Streamline California DMV Filings with Our FairFax Software Integration

Processing Report of Sale (ROS) documents for the California DMV has long been a manual, time-consuming process for auto dealerships. The risks of typos, missed deadlines, and compliance errors are high, leading to frustrated staff, unhappy customers, and potential fines. Today, that changes. DealerClick is proud to announce our direct integration with FairFax Software, a trusted DMV business partner, connecting your dealership's DMS directly to the California DMV system.

The Problem

For years, California dealers have been bogged down by an inefficient, multi-step process for filing ROS documents. This creates several critical business challenges:

• Wasted Payroll Hours: Staff waste valuable time re-keying deal information into a separate DMV portal after already entering it in the DMS. These hours add up, directly impacting your operational budget.
• Serious Compliance Risks: A simple typo or a late filing for forms like REG 397 or REG 51 can lead to costly fines, failed audits, and unnecessary legal headaches.
• Operational Delays: The process of printing, scanning, and physically managing paperwork slows down every deal. This bottleneck means longer wait times for customers and a slower sales cycle.
• Poor Customer Experience: In today's market, buyers expect speed and convenience. Forcing them to wait for staff to complete manual DMV tasks is a major point of friction that hurts satisfaction and negative reviews.
• Lack of Visibility: When filings are done in a separate system, it's difficult to track their real-time status. This leaves your team in the dark and makes auditing your own processes a challenge.

The Solution

Our FairFax Software integration acts as a secure, high-speed bridge between your dealership's operations in DealerClick and the California DMV's official portal. By working with a certified DMV partner like FairFax, we eliminate redundant workflows, centralize your tasks, and guarantee compliance. With this new feature, you can submit all your Report of Sale documents and generate tags with a single click, directly within the DealerClick platform you already use every day.

Key Benefits

• Direct Report of Sale (ROS) eFiling: Electronically submit essential DMV forms (including REG 397, REG 51, REG 396, and REG 398) without ever leaving the DealerClick deal jacket. Why it matters: This keeps your staff focused in one system, reducing confusion and speeding up their workflow.
• Instant Tag Generation & Printing: The moment your ROS is successfully submitted, you can instantly generate and print official temporary tags. Why it matters: This eliminates a common source of customer friction and gets them on the road faster, boosting satisfaction and your dealership's reputation.
• Eliminate Double Entry and Reduce Errors: By using data directly from the deal, you remove the risk of human error from manual entry. Why it matters: This protects your dealership from costly compliance mistakes and ensures every submission is accurate from the start.
• Improve Efficiency and Save Time: What used to take F&I managers or title clerks minutes or hours can now be done in seconds. Why it matters: This frees up your team to focus on higher-value activities like finalizing more deals, managing inventory, and assisting customers.

How It Works

Getting started is simple. You'll need an active DealerClick account and your dealership's official credentials for the California DMV portal. Our support team can walk you through the simple, one-time setup process to link the two systems.

The workflow is designed to be seamless and intuitive:

1. Finalize Your Deal in DealerClick: Complete the sales process as you normally would. All required vehicle, customer, and deal data is already securely stored and ready to go.
2. Click "Submit to CA DMV": A new button within the deal screen securely formats and transmits the data to the DMV via the FairFax integration. The system validates the data to ensure it meets DMV requirements before sending.
3. Print Your Temp Tag: Upon successful submission, you will receive immediate confirmation directly in DealerClick and can print the official temporary tag for your customer on the spot.

Real-World Example

A multi-location used car dealership in the Los Angeles area was spending over 25 hours a week across all its rooftops on manual DMV paperwork. This led to frequent delays, and they faced two separate fines in one year due to minor filing errors. After activating the FairFax integration, their title clerks now process all ROS submissions directly from DealerClick in a fraction of the time. They have eliminated data entry errors, cut their time-to-delivery for customers by an average of 20 minutes, and freed up their staff to support the sales floor during peak hours. The general manager reports higher staff morale and improved customer satisfaction scores.

Conclusion

The FairFax Software integration is more than a new feature; it's a strategic upgrade for any modern California dealership. By automating your DMV workflow, you can reclaim lost hours, guarantee compliance, reduce operational costs, and deliver a superior customer experience. This powerful integration is now available to DealerClick customers and is essential for staying competitive in a fast-paced market.