Getting Started Guide

The getting started guide is split into sections which each have multiple steps. You don't need to complete everything so just skip any steps which you don't feel are relevant to you.

Starting Tip
Every section you visit in MotorDesk will have a Help icon in the top-right with a detailed set of instructions for that section.

1. Business Details

Go to Business -> Business Details
Make sure your business details are up to date. Your registered business address will be locked to the verified address - you can add a different showroom address and options are provided to hide your registered address.
Go to Business -> Contact & Social Media
Add your contact details and social media accounts.
Go to Business -> Opening Hours
List your opening hours, and add any 'irregular opening hours' for dates like Christmas.
Go to Website -> Branding -> Logo and Website -> Branding -> Icon
Upload your business logo - note the optional light background logo will replace the default logo on paper-based documents like invoices. Also add your business icon which will appear on the web/social media alongside links to your website.
To have your logo appear on your photos of vehicles, upload your logo under 'Branding' in your Business -> Image Branding section.
Go to Business -> Payments & Invoicing
Add your bank account details for customer payments and customise the invoices that MotorDesk generates for you.

2. Website & Branding

Go to Website -> Template
Pick a template for your website - this provides a starting point for you to customise to suit your brand.
Go to Website -> Branding -> Colours, Website -> Branding -> Fonts and Website -> Branding -> Styles
Assign your brand colours to the website, choose your preferred fonts and add further personalisation.
Go to Website -> Header and Website -> Footer
Customise your website header and footer, and adjust what information they display.
Go to View Website
Have a look at your website, you may want to go to Vehicles -> Add Vehicle and follow the process to publish a vehicle to your website (sales channel) so you can explore the website's vehicle content.
You can add further pages and navigation links to your website in the Website -> Pages and Website -> Navigation sections, but try to make sure you're happy with your template before doing so as some changes will be lost if you change the website template.

3. Third-Party Services

Go to Business -> Connect Services
Browse the different tabs where you can connect third-party services for:
Go to Business -> Sales Channels
Connect the websites and marketplaces where you'd like to list your vehicles. This includes services like AutoTrader, CarGurus and MOTORS which you can connect from the Add Sales Channel section.
Go to Business -> Social Networks
Connect your social media accounts, then create post templates and choose posting times for automated social media posts.

4. Staff, Products & Documents

Go to Business -> Users & Roles
You can choose individual staff access levels under Roles & Permissions to limit what they have access to.
 
This is a good time to install MotorDesk's apps on your devices. Search for 'motordesk' in your App Store or click the links below:
Go to Sales -> Products
Prepare your pre-defined products and services database for faster invoicing.
Go to Sales -> Documents
Upload your documents ready to send to customers with optional eSign process - this is ideal for finance compliance and even documents like warranty terms.

5. Explore, Play, Reset

Go to Vehicles -> Add Vehicle
Follow the steps right through to publishing it for sale on your Sales Channels - the top sales channel is your website.
Go to View Website
View the vehicle on your website and make an enquiry, such as requesting a callback.
Go to Sales -> Leads & Chat
Answer the enquiry - you can also jump to the lead by clicking on the notification you'll receive from step 2.
Go to Vehicles -> Browse Vehicles
Go through the steps to sell the vehicle by clicking the 'Sell Vehicle' button either on the right-hand side next to the vehicle in the Browse Vehicles section, or by clicking onto the vehicle and choosing the 'Sell Vehicle' option at the bottom of the vehicle menu. Create an invoice, issue, then mark it as paid at which point the vehicle is sold but still on premises. Finally return to the sell vehicle section and mark the sale as complete to confirm the vehicle has now been handed over to the customer.
Go to Contact Support
Once you've completed these steps and are happy with the process, contact support to reset your account and to prepare to go live!
Resetting your account removes any vehicles, leads, customers, invoices, orders and purchases which you've created, but won't affect your website and business set-up. This allows you to test everything and then remove the test data before you go live.

6. Go Live

Go to Vehicles -> Import Vehicles
Add your vehicles in bulk, or contact support to discuss importing from third-party sources including AutoTrader and AA Cars.
Go to Business -> Domain Name
Follow the steps to transfer your domain, or register a new domain. If you're concerned about disruption to a live website/email please contact support to coordinate the transfer.
If you have existing email accounts with a third-party service like Gmail or Outlook please notify support before you transfer the domain and we can ensure the email service is not disrupted. Note, when using third-party email you will lose the ability for MotorDesk to receive emails into the Leads & Chat system which includes leads from AA Cars, Motors and CarGurus - MotorDesk will still be able to send emails for you.
Go to Business -> Email Accounts
If you're using MotorDesk hosted email you can add and manage your email accounts. Select Access Webmail as an urgent solution, or select Set-Up Instructions for guidance setting up your email accounts on your devices. Contact support if you'd like to copy emails from your previous email service.
Go to Business -> Plan & Usage
Add your payment method to ensure your MotorDesk account isn't disrupted at the end of your free trial.

Congratulations! You've now finished the getting started guide and should be live with MotorDesk! There's still plenty of great features which we've not covered such as Follow-Ups and Checklists - please continue to explore the platform, and remember to select the Help icons for additional guidance.