Day one. Not year three.
You don't need customers yet. If you've already picked your dealer software, Carpay can be running before your first financed sale. Still deciding? Start with payments now and add the rest when you're ready.
Already running a lot? Skip to where Carpay fits →
- No customers or active loans required
- Customer payments land in your bank account the next business day
- You choose the day it starts
- No setup fee
Opening soon? Talk to someone who knows this business.
Tell us where you are. We will answer the practical questions and show you where Carpay fits — if it fits. You do not need to have it all figured out first.
We'll only use your details to talk to you about opening.
More than $1.2 billion in Buy Here Pay Here payments processed to date.
One sale creates two jobs.
You sell the car
Inventory, pricing, paperwork, delivery. That part is the same as any dealership.
You finance the customer
Instead of sending the deal to a bank or an outside lender, your dealership lets the customer pay you over time. Now you also need to know what each one owes, what has been paid, and what is late.
You manage the loan after the sale
Payments, reminders, account history, late customers. One account is easy. Fifty is different, and it starts thirty days after your first sale.
Build the lot in the order you will run it.
Get licensed
Licensing, bonding, location, insurance, inventory. The foundation goes first, and the exact requirements depend on your state.
Get ready to sell
Before the first deal: how you write the sale, how customers pay you, where that money goes, and which software you want to use.
Get ready to collect
Once you finance customers yourself, the work keeps going after the sale — collecting, reminding, and seeing who needs attention.
Some dealers find us after they already have a payment process they want to replace. New dealers get to skip that part.
The pieces to line up first
Carpay is one piece — not all of them.
Dealer license
Every state has its own process, fees and timeline. Start with the state agency that licenses motor vehicle dealers and work backward from its application and inspection requirements.
A bank account in the business's name
Customer payments have to land somewhere that belongs to the dealership, not to you personally. Open it early — it is often the thing holding up the first deposit.
Location and zoning
Make sure the property can legally operate as a dealership before you sign a lease. Rules for zoning, signage, office space, vehicle display and inspections vary by state and by locality.
Inventory and how you pay for it
Your own cash, a line of credit against the cars themselves — the trade calls that a floor plan — wholesale auctions, or some combination.
Insurance
Work with a broker who understands independent dealerships. What you need will depend on your state, your inventory and how you operate.
Dealer software
Writes the deal, prints the paperwork, and keeps track of what every customer owes you. The trade calls it a DMS. Pick it before your first financed deal — moving off one later means moving every account with it.
A way to get paid
Separate from the software that writes the deal. This is how customers actually hand you money afterwards — card, bank transfer, cash, in person or from their phone — and how it reaches your account. It is the piece dealers put off, and the one that gets expensive.
Working capital
Money to operate while your loans are still being paid off. You buy a car today and collect it back over a year or two, so cash goes out well before it comes back. How much you need depends on your state, your inventory and how fast you plan to sell — but running short here is the most common reason a new lot struggles.
Knowing the rules you will operate under
Most of what governs a lot after the sale — what you have to disclose, how you can collect, what notice you owe before a repossession — is set by your state. Your state's independent dealer association is usually the fastest way to find out what applies to you.
Working through this list? We will talk it through with you — no pitch.
Have someone call meStart with payments, or run the whole loan from day one.
Already picked your dealer software?
Carpay works with Wayne Reaves, Frazer, AutoManager, DealerCenter, IDMS, ValSoft and AMS. If you run one of those, Carpay can be set up before your first financed sale — so your first customer starts in the system you plan to keep.
Customer accounts, payments, reminders and funding can all be ready when you are.
Still deciding?
That does not have to hold up payments. Start with card and bank payments from your first sale, with the money in your account the next business day, and add loan management once you have chosen.
Because you are starting from zero, there are no old accounts to move or clean up.
Competitive processing rates, minimal software cost, and the first month of software free for every new dealer.
They pay from their phone.
The part you cannot control is whether customers actually use what you put in front of them. They do — and paying you is easier than driving to the lot with cash.
We had it in place before we sold the first car. Our first customer has never known anything else.
Walk through your first loan before you write it.
Thirty minutes, screen shared, on demo data — so there is nothing for you to prepare. Bring your opening questions.
- How a new customer account gets into Carpay
- How customers make payments
- How the money reaches your bank account
- What happens when a payment is late
- What you see and manage day to day
Or call 877-388-4265
A few things worth knowing first
Yes. You do not need existing customers or active loans. If you have already picked your dealer software, Carpay can be ready before your first financed sale. If you are still choosing, start with payments and add loan management later.
Carpay works with most of the systems independent dealers use. If you haven't chosen one yet, that's fine — you can still talk to us, ask questions, and start with payments while you decide.
No. You can start planning before your dealer license is finished. Before live payments can begin, the dealership and banking requirements do need to be in place — and we can help you work out when Carpay should fit into your opening timeline.
Yes, and most cash deals are not really cash. Down payments and balances usually come off a debit or credit card, and you need a way to take those from day one. Use Carpay for payments first and add loan management later if you start financing customers yourself.
No. You do not need any active loans to get started, and starting early is simpler — there are no old accounts, payment habits or systems to move over later.
It depends on where you are in opening, which software you choose, and whether your banking is ready. New dealerships are often simpler, because there are no existing customer accounts to move. We will map the timing with you.
Make loan #1 the easy one.
Tell us where you are in the process. We will help you work out what should be ready before your first financed sale — and whether Carpay belongs in the setup.
Or call us now — 877-388-4265