Overview
Meter readings are used by BMS to calculate billing charges for assets such as copiers and printers that bill by page count. BMS provides two ways to enter meter readings: manually for individual assets, and via bulk CSV import for large volumes. Navigate to Billing → Assets to access the meter entry options.
Entering Meters for a Single Asset
To enter a meter reading for one asset, navigate to Billing → Assets → Enter Meters. On the Enter Transaction Meters screen, search for the asset by its serial number. Once the asset is found, enter the current meter reading and save.
BMS will validate the reading against the previous reading to check for anomalies — for example, a reading that is lower than the previous value will be flagged before saving.
Importing Meter Readings in Bulk
For large fleets, meter readings can be imported via CSV file. Navigate to Billing → Assets → Import Meter Readings. The import screen requires:
Import Type — select Manual CSV for a standard file upload
File — choose the CSV file containing the readings
Source Reference — an optional label to identify this import batch
Column Mapping — map your CSV columns to the BMS fields: Serial No, Black Meter, Colour Meter, and Sourced At (the date the reading was taken)
Once the mapping is configured, select Process Import. BMS will validate each row and apply the readings to the matching assets.
Requesting Meters from the Billings Screen
When generating billing runs, BMS can identify which active transactions require meter readings that have not yet been submitted. From the Billings screen, use Request Meters on a filtered set of transactions to generate a list of outstanding meter readings needed across those transactions.
The request applies to transactions with a status of Open or Held (not Released), and only includes assets where meter entry is required — assets flagged as Not Required are excluded automatically.
Viewing Asset Meter History
To see meter reading history for your asset fleet, navigate to Billing → Assets → View Assets by Meter. This view shows the last recorded reading for each metered asset and allows you to review usage patterns before generating billing. The Asset Meter Usage report provides a summary of meter activity across a selected date range.1. You run a Request Meters on a range of active transactions with the current filter applied, it includes status: open or held, not released.
2. We then get a list of transaction meters where the Asset is NOT flagged as "Not Required" (double negative there)
3. IF the option "Include Read Meters" = NO, then we filter out meters that have been read, that includes status: not current, zero, negative, high variance, good & averaged - note: zero & negative are treated as being read
4. IF the option "Include Imports" = NO, then we filter out assets flagged as auto-read