Build What Your Dealership Needs
Builder API is a solution that enables dealers to build their own tools, reporting, applications, and workflows to compliment Lightyear’s Enterprise Retail Cloud DMS. It gives you real-time access to read and write to your dealership’s DMS.
“Founded by dealers and driven by dealer insights to inform our product development has moved to a whole new level by empowering our dealers to build their own solutions”
— Dave Apseloff, Director of Strategic Accounts
How Builder API works
Every Builder API package includes:
- A replication environment of your production database
- Read-only access to the replication environment through DealerBuilt direct access to PostgreSQL database, Standard APIs, FTP capabilities, and data export tools
- Write-only access to your production database through DealerBuilt Standard APIs
Lightyear data flows in near real-time to a replication database secured in a DealerBuilt AWS environment, your solution reads it through direct access to PostgreSQL and/or read-only access API, then your solution writes back to Lightyear’s production database through a write access API token per use case.
Why use Builder API?
Dealers can build AI communication tools that work with Builder API to help their dealerships become more efficient and their Lightyear Enterprise Retail Cloud DMS more effective.
Foundational strengths include:
- Enterprise-grade accounting across the entire dealership group – to drive standards
- Single name file across the entire dealership group – for one unified customer record
- Single vehicle file and single parts file across the entire dealership group, by location – for group-wide and store insights
- Modern REST APIs – with robust breadth and depth of data elements
- Advanced Access to data – Direct access to PostgreSQL database for read access for high volume/high cadence and a modern API for read/write for normal use
- Enterprise-grade security
Builder API is strictly for use with internally built solutions and not for data exchanges with third-party vendors. DealerBuilt has numerous third-party vendors today in the Certified Partnership program and is open to adding more based on dealer requirements. Vist the Certified Partners page for information regarding third-party vendors.
Builder’s Wall
Dealers are already building. Here’s what they’ve built.
Deal Jacket Review
What They Built
AI review of deal jacket audit for missing documents and signatures
Dealer Benefit
An immeasurable amount of man hours saved, faster funding, and fewer chargebacks
Reporting and AI Insights
What They Built
Business intelligence dashboards & reporting that can be queried (verbally or in writing) using AI
Dealer Benefit
Leaders get instant access to answers for questions that drive data driven decisions
Accounts Payable Automation
What They Built
Invoices arrive by email, get coded, imputed once and then sent to DMS to create, void, or pay
Dealer Benefit
Countless hours, keystrokes, and comparisons eliminated in a previously high-volume accounting entry process
AI Warranty Audit
What They Built
AI tool to speed claim preparation, complete documentation, ensure easier audits, and analyze before final human review prior to submission
Dealer Benefit
Empowering the warranty administrator with tools that saved $240,000 in annual third party costs
Automated Recon
What They Built
Recon time to line tracking for every car, starting with an automated RO creation at stock in and costs posting with RO close
Dealer Benefit
Every unit has a definitive start and stop to measure against, while saving teams countless hours in entry and paperwork
Security and your data
Security
Builder API is designed so that you control who has access to ensure what they build does not impact the speed of the production database for your employees.
- An API token for every solution’s use case
- Access limited to your approved networks
- Credentials shared through secure, one-time links
- Usage monitoring, with API tokens that can be independently suspended, rotated or revoked as needed
Who’s responsible for what
DealerBuilt protects your data inside DealerBuilt systems. Once data moves into your own solutions, your dealership is responsible for keeping it secure.
Builder API is strictly for use with internally built solutions and not for data exchanges with third-party vendors. DealerBuilt has numerous third-party vendors today in the Certified Partnership program and is open to adding more based our dealer’s requirement. Vist the Certified Partners page for information regarding third-party vendors.
Read the Builder API Product Terms
How to Get Started with Builder API
Meet
Discuss your use cases, the solution, the pricing, and receive a link to explore the Rest APIs.
Sign Up
Sign the Order, submit answers to a questionnaire for each use case where you name the solution, define the problem you are solving, add the APIs you expect to need, and share the impact it will have.
Kickoff
DealerBuilt will review the implementation logistics, collaborate on your use case and access needs, discuss the tools available to best suit your use cases, request database replication if requested, and request the API Tokens by use case. From initial order to Go Live is approximately three weeks, assuming a promptly scheduled kickoff.
What’s next for your dealership?
On another DMS?
See how Lightyear and Builder API give your dealership a solid foundation and enables you to build your own solutions.
Already on Lightyear?
Talk with our team about adding Builder API and what you want to build first.
Already building?
If you need to adjust your API token access or request a new API token for a new use case, just let us know.
Builder API FAQs
Yes. Builder API is strictly for use with internally built solutions and not for data exchanges with third-party vendors. DealerBuilt has numerous third-party vendors today in the Certified Partnership program and is open to adding more based our dealer’s requirement. Vist the Certified Partners page for information regarding third-party vendors.
An API (Application Programming Interface) allows read and/or write access to share data between two different software solutions
Yes. Many dealers use Builder API to power dealership AI tools leveraging your replicated database to read and your production API to write back to Lightyear based on your API Token.
The data you enter into our system is yours. The Builder API fee covers our team, our database replication, our API platform, direct access to the PostgreSQL database and security that enables you to build complimentary solutions. The data we license from OEM and vendors may have restrictions on use because that data is theirs.
Builder API has a monthly fee per store within a database. There is no setup fee as your team must be experienced in the use of the tools to utilize them. Contact us to discuss the solution and pricing. above.
You do, with your in-house team or an outside IT partner working on your behalf.
Typically, about three weeks from signature to Go Live.
Near real time, leveraging our DealerBuilt AWS environment.
Every solution gets its own API key, access is limited to the access you provide to your team, access is limited to your approved networks, and DealerBuilt monitors usage. Once data leaves DealerBuilt systems, your dealership is responsible for protecting it. See the Builder API Product Terms for more details.
Builder API is one part of what makes Lightyear the most open DMS in the industry. Lightyear Enterprise Retail Cloud gives dealers several ways to access their data:
- Standard reporting, included with Lightyear
- Custom reporting, for a one-time programming fee
- Business Intelligence, with advanced dashboards and reporting
- The Certified Partner Program, for third-party vendor integrations
- Builder API, with direct access to your PostgreSQL database and modern APIs to build your own tools
“Open” does not mean “free,” however. Builder API is a paid service that covers the infrastructure, security and support you need to build with your data.
No. Builder API is strictly for use with internally built solutions and not for data exchanges with third-party vendors. DealerBuilt has numerous third-party vendors today in the Certified Partnership program and is open to adding more based our dealer’s requirement. Vist the Certified Partners page for information regarding third-party vendors.
