AutoPlayAuto.com Release Notes - Version 21.2.1 Released 1st March, 2021

AutoPlayAuto.com Release Notes - Version 21.2.1 Released 1st March, 2021

Lead Expected Registration Date (SPW-4563)

In 21.2.1 we've added the ability to add Expected Registration Date to your leads.  To add the field we've created a role called 'Lead Expected Registration Date'.  The role is an account wide, Dealer level role which enables the Expected Registration Date field on the Lead Detail, Lead Progress and Lead Close Won screens. 

There are several role attributes to control which lead this appears on including;
  1. New/Demo/Used Listings
  2. Make


The Expected Registration field is a Date picker but allows the selection of 'Months' only.  The field is used to forecast the eventual delivery of the vehicle and is mandatory when the lead is marked as Sold only (this is not available to be set in Mandatory fields - it is built into a requirement for the role).



With the role enabled clicking on SOLD Progress will result in the 'Expected Registration' field becoming visible. 



If the account is also using the Closed Won Validation role then this field will populated through to the validation popup with whatever details are available.  This field is visible within the AutoPlay Lead API as well as the Lead Audit Report.

Non-Retail Lead Tracking (SPW-4556)

In 21.2.1 there is now the ability to create specific Lead Sources as 'Non-Retail' by checking the 'Non Retail Lead' field when creating/editing Lead Source records.  This enables Dealers and Dealer Groups to track non retail leads such as Demonstrator, Pre-reg, Service Loan, Staff Drive Car, Corporate Partnership and Promotional Car leads and sales.

When leads are captured or loaded with a Lead Source marked as 'Non Retail Lead' these are able to be identified in the Lead Audit as a True/False value.  As of 1st March it is NOT available within reporting.autoplay.co.nz but will be added to the reporting filters in the month of March.  Dealer and OEM reporting will default to 'Retail' leads only, but users can filter to 'Non Retail' leads or both 'Retail' and 'Non-Retail' once the new filter is available at the end of March 2021.



Automation - New Timezone Setting (SPW-4514)

Prior to 21.2.1 Automation would automatically use the timezone set at the Company Level.  This functionality was fine for the majority of accounts within a single timezone, but was lacking for accounts with Yards located in different timezones (i.e Queensland, WA, NSW, Victoria etc).

The Automation screen now has a Timezone field that will default to the Timezone set up at the Company level.  All existing Automation records are defaulted to the Company Timezone.  If the account you are setting up Automation for has Yards with multiple Timezones you MUST set up multiple Automation records - each with their own timezone (Note - Automation will NOT pick up the Yard level.  It must be set within each Automation setting).

The Timezone set here controls the Blackout Periods.



Added 'Yard' As A Mandatory Field Option For Appraisal Forms (SPW-4534)

The Yard field has been added as an option in 'Mandatory Fields' within the My Company screen.  When ticked the Yard will be required in order to create a Appraisal Form within AutoPlayAuto.com.  This is not normally an issue for Appraisals attached to Leads as these always have a Yard specified.  However for users with the 'Standalone Appraisal' role the Appraisal may not always have a Yard.  In 21.2.1 if the user who creates the Appraisal has a 'Default Yard' set then the Yard will be automatically populated, and users can also set the Yard manually when creating a Standalone Appraisal that is not attached to a lead.



SMS Opt Outs For Australian Customers (SPW-4506 & SPW-4510)

Recently we discovered a default function in our Australian SMS Gateway where any member of the public who texts a reply 'STOP', 'UNSUB' or 'UNSUBSCRIBE' will automatically opt the customer out of receiving any SMS from any dealers using AutoPlay SMS services via the SMS Status flag in AutoPlayAuto.com. 



This meets Australian Opt Out requirements but did mean SMS would not send for Dealer A if customer had already opted out to Dealer B - as they both used the same AutoPlay SMS Gateway (note this happened rarely with only 0.15% of SMS attempts affected).  In 21.2.1 AutoPlay is now able to detect the specific dealer account the customer has opted out against and apply the automatic opt on just that account (Note - this does not affect Email Opt Outs)

When attempting to send an SMS to a customer that has Opted Out of SMS previously the user will receive a error validation letting them know that the SMS could not be sent due to the customer having previously opted out.  If the customer opted out and the mobile number for this customer record is modified the customer record will still be 'opted out' regardless of their new mobile number.



A record of the SMS failing to send due to being Opted Out will display in the Communications section on the Lead, in the SMS List and on the Automation history (where relevant)






The SMS Opt Out can be used in conjunction with Automation to alert the user via email or SMS using the trigger 'SMS/Email Failed To Send' to actually trigger a email or sms when a SMS has been sent but not delivered.  There are a few additional messages that have been added including;
  1. Empty message content
  2. Invalid mobile number
  3. Message too long to send
  4. Failed to send due to customer opting out (we block the SMS from sending when sending SMS but for historical opt outs it may attempt to send the SMS rather than blocking at point of creation)
  5. Other 

Added New NVIC / Model Code Field - AUS Only (SPW-4607)

In 21.2.1 there is now a NVIC / Model Code field available.  This field is currently only a number field with no attached lookup.  We are currently exploring whether we can utilise third party lookup services to retrieve this information but it is purely an alpha-numeric field as at version 21.2.1.  The character limit on the field is 20 characters.



Added 'Ignore Make' and 'Ignore Listing Status' To Similar Open Leads Matching (SPW-4547)

21.2.1 now has two new additional settings in the Similar Open Leads Matching setting in My Company.  These new settings allow Dealers to apply different logic to the automatic matching and lead allocation that occurs when similar electronic leads are capture and the account has the 'Possible Duplicate Lead' role (Read more about Similar Open Lead Matching HERE).
  1. Ignore Make - with this setting enabled any lead being considered as 'similar' will NOT take into account the Make of the primary listing on the lead.  If this setting is not ticked the Lead will need to be for the same Make to be considered a 'similar' lead in order to match and be allocated to the original lead owner.
  2. Ignore Listing Status - with this setting enabled any lead being considered as 'similar' will NOT take into account the Listing Status of the primary listing on the lead (whether the listing is ticked as New, Demo or Used).  If this setting is not ticked the Lead will need to be for the same Listing Status (New/Demo/Used) to be considered a 'similar' lead in order to match and be allocated to the original lead owner.  This means in order to match a lead on a New vehicle can only match with a existing lead on a New vehicle, Demo with Demo and Used with Used.




Added New Role Attribute To 'Manage Leads' Role To View 'Not Allocated Leads' (SPW-4363)

The default functionality for a non manager in the Manage Leads role is to only be able to view the leads they create, or those allocated to them - with no visibility of other leads or leads not allocated to a user unless they are a Manager.  In 21.2.1 we've added a new Role Attribute to enable accounts to be set up that allow non managers to view non allocated leads.

With more phone and chat leads being captured it is becoming more common to encounter leads that are unable to be allocated to a specific user.  In the past Managers would have to find these leads and allocate them - when some dealers wanted their sales teams to grab leads on first come, first served basis.  The default will remain, however if required the role attribute 'Can View Not Allocated Leads' can be enabled.



  1. Without Role Attribute Enabled = Non Managers can only view leads allocated to them
  2. With Role Attribute Enabled = Non Managers can view and edit leads allocated to them AND leads that are Not Allocated to any user
In scenarios where there are two or more Manage Leads roles for a given Yard with conflicting Role Attributes the role with the Role Attribute enabled will take priority.

Assorted Bug Fixes & Improvements

  1. Added 'Employee Loan Car Form' shortcut to the Listings screen (SPW-4590)
  2. Added an extra filter to Vehicle Registry for 'No Lead Attached' (SPW-4326)
  3. Fixed bug with searching Lead Source within Automation screen (SPW-4553)
  4. Fixed bug with Appraisal Vehicle Lookup accordion not dynamically updating show/hide icon (SPW-4551)
  5. Tightened up access controls with users being able to add Forms to Appraisals in view only mode (SPW-4513)
  6. Fixed bug with Yard Audit resulting in an error message (SPW-4512)
  7. Fixed issue with Leads where Privacy Policy is unsigned appearing in Privacy Policy Accepted Report (SPW-4581)
  8. Fixed bug with HTML T&C's not opening upon download from 'Edit Terms & Conditions' screen (SPW-4579)
  9. Fixed bug when sending SMS of Test Drive HTML T&C's to customer mobiles where scrolling was not functioning correctly (SPW-4584)
  10. Tidied up display of 'Update Linked Notifications' setting on roles where linked notifications do not apply (SPW-4486 & SPW-4490)
  11. Enabled Points Multiplier on Email Response and Overdue/Stalled AutoPlay Rewards KPI's (SPW-4580)
  12. Hide Opt Out and enable signing without specifying Privacy Channels for JLR dealers using Privacy Enhanced role (SPW-4552)
  13. Increased validation to prevent users from  marking Test Drive Forms with Start Times that are after the End Time (SPW-4285)
  14. Added a log entry to AutoPlay Rewards to record when points would have been awarded but for a Maximum Points Limit in the program (SPW-3999)
  15. Contact matching when using the Lead Allocation function has been modified to use normal AutoPlay contact matching rules with a customization to allow contact Phone, Email and other fields to be updated by the captured lead (SPW-4531)
  16. Added a 'Active' check box to the Lead Management screen to enable AP1 staff to set up and test Lead Management allocation in advance of training but only activate upon Training being completed.  All existing Lead Management records are set as 'Active' (SPW-4524)
  17. Modified Appraisal Approval Notifications to navigate direct to the Appraisal instead of the the Lead (SPW-4234)
  18. Fixed bug where updating the message seen when deleting Users prompting the update of any Lead Rotation setting (SPW-4272)
  19. Added a warning validation to the Listing screen when a listing is added where the Stock Number that exceeds Trade Me's 20 character limit (SPW-4139)
  20. Removed mandatory requirement to remove Users from Role Management when deleting User, and added new option checkbox on the Delete Users popup to control this (SPW-4364)
  21. Added 'Archive' function to Write Up Form screen to keep, but archive discontinued Write Up Form templates (SPW-3983)
  22. Added a 'Sort' to the multi select menus within AutoPlayAuto.com (SPW-2690)
  23. Refined Date Range selection in Sales Pipeline>Dashboard>Reporting to not show Date Ranges in reports that are current snapshots of locked by month (SPW-3966)
  24. Added new API Productisation Settings for Lead Type, Source, Campaign and Origin (SPW-4583)
  25. Added Lead API Productisation called 'Always Allocate To Listing Yard' to enable Yard matching in Lead API to use Listing Stock No instead of Yard ID/Ref/Name (LAPI-216)
  26. Set default Listing Type to new for Volvo NZ Sales Pipeline Reporting (REP-1438)
  27. New CSV report available on Privacy Policy Opt Ins  (REP-1402)
  28. Added new columns for break down by Email, SMS and Phone in the Communication Conversion Report (REP-1234)
  29. Created custom CSV Reports for measuring salesperson activity (REP-1397)