Export your Autofindr vehicle register when you need an independent copy for your own review or longer-term storage. Before exporting, check that purchase amounts, itemised costs and completed sales are current. A file is only as useful as the records it contains.
Review the records first
Check vehicle descriptions, purchase dates and currencies. Look for missing repairs, duplicate expenses or a target sale amount mistaken for actual proceeds. If a vehicle remains unsold, keep that distinction intact rather than entering zero as though a sale had occurred.
For a completed sale, compare the recorded proceeds and date with your transaction records. Keep original invoices, receipts and supporting documents separately; the register export is an organised set of entered data, not a replacement for those originals.
Open the exported file carefully
After downloading, open the CSV in the spreadsheet application you use and inspect the first few records. Check that dates, currency codes, amounts and text descriptions are displayed as intended. Spreadsheet applications can interpret date formats or long identifiers differently, so do not assume the initial display is correct without checking.
Use a copy if you plan to change formulas or reorganise the data. Keep the original export intact so you can compare a later calculation with the downloaded record.
Preserve the meaning of amounts
Do not total different currencies together just because they occupy the same column. Group financial analysis by currency or apply a separately documented method in your own workbook. Also distinguish money actually spent from notes about future work.
For a quick check, select one vehicle and add its purchase amount and expenses by hand. Compare that result with your spreadsheet calculation. If it differs, investigate missing rows, duplicated amounts or import formatting before trusting a whole-register summary.
Export before retention expires
Register entries normally remain for two calendar years from their purchase date. A continuous Autofindr subscription lapse of 90 days can shorten that period. Use the expiry information in the app and keep records elsewhere if you need them for longer.
Do not wait for an expired record to become recoverable through an export. Download while access and retention still permit it. Store the file somewhere appropriate for purchase and sale information, avoid unnecessary sharing, and remove temporary copies you no longer need. Exporting a file does not alter the underlying vehicle record.
