Dealers First Financial was founded in 1998 to provide floor plan financing to independent car dealers in western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina. There was no software that could be purchased to manage the new company, so the company developed proprietary systems to manage its floor plan financing operation. Thus, the system is a culmination of 11 years of development and active use, having completed almost 40,000 vehicle transactions. Dealers First Affiliates licenses a software product named Tirekicker but more importantly provides training, education and consulting to floor plan financing operations. Dealers First Affiliates was created to make its software product, Tirekicker, and consulting services available to other lending institutions.