Plates and registration fees
Track your dealer plate inventory, and find the registration and other fees that pre-fill on deals over on Deal defaults.
Your dealership owns physical dealer license plates (for test drives, transports, and audits), and your deals charge registration and other fees. Those are two separate places in the app — this page is about the plate inventory, and points you to the right place for the fees.
- Plate inventory lives at Settings → Plates. It tracks each physical plate: number, state, expiration, who has it, and the registration scan.
- The fees that pre-fill on a deal (doc fee, other fees, sales tax) live at Settings → Deal defaults — a separate settings page with its own how-to. There is no fee field on the Plates page.
The Plates page does not hold any dollar amounts — it is an inventory list only. To set the registration/other fees that show up on a deal, go to Settings → Deal defaults (see the end of this page). You can still override any fee per deal.
Open the Plates page
- Click your account control (your name and role) in the top-right corner of the dashboard.
- Under the Settings heading in the menu, choose Plates. (The same menu also lists Deal defaults, where the fees live.)
Anyone on your team can view the plate list (sales staff need to know which plate is where for a test drive). Only an Owner or Manager can add, edit, or remove a plate.
Add a plate
- On the Plates page, click Add plate (or Add your first plate if the list is empty).
- Enter the Plate number (required) and pick the State (required).
- Optionally set the Expiration date — the list warns you before it lapses.
- Under Where the plate lives, pick a location (a new plate defaults to your primary location).
- Under Currently with, choose who is holding the plate (see below).
- Optionally attach a Registration scan (PDF or image) and add Notes.
- Click Add plate.
A plate number must be unique within its state. If you try to add a plate that already exists for that state, you'll get a "Plate … already exists" error. (The same plate number in a different state is fine.)
Who is holding the plate ("Currently with")
The Currently with picker has three modes:
- Unassigned — the plate is in the office / not out with anyone.
- A teammate — pick a staff member. The plate shows their name on the list (tagged "staff").
- Someone else — type a free-text Name and Phone (for a mechanic, transporter, or anyone not on your team).
Picking a teammate automatically clears any custom name/phone, so you never end up with both.
Registration scan
The registration scan is optional. When you attach one it is stored alongside your other dealer documents (it reuses the same secure upload). On an existing plate, choosing a new file replaces the old scan; leaving it blank keeps the current one.
Edit or remove a plate
- On the Plates page, open the row actions menu (the "⋯" at the end of a row).
- Choose Edit to change any field, then Save changes.
- To retire a plate, choose Delete from the same menu and confirm.
Editing and deleting are limited to Owner and Manager roles. Deleting a plate removes it from the active list.
Read the plate list
The table shows every active plate with:
- Plate number and State.
- Holder — the teammate (tagged "staff") or custom contact currently with the plate, or "Unassigned".
- Location.
- Expires — the date, plus a colored badge when it's getting close:
- Amber when it expires within 30 days.
- Red when it expires within 7 days or has already expired.
Use the search box and the State filter to find a plate fast, and the column controls to show/hide columns or export.
Set the registration and other fees (Deal defaults)
The fees that appear on a deal — including registration-type charges — are configured under Deal defaults, not on the Plates page. Deal defaults has its own how-to page; here's the short version.
- Open your account control (top-right) and choose Deal defaults.
- In the Title issuing state card at the top, optionally set the Default issuing state — the state your deals are titled in, which drives which state's documents and fees apply. Leave it on — Auto (primary location) — to follow your primary location.
- In the Fees & tax card below, set the Default doc fee — pre-fills on every new deal.
- Set the Default other fees — use this for registration/tag, title, and similar flat charges that aren't the doc fee.
- Set the Sales tax rate (%) — your combined state + local rate, applied to the selling price.
- Toggle Trade-in reduces taxable amount on if your state gives a trade-in tax credit (most do; CA, VA, HI, and DC don't).
- Click Save defaults.
There is no field literally named "registration fee." Registration/tag charges go into Default other fees. Every default here just pre-fills a new deal — you can always change the amount on the individual deal.
The Default issuing state only offers states where you have a location. If the dropdown shows No state available, add a location with a state under Settings → Locations first. Florida is supported today; more states are added over time.
FAQ
Where do I set the price for registration on a deal?
Put your standard registration/tag amount in Default other fees under Settings → Deal defaults. It then pre-fills on new deals, and you can override the amount on any individual deal.
Why isn't there a fee field on the Plates page?
The Plates page is an inventory tracker for your physical dealer plates only — numbers, states, expirations, and who has them. All dollar amounts live under Deal defaults.
Can a salesperson add or edit a plate?
No. Sales staff can view the plate list so they know which plate is available, but only an Owner or Manager can add, edit, or delete one.
I get "Plate already exists" when adding a plate.
That plate number already exists for the same state. Check the list (filter by State) — the number may already be entered. The identical number under a different state is allowed.
How do I know when a plate is about to expire?
Set the Expiration date when you add the plate. The list shows an amber badge within 30 days and a red badge within 7 days or after it has expired.
What is the registration scan used for?
It's an optional copy of the plate's registration document, stored with your other dealer documents so it's handy for audits. Attaching a new file replaces the old one; leaving it blank keeps the existing scan.
Will the dealer AI change these fees or plates for me?
No — there's no plate or deal-defaults action the AI can run. The dealer AI can help you find and explain these settings (and walk you through them), but it can't add a plate or change a fee or default on its own. You make those edits yourself on the Plates and Deal defaults pages. (Even for the things the AI can change, it always proposes the change first and waits for your explicit "yes" before doing anything.)