Welcome & Your First Day

What is EasyRecon?

EasyRecon tracks every car between the day you buy it and the day it hits the lot. That window — recon — is where time and money either get controlled or get wasted. EasyRecon puts the whole shop on the same board.

Here are the terms you’ll see on day one:

Term	What it means
Dealer group	Your top-level account. Owns one or more rooftops.
Rooftop	One dealership location.
Vehicle	Any car, truck, or SUV moving through recon.
Step	One stage in your recon workflow — like a column on a whiteboard.
Work item	A job on a car. Like writing it up on an RO.
Active Days	The days a car spent in the working portion of recon. Default window: Ready For Service through Photos. Configurable per rooftop.
Frontline	Terminal step. Car is retail-ready. Done.
Wholesale	Terminal step. Car is disposed of without retail prep. Also done.
Transparency Report	A public link showing one car’s recon history. Send it to the customer.
Readiness Light	The green, yellow, or red dot on a car card. Green = ready to show, yellow = close, red = still in shop.

Note

This glossary covers what you’ll see on your first day. More terms — Shot Clock, Variance, Holding Cost — show up in the page-specific guides.

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Sign in for the first time

You’ll get an email invite from EasyRecon. Open it on your phone or computer.

1. Tap the link in the email.
2. Set your password.
3. You land on the dashboard — your board. It may be empty at first. That’s fine.

If you don’t see the invite, check your spam folder. Still nothing? Email [email protected].

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Mobile or desktop — which to use

Both work. Most people use their phone on the floor and their computer at their desk.

	Mobile	Desktop
Best for	Moving cars, adding notes, running inspections, uploading photos	Setting up steps, inviting users, reading reports, approving work
Works offline?	No — needs a signal	No — always connected

Start setup on desktop if you can. It’s easier to type and configure. Switch to mobile once the board is running.

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Your first four things

You don’t have to do everything today. But these four tasks get your shop running fast.

Tip

You can do these in any order — but most shops do them top to bottom.

1. Set up your workflow steps — Tell EasyRecon how your shop moves cars. Go to Set Up Your Workflow →
2. Get cars in — Add your inventory manually or request an automated feed. Go to Vehicles →
3. Add users — Invite your team and pick their roles. Go to Admin & Help →
4. Move your first car — Tap a car, tap Move, pick the next step. Go to Set Up Your Workflow →

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Set up your workflow steps (1 of 4)

A step is a stage on your shop floor — made digital. Inspection, Repair, Detail, Photos. EasyRecon ships with a default workflow you can use as-is or change to match your shop.

1. Open the app. Tap Admin in the bottom nav or sidebar.
2. Tap Steps.
3. Tap Add Step to create a new one, or tap an existing step to rename it.
4. Drag steps to reorder them.
5. Tap Save.

For a full walkthrough — including time goals and terminal steps — see Set Up Your Workflow.

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Get cars in (2 of 4)

There are two ways to add cars: manually or with an automated inventory feed.

Add a car manually:

1. Tap the + button on the dashboard.
2. Enter the VIN. EasyRecon decodes the year, make, and model.
3. Confirm the details and tap Save.

Request an automated feed:

If your DMS or inventory software supports it, we can pull cars in automatically. Email [email protected] with your DMS or inventory provider name (vAuto, Dealertrack, etc.) and we’ll set up an automated feed for you.

Once a feed is live, new cars appear on your board on a regular schedule. No manual entry.

For more on adding and managing vehicles, see Vehicles.

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Add users (3 of 4)

Each person on your team gets their own login. They only see what their role allows.

1. Open Admin.
2. Tap Team.
3. Tap Invite.
4. Enter their email address.
5. Pick a role.
6. Tap Send Invite.

They’ll get an email to set their password. They’re in as soon as they sign in.

For a full breakdown of what each role can and can’t do, see Admin & Help.

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Move your first car (4 of 4)

Moving a car from one step to the next is the core action in EasyRecon.

1. Tap a car on the board.
2. Tap Move.
3. Pick the next step.
4. Confirm.

The car jumps to its new step. Anyone subscribed to that step gets notified. If a checklist is attached to the step, it opens before the move goes through — fill it out first.

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Add your first note

Notes live on the car. Your whole team can read them. Use them to flag problems, share updates, or leave instructions.

1. Tap a car.
2. Tap Notes.
3. Type your note.
4. Tap Send.

Type @ to mention a teammate by name. They get a notification right away. To notify a whole group — like everyone in Service or Parts — type @service, @parts, or @detail.

For pinning notes, AI summaries, and SMS notifications, see Notes, Mentions & Notifications.

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Where to go next

You’re set up. Here’s where to dig deeper:

• Set Up Your Workflow — Build the step flow that matches your real shop.
• Vehicles — Add cars, read KPIs, set deadlines, share the customer report.
• Work, Inspections & Checklists — Log jobs, run inspections, set checklist gates.
• Notes, Mentions & Notifications — Mention teammates, pin notes, set up SMS alerts.
• Labels, Vendors & Media — Tag cars, invite vendors, upload photos.
• Views & Reports — Switch views, read Command Center metrics, ask AI Reports.
• Admin & Help — Manage roles, configure your rooftop, and get unstuck.