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The Gravity Forms AutoConvert Integration Premium Addon connects your WordPress website directly to AutoConvert (the UK’s premier automotive finance CRM and lending management platform). With this add-on, motor vehicle dealerships, automotive finance brokers, and vehicle leasing specialists can capture high-converting online vehicle finance proposals and automatically submit full customer dossiers—including personal profiles, 3-year address histories, employment records, and vehicle loan terms—directly into AutoConvert’s underwriting pipeline via its secure REST API.

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1. Overview & Architectural Pipeline

In the automotive finance industry, lead capture speed and data precision determine conversion rates. Traditional manual entry of finance applications leads to broker bottlenecks, validation errors, and delays in lender underwriting decisions. The AutoConvert Integration Add-on eliminates friction by establishing an automated bridge between Gravity Forms and the AutoConvert REST API (https://api.autoconvert.co.uk/application/submit).

Here is how the automated workflow functions from customer inquiry to lender decision:

1. Lead Capture: Prospective car buyers fill out a vehicle finance or car loan inquiry form powered by Gravity Forms on your dealership or broker website.
2. Data Validation & Normalization: Gravity Forms validates mandatory underwriting fields—including UK postcodes, date of birth, residential tenancy status, and gross monthly income.
3. Automated Dispatch: Upon form submission, the add-on maps and packages the data into AutoConvert’s compliant JSON payload structure.
4. AutoConvert Ingestion: The application is immediately pushed to AutoConvert, triggering automatic credit score checks, lender cascade rules, and dealer CRM assignment.
5. Status & Entry Logging: A detailed transaction log with AutoConvert’s submission ID is stored within WordPress Gravity Forms entry notes for full audit compliance.

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2. Prerequisites & API Credentials

Before creating your first AutoConvert feed, ensure your environment meets the following requirements:

• WordPress: Version 5.8 or higher.
• PHP: Version 7.4 or higher (PHP 8.0, 8.1, and 8.2 fully supported).
• Gravity Forms: Core plugin version 2.5 or higher installed and active.
• AutoConvert Account: An active AutoConvert account with API access enabled (contact your AutoConvert account manager if you require API credentials).
• SSL / HTTPS: An active SSL certificate on your WordPress site to ensure secure financial data transmission over TLS 1.3.

Obtaining Your AutoConvert API Key

To connect Gravity Forms with your AutoConvert CRM account:

1. Log in to your AutoConvert portal dashboard.
2. Navigate to Settings → Integrations → API Credentials.
3. Generate or copy your AutoConvert API Key.
4. In WordPress, navigate to Forms → Settings → AutoConvert.
5. Paste your API key into the AutoConvert API Key field and click Save Settings.

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3. Step-by-Step Installation & Setup

Follow these steps to install and activate the add-on:

1. Download the gravityforms-autoconvert.zip archive from your GravityExtra My Account dashboard.
2. In your WordPress admin dashboard, navigate to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
3. Choose the ZIP file and click Install Now, then click Activate Plugin.
4. Navigate to Forms → Settings → AutoConvert to enter your license key for automated updates and support.

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4. Feed Configuration & Complete Schema Mapping

Gravity Forms interacts with AutoConvert through Feeds. Each feed determines how form fields correspond to AutoConvert’s finance application schema.

Creating an AutoConvert Feed

1. Go to Forms → Forms and select your car finance application form.
2. Hover over Settings at the top of the form editor and click AutoConvert.
3. Click Add New to create a new integration feed.
4. Assign a descriptive Feed Name (e.g., Primary Finance Proposal Feed).

A. Mapping Applicant Personal Details

AutoConvert requires verified identity data for applicant credit bureau verification. Map the following primary applicant fields:

• Title: Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms, Dr.
• First Name & Last Name: Legal name of the applicant.
• Date of Birth: UK automotive finance applicants must be 18+ (format: YYYY-MM-DD or DD/MM/YYYY).
• Marital Status: Single, Married, Divorced, Widowed, Co-habiting.
• Email Address & Mobile Phone: For instant SMS/Email notifications and proposal updates.

B. Address History Mapping (UK 3-Year Compliance)

UK motor finance underwriting regulations mandate a minimum of 3 consecutive years of verified address history. The add-on supports full mapping of current and previous addresses:

• Current Address: House Name/Number, Street, Town/City, County, and Postcode.
• Residential Status: Homeowner, Tenant (Private/Council), Living with Parents.
• Time at Address: Years and Months at current residence.
• Previous Address (if < 3 years): Prior street address and postcode to satisfy credit referencing criteria.

C. Employment & Income Mapping

Accurate affordability assessments require detailed employment data:

• Employment Status: Employed Full-Time, Part-Time, Self-Employed, Retired, Military.
• Employer Name & Job Title: Official company name and position.
• Gross / Net Monthly Income: Crucial metric for automated Debt-to-Income (DTI) calculations.
• Time with Current Employer: Duration in years and months.

D. Dependents & Driving License Mapping

Capture additional underwriting criteria required by automotive lenders:

• Number of Dependents: Financial dependents under 18.
• Driving License Type: Full UK License, Provisional, EU, International.

E. Vehicle & Loan Proposal Details

Link the finance calculation directly to the vehicle being purchased:

• Vehicle Registration (VRM): Registration number to pull vehicle specs automatically in AutoConvert.
• Vehicle Make, Model, Mileage, Year: Vehicle identifiers for valuation.
• Cash Price: Total vehicle purchase price.
• Deposit Amount: Customer cash or part-exchange deposit.
• Loan Amount / Balance to Finance: Net amount requested.
• Term (Months): Repayment schedule (typically 24, 36, 48, or 60 months).

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5. Conditional Logic & Multi-Branch Routing

Motor groups with multiple franchise locations or diverse finance products (PCP, HP, Lease Purchase, Subprime Finance) can dynamically control lead dispatch using Gravity Forms conditional logic:

• By Dealership Branch: Route proposals to specific AutoConvert instances based on selected dealership location.
• By Finance Type: Dispatch Hire Purchase (HP) leads to primary lenders and Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) leads to specialized funds.
• By Application Stage: Only transmit to AutoConvert once credit consent checkboxes have been explicitly acknowledged.

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6. Verification, Testing & AutoConvert Lead Confirmation

To verify your integration before going live:

1. Submit a test application on your front-end Gravity Forms finance page using realistic applicant information.
2. Navigate to Forms → Entries in your WordPress dashboard and open the submitted entry.
3. Check the Entry Notes on the right-hand panel to confirm that the AutoConvert submission returned a 200 OK response with a valid Application ID.
4. Log in to your AutoConvert CRM dashboard and verify that the contact and complete proposal appear in your incoming leads queue.

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7. Troubleshooting & Frequently Asked Questions

Common Error Responses

Error / Code	Probable Cause	Resolution
401 Unauthorized	Invalid or expired AutoConvert API Key.	Verify API credentials in Forms → Settings → AutoConvert or check your feed-level API key override.
422 Unprocessable Entity	Missing mandatory fields (e.g., DOB, address postcode, or income).	Ensure all required AutoConvert fields are mapped to required Gravity Forms fields in your feed settings.
Invalid Postcode Format	UK Postcode submitted with improper spacing or invalid regex.	Use Gravity Forms input masks or custom validation to ensure valid UK postcode formats (e.g. SW1A 1AA).

Frequently Asked Questions