Importing meter readings from a spreadsheet

If you keep your hour meters and odometer readings in a spreadsheet, you can load them into Renta in one go instead of typing them machine by machine. The import sets each unit's current reading. It is a counter update, so it does not record a service and does not reset any due date.

Where to find it

On the Maintenance page, click Import meter readings in the page header. The page is titled "Import meter readings", with the line "Set current readings for many units at once — two columns: unit alias and reading." You need permission to edit maintenance, which owners, managers and staff have. Anyone without it is sent back to the dashboard.

The Import meter readings page showing the reading type drop-down, the CSV box and the Preview button

Step by step

1. Click ↓ Sample CSV if you want a template. It has the columns `machine`, `alias` and `current_meter_reading`, with rows like "2024 Trailhead 250, SM-1, 540". 2. Under Which reading are you importing?, choose one: Hours, Miles, Utilization days (autotracked) or Uses (rentals) (autotracked). One import covers one kind of reading. 3. Paste your CSV into the box, or click Upload a .csv file to choose a file. Only .csv files up to 5 MB are accepted. 4. Click Preview. Nothing is saved yet. 5. Check the preview (below), then click Import N readings. 6. The results page lists what was updated. View Maintenance takes you back, and Import more starts again.

What your file needs

• A header row, and up to 1,000 data rows.
• An alias column. This is the unit's label, the name or code you gave that individual unit (for example SM-1). Matching ignores upper and lower case.
• A reading column, named `current_meter_reading` or something close. Renta also recognises headers such as `reading`, `value`, `hours`, `miles`, `uses` and `utilization days`.
• An optional machine column, needed only when the same alias is used on more than one machine. The machine name only has to be part of the real name, so "Pivot Switchblade" matches "2024 Pivot Switchblade".
• Plain comma-separated text. Write numbers without thousands separators ("1200", not "1,200"). Quoted cells that span more than one line are not supported.

Column titles are not case sensitive and ignore punctuation, so "Current Meter Reading" works too.

The preview

Three counts sit at the top: Will update, Warnings and Errors. A table shows each row's number, alias, machine, the Current reading, the New reading and a Status:

| Status | Meaning | |---|---| | OK | Ready to import. | | Warning | It will import, but check it. For example "lower than current N — will overwrite", or "decimal rounded down to N" (only Hours keep decimals). | | Not found | No unit has that alias (or none on a machine matching the machine column). The row is skipped. | | Ambiguous | More than one unit shares that alias. Add a machine column. The row is skipped. | | Invalid | Missing alias, or the reading is not a number of 0 or more. The row is skipped. |

Rows with errors are skipped and never block the rest. Back returns you to the first step.

When you import

Renta reads and matches the file again at the moment you import, then writes each unit's counter. For every unit it records an entry in the change log, and works out the machine's total as the highest reading across its units. Each row is saved on its own, so if one fails the others still go through ("Update failed: …").

The results page has Updated, Warnings and Errors counts and a table of any problems.

Who can import which readings

Hours and Miles can be imported by anyone with maintenance access. Utilization days and Uses count up by themselves, so they are treated as overrides. Owners can always import them. Managers and staff can too unless an owner switched off Allow autotracked counter overrides (Settings → Team → Override permissions). If that is off you will see "Your role can't import (type) — these are autotracked…" and the Preview button is disabled. See Fine-tuning what Managers and Staff can do.

Example

You read the hour meters on three Trailhead bikes. In your spreadsheet you make columns `machine`, `alias` and `current_meter_reading`, save it as a CSV, choose Hours, upload it, and check that all three rows say OK. You click Import 3 readings.

Good to know

• The import overwrites, even with a lower number. A lower number only shows a warning. There is no undo, so read the Warning rows.
• If the same alias appears twice in your file and both rows match, the later row wins.
• Counters that count up by themselves (utilization days and uses) only run on machines that have maintenance tracking switched on.
• To change a single reading, use Update counters on the Maintenance screen. See Logging service and adjusting tasks.
• Error messages you may see: "Please choose a .csv file", "File exceeds 5MB limit", "CSV has N rows. Maximum is 1000.", and "CSV must include an \"alias\" column (the fleet unit's label)." Fix the file and preview again.