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A Meter in Fleetio is a catchall term that describes an odometer, hour meter, and auxiliary meter. Up-to-date meter data in Fleetio is used to track Vehicle usage, provide metrics that help monitor your costs, and trigger Service Reminders which have been configured with meter interval tracking.
Vehicles in Fleetio have a Primary Meter and an optional Secondary/Auxiliary Meter.
When a meter value, or Meter Reading, is entered into Fleetio, it's referred to as a Meter Entry.
This article covers the basics of setting your preferred meter measurements, how Fleetio validates Meter Entries, and more.
Configure Meter Measurement Units
In Fleetio, you can configure both account-wide and Vehicle-specific meters.
Fleetio allows for meter measurement units of Miles, Kilometers, or Hours. The meter display name for the Vehicle will reflect the selected meter unit.
| Measurement Units | Meter Display Name |
|---|---|
| Miles | Odometer |
| Kilometers | Odometer |
| Hours | Hour Meter |
Set your account preferences by going to your Account Menu and selecting Settings.
In General Settings, scroll to the Default Units section where you can select your default measurements.
For an individual Vehicle, click the More Actions Button on the Vehicle Details Page and select Edit Vehicle Settings.
Meter Settings can be set on this page. By default, the Secondary Meter is switched off.
If at any time you want to change your measurement unit settings, it's important to note that any existing meter readings will stay the same value, but the unit name will change. For example, if you have recorded a meter entry of 91,000 miles and you change the meter units to kilometers, the entry will now display as 91,000 kilometers.
Manage Meter Entries
After the initial reading has been recorded for a new Vehicle, Fleetio offers several ways to add and manage Meter Entries. You can manually add a single Meter Entry for a Vehicle, you can import a spreadsheet, or you can set up an integration. In most cases, customers use some combination of Meter Entry methods to manage meters.
TIP: Want to add or update Meter Entries? See Meter Entry - Add or Update. Need to know how to edit or delete an entry? See Meter Entry - Edit or Delete.
Require Meter Readings - Service & Inspections
To help ensure that meter entries are recorded frequently and accurately, you may require current meter readings on Service Entries, Work Orders, and/or Inspections.
TIP: Learn more in Require Meter Readings for Service or Inspections.
Meter Validation
Each Meter Reading is checked to ensure it fits in sequence based on validation rules:
- A current meter entry value cannot be less than any existing/past meter value
- A backdated meter value must be greater than the previous-dated entry and less than the next-dated entry
EXAMPLE: There is an existing Meter Reading for Truck #100. The reading took place on December 5, 2019, and the value was 190,245.
- If you record a reading with a date after December 5, 2019, the value must be greater than or equal to 190,245.
- If you record a reading with a date before December 5, 2019, the value must be less than or equal to 190,245 and greater than or equal to the previously dated entry.
Mark as Void
In some cases, there may be an incorrect Meter Entry already saved in Fleetio. When you attempt to save your next Fuel Entry or Service Entry, the meter reading you are trying to enter is rejected as invalid based on this incorrect history.
Marking the meter as Void will let you override the validation so that you can save the record. Adjust the previous incorrect meter reading, then come back and update this one to remove the Void entry.
Marking a meter reading as Void will skip validation.
TIP: Learn more in Meter Entry - Mark as Void, Un-mark as Void.
Date of Last Update
In order to help you keep your Vehicle meter readings current, Fleetio will highlight Meter Entries that have not been updated in over a month. Hovering over the field will reveal the date it was last updated.
NOTE: If a meter reading is displayed in red text on the Vehicle Details Page, this indicates there is NO meter reading recorded yet.
View Meter History
Each Meter Entry is saved and logged in the Vehicle's Meter History. History may be viewed for an individual Vehicle via the Meter History tab on the Vehicle Details Page or for all Vehicles by clicking Meter History under Vehicles in the Sidebar Navigation. Under the Meter History menu, you can also export the meter history list to CSV.
Bulk Meter Management
View and change Meter Entries for the entire fleet at once.
TIP: Learn more in Bulk Meter Management.
Secondary Meters
The Secondary Meter feature in Fleetio is great for any Vehicle with dual meter tracking or an auxiliary meter. For example, a crane may have an upper and lower unit with separate meters, or a Vehicle may have an onboard generator with its own usage meter.
For this secondary unit, you may either create a new Vehicle (if you wish to track an entirely separate set of specifications and maintenance services) or enable Secondary Meter tracking.
To enable a Secondary Meter:
- On the Vehicle Details Page, click the More Actions Button and select Edit Vehicle Settings.
- Click the checkbox for Secondary Meter and choose the appropriate measurement unit.
- Click the Save Vehicle button to save your changes.
TIP: After enabling the Secondary Meter, you may want to add Service Reminders to track services based on this meter's usage.
