Helpdesk if the accounting entries cannot be explained.

The key distinction is that invoicing a vehicle and recognising its profit in the Profit and Loss are separate stages of the vehicle sales process.