DMS COMMAND
Intelligence for Commercial Dealerships
DMS COMMAND · APPLES-TO-APPLES COMPARISON · V5

What is your current setup really costing you — and what is it actually doing for you?

Add up what you pay across all your systems today, then compare the complete picture with DMS Command: real cost, coverage, data control, outage resilience, and verifiable security.
Sticker price ≠ real dealership cost
This calculator does not name competitors. You enter the real terms — of your current setup, or of a platform you are considering — and it compares the complete operating stack apples-to-apples. Answers you mark "I don't know" are counted and shown — they never silently help either side.

Your Current Setup

Use real bills and contracts — your DMS plus everything you pay for around it. If you do not know something, choose "I don't know" — the results will show how much of the comparison is unverified.
Just the DMS subscription itself — everything else you pay for gets added below.
$/ month
Include management, sales, accounting, service, parts, reception, and anyone else who reasonably needs access.
Heads up: Per-user pricing is one of the most common hidden costs. Until you verify it, the comparison assumes $0 for seats — the real number is probably higher.
Example: "$399 includes 3 users."
Example: $49 per additional user per month.
$/ user / month

What else do you pay for today?

Mark whether each function is included in the DMS price above or paid for separately. A dollar field appears only for separate bills.

Does your current setup charge extra for anything?

These are fees charged by the platform on top of the advertised subscription. A dollar field appears only when an extra charge applies. For usage-based fees (per text, per envelope, per minute), enter your best estimate of a typical month.

Contract terms

What it costs to leave before the contract ends. Enter $0 if none.
$one-time
Many DMS contracts include an annual escalator. Enter 0 if the price is locked.
% / year
Remaining implementation or contract payments. Usually $0 for a setup you already run.
$one-time

DMS Command

One rooftop price with unlimited users. Add only outside software or extra charges you would genuinely still need — the same rules apply to both columns.
Multi-rooftop dealer group? The Custom tier adds multi-location management, governance/SSO and a dedicated success team — pricing is quoted, so this calculator compares the three published plans.
Users: Unlimited for the rooftop. Adding another salesperson, technician, or office employee does not create another seat charge.

Would you still keep any outside software?

Same rule as the other column: a dollar field appears only when something really stays in your stack.

Any recurring extras on top of the plan?

Only real recurring costs not included in the selected DMS Command plan.

Contract terms

$one-time
% / year
Enter any one-time implementation, data migration, training, or setup cost for the comparison.
$one-time
Simple: We are not asking which monthly price looks smaller. We are asking what each option costs after the dealership has everything it actually needs to operate — this month, this year, and over the life of the contract.

What Do You Actually Get?

Tell the calculator what matters to your dealership. Critical functions count more than nice-to-have features. The comparison column starts out synced to your answers on the cost tab — change any row and it becomes yours. "Not sure" earns no credit and is counted as unverified.
The DMS Command column reflects the plan you are comparing: Synced with the plan on the cost tab.
Capability
Importance
Your Current Setup
DMS Command
Simple: A cheaper platform that covers only part of your needs may force you to buy other systems. This section measures how much of your required dealership stack each option actually covers. The DMS Command column is pre-filled from the plan selected on the cost tab — switch plans and it updates. Edit any row you want to challenge; your edits stick.

Is Your Data Really Yours?

Answer once for each platform. "I don't know" is always allowed — it earns no points and is counted as unverified.
QuestionYour Current SetupDMS Command
Simple: "You own your data" only matters if you can actually access it, export it, keep a usable copy, and leave with it.

What Happens If It Goes Down?

Answer once for each platform. "I don't know" is always allowed — it earns no points and is counted as unverified.
QuestionYour Current SetupDMS Command
Simple: Backups, disaster recovery, and offline operation are different things. This section asks what your dealership can still do when something goes down.

How Secure Is It?

Each security question appears once. Compare the other platform and DMS Command side-by-side. "Verified Yes" should only be selected when there is actual evidence — for either column.
Security QuestionYour Current SetupDMS Command
Rule: "Bank-level security" or "enterprise-grade security" earns zero points by itself. The calculator gives credit only when the control, audit, or certification can be verified — and DMS Command is held to the same standard.

Apples-to-Apples Results

How the sticker price becomes the real price

Your Current Setup — monthly stack, line by line
DMS Command — monthly stack, line by line

The numbers side by side

Your Current Setup

Current DMS price / month
Real comparable monthly stack
Weighted required coverage
First-year cost
Three-year cost
Contract / cost to walk away

DMS Command

Rooftop monthly price
Real comparable monthly stack
Weighted required coverage
First-year cost
Three-year cost
Contract / cost to walk away

Dealer Control & Resilience

Another platform verified score / 100
DMS Command verified score / 100
You've seen the cost. Now see the time.
Software is only half of what your setup costs you. The other half is the hours your team spends on repetitive work every day. Model it role by role — and compare it with the same DMS Command plan you just configured.
WHAT IS YOUR DEALERSHIP'S TIME WORTH? →
THE HONEST MATH STANDARD™

Why we show you every formula

Most vendor calculators are built to produce a number. This one is built to survive scrutiny. Every result on the previous tabs follows four rules, and we publish them because a comparison you can't check isn't a comparison — it's an ad.
Rule 1 — Unknowns earn nothing. Any answer marked "I don't know" scores zero and is counted openly, for both columns. We never assume credit in either direction.
Rule 2 — Claims need evidence. Security, data-control, and continuity points are awarded only for "Verified Yes." "Bank-level security" is worth zero points on this calculator — including when we say it.
Rule 3 — Only real bills count. Every dollar in the comparison is a price, seat charge, bill, or fee you entered from your own contracts and quotes — never an industry estimate we slipped in.
Rule 4 — Both columns play by the same rules. DMS Command starts unverified on every trust question, exactly like the other column. We earn points the same way anyone else has to.
One question to take with you: if another vendor shows you a comparison or ROI calculator, ask whether it follows these four rules — and ask to see its formulas. If they won't show you the math, you have your answer.

Cost & Capability

1. User / Seat Cost

Seat Cost = max(Employees Needing Access − Included Users, 0) × Additional User Price
Simple: If the advertised price includes only a few users, this calculates what access for your actual team costs. If you don't know the pricing model yet, seats count $0 — and the results flag it as unverified.

2. Real Comparable Monthly Stack

Advertised Price + Seat Cost + Separate Software Still Needed + Platform Extra Charges = Real Comparable Monthly Cost
Simple: This is the waterfall on the results page — how a sticker price becomes the real monthly number.

3. First-Year and Three-Year Cost

First Year = Monthly × 12 + One-Time Setup Three Years = Monthly × 12 × (1 + (1+e) + (1+e)²) + Setup where e = annual price increase %
Simple: Setup, migration, training, and annual price escalators count too. Dealers rarely get hurt by month one — they get hurt by year three.

4. Weighted Capability Coverage

Critical = 3 points · Important = 2 · Nice to Have = 1 · Not Needed = 0 Coverage = Points Covered ÷ Total Required Points "Not sure" = 0 points, counted as unverified
Simple: Accounting or service should count more than a small convenience feature if your dealership says they are critical.

Data, Continuity & Security

5. Verified Scoring

Verified Yes = assigned points No = 0 points I don't know = 0 points + counted as unverified Score = Verified Points ÷ Total Points × 100
Simple: Unknown does not mean bad. It means unverified, so the calculator refuses to assume credit — for either platform. The results page tells you exactly how many answers are still unverified.

6. Data Control

Ownership + Full Export + Machine-Readable Export + Dealer-Controlled API + Independent Backup / Export
Simple: "You own your data" only matters if you can access it, export it, keep a copy, and leave with it in a useful format.

7. Business Continuity

Disaster Recovery + Redundancy + Outage Access + Offline / Queued Operation Capability
Simple: What can your dealership still do if your internet, the vendor, or a cloud provider goes down?

8. Security

Independent Audit / Certification + Encryption + MFA + Role-Based Access + Audit Trail + Independent Security Testing
Simple: Security claims only count when there is something concrete behind them.

Golden Rule

Do not compare two dealership platforms only by their monthly sticker price. Compare the real stack cost, the life-of-contract cost, what each platform covers, who controls the data, what happens during an outage, and what security can actually be verified.