▶ Costs > Readings
There are 3 ways of entering meter Readings in Moderan. Here We'll go through step by step guides on importing your meters manually, with an Excel template, or using custom integrations.
Adding readings manually
If you have entered all meters in Building settings > Enable meters, all Individual, Shared and Main meters are displayed in the Readings page. Here you can edit each line and add Previous and Current readings — the program will automatically calculate the Usage. For Main meters you can simply add the Usage.
When creating the next cost period, the Previous readings are copied from the period before and only the Current readings need to be added.
Import readings using Moderan Excel template
In Moderan you do not have to enter every single meter reading manually — you can upload the meter readings in bulk.
- Get the readings data from your meters.
- Fill in this info into our Excel template.
- Upload it to make a record into the database.
- Add them to your Costs from this database.
- That's it!
Now these readings are in your Moderan calculations.
Each action is illustrated below:
Step 1. Create or select a period to upload your Readings
At the end of each month, meter readings are normally ready — and you can import them (you can also add readings at any other time, on a random date, mid-month, etc.).
When you import readings, the data will be stored in the Readings database. From this database you can further add Readings data to the Costs period calculations.
If you enter a new reading for the same building, meter ID and date, it will overwrite the previous reading figure for that date!
To start, go to Costs > Readings.
Moderan will automatically list the previous Readings for the new period, if you had a previous period with readings in it.
Click on OPEN READINGS DATABASE — you need to download the Import template we have prepared to make the upload smooth:
Step 2. Fill in the template
The template has only 4 columns to be filled:
-
Property/Building set name – copy and paste the name of the Property-building set.
This field is case-sensitive, so the easiest way to fill it correctly is to copy it. You can find the Property-building set name in Costs > Period page.
- Meter ID – fill in the Technical ID or Name of the Meter. It does not have to be predefined in Moderan: it will be highlighted if the meter stated is not yet in the system or not enabled for the period.
- Current reading – copy the reading you got for the Meter at the due date. The cell format is originally set as Number. Moderan supports up to 5 digits after the comma.
- Date – fill in the date in DD.MM.YY format (e.g. 01.01.2000). You may also add readings outside the selected period and they will be added to the database.
The first 4 columns will be imported to Moderan, so you can add comments or notes in column E and further. Other Sheets can be used as well, e.g. for keeping previous month readings. Only the first Sheet is imported.
Do not add any comments or empty lines in columns A–D.
Step 3. Importing readings to a database
Upload the filled template into Moderan on the same page Costs > Readings > OPEN READINGS DATABASE. You can select the import template file or simply drag and drop it in the area:
If a reading, meter ID, date or property name is missing, you will see an error on import. These columns are required.
Once the import is completed, the new readings will appear:
- Newly entered Readings are marked white.
- Readings entered to the database previously are marked grey. If you close the window and click Readings Database again, all readings will be grey.
- If a meter is not registered for this period or at all, such a cell will be marked pink.
Step 4. Adding readings from your database
When you imported the template, the data was added to your readings database — a storage for all reading figures you have ever entered.
The next step is to sync the data so that the newly entered readings are added to the period you are in. When syncing, Moderan takes the most recent numbers to the period's end.
Example: You entered two readings for meter "EF" — previously for 20.08, and just now for 31.08. After you sync the readings, Moderan will pick up the figure entered for 31.08 for calculations.
To sync the data, click ADD READINGS FROM DATABASE:
Once done, you will see the imported readings under the Current Readings column. These are now the readings used for the chosen period's calculations.
If you hover over the little "i" next to the number, you will see the date of the most recent reading entered:
If there was no reading for the current period, the previously entered one will be shown — and such an outdated cell will be marked yellow. It is important to go over all yellow cells to ensure information is entered for the period.
If you change a reading manually afterwards, there will be no "i" icon with the date for that figure.
Using integration with the Remote metering system
To get the readings remotely, it is necessary to add the API token of the integration partner in Admin > Integrations.
The most important parameter for the integration to work is the Technical ID of Meters. It is important that this Technical ID is identical both in Moderan and in the integration partner's database.
To add the readings, click on ADD READINGS FROM DATABASE in the Readings section — the Current readings of the period or the date closest to the selected period will be added.
Check Moderan ready-made integrations here: moderansolutions.com/integrations
If you have additional questions or want to explore possibilities to integrate with your Remote metering system, please contact us at support@moderansolutions.com.
Explore more articles in the Moderan Knowledge Base. If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to contact us via chat or at support@moderansolutions.com.