Desked Gross is the projected front-end profit a sales manager calculates when structuring a deal — before F&I products, holdback, or back-end adjustments are made. It’s the gross profit at the desk, often used to determine if a deal gets greenlit, held, or kicked back.
You might hear it like this:
“What’s the desked gross on that F-150?”
“They desked it at $3,800 but it won’t hold.”
“We need to protect that desked gross before we go packing it with product.”
Desked Gross, Where the Heck Does it Matter?
It matters before the ink dries.
Imagine yourself a Desk manager— You're playing Tetris in real time. Balancing customer expectations, sales goals, inventory pressure, and pay plans. Desked Gross is your quick-glance metric that determines if a deal makes sense on paper, before it hits finance or accounting.
It represents:
- Vehicle sale price minus cost
- Any added fees (like packs)
- Trade values and payoff
- Incentives applied
Notably:
It does not reflect:
- F&I profits (warranty, GAP, etc.)
- Reserve
- True back-end or post-delivery adjustments
Desked Gross vs. Front-End Gross — What’s the Difference?
Here’s how these two terms stack up:
- Desked Gross
- Calculated by: Sales Desk
- When: Before the deal is finalized
- Includes: Vehicle price minus cost, packs, trade values, and incentives
- Excludes: F&I products, reserve, holdback, and post-delivery adjustments
- Purpose: Used to greenlight or adjust deals and determine early commission potential
- Front Gross
- Calculated by: Accounting
- When: After delivery and deal is finalized
- Includes: All vehicle profit plus added F&I products (warranty, GAP, etc.) if counted
- Purpose: Used for official reporting and commission reconciliation
Desked Gross, Commissions, Who Cares?!
Sales pay plans often start with desked gross. That number determines if a salesperson earns a flat (mini) or qualifies for gross-based commission. If the desked gross is weak, the commission takes a hit — even if back-end profits look solid later.
That’s why understanding desked gross matters to:
- Salespeople trying to hit tiers or bonuses
- Managers evaluating deal strength
- Controllers reconciling commission reports
Now, get back to the desk and greenlight some deals before that ink dries.
