Fleetio provides various protections to ensure the integrity of your data, helping you catch errors and keep calculations accurate. Meters will always increase in value over time and never roll backward. Fleetio applies Meter Validation to check that each Meter Reading fits in sequence.
If a Work Order will require more than a day to complete, and the vehicle is still safe and operational, it may be returned to the active fleet pool. Therefore, the Meter reading will increase over the course of the Work Order process, and the value will be different on the Start Date than on the Completion Date.
Accurate meter values and corresponding dates are vital for properly resetting Service Reminders and tracking Usage data in Fleetio. There are several important Date and Meter Entry fields on a Work Order:
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Issue Date
- Date the Work Order was created
- Not associated with any meter reading
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Start Date / Start Meter
- Date the work began on the vehicle
- Date associated with the Start Meter reading on the Work Order
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Completion Date / Completion Meter
- Date the work was finished on the vehicle
- Date associated with the Completion Meter reading on the Work Order
- Date associated with the Service Entry which is automatically generated for this Work Order when the WO Status is set to Completed
- Date and meter reading which reset any corresponding Service Reminders
How is meter validation handled in Work Orders which span several days? Just like any other meter reading, the Work Order Meter Entries for Start and Completion must be in sequence according to the corresponding dates. Interim Meter Entries may be recorded from a variety of sources:
- Operators record Fuel Entries or Inspections during normal usage while the Work Order is pending
- Meter Entries are imported through a nightly GPS integration
When the Work Order service is finished, and the Technician updates the Status to Completed, the meter reading which was recorded back on the Start Date will now be out-of-sequence on the Completion Date because of these interim readings and elapsed usage.
In this situation, the user will be prompted to either update the value, or Mark as Void. This keeps meter values accurate for the sequential validation explained above.
EXAMPLE SCENARIO:
05/13 Vehicle Inspection -- An Operator submits an Inspection Form at 180,000 miles; this is the most recent Meter Reading prior to maintenance.
08/03 WO Issue Date -- A Fleet Administrator in the office creates a new Work Order in Fleetio, assigns it to a Technician, and notes the Issue Date. No meter reading is recorded.
08/03 WO Start Date -- The Technician starts work, making a few notes on the WO and recording the Start Date and the Start Meter 180,420 miles. With parts on order, the Technician then releases the Vehicle back to the active fleet pool for continued use while waiting.
08/06 Fuel Entry -- The Operator using the vehicle records a Fuel Entry at 180,452 miles, then returns the vehicle to the shop.
08/09 WO Completion Date -- The technician finishes work, updates the WO Status to Completed, and sets the Completion Date. Note that, by default, the checkbox is enabled to "Use start meter for completion meter." The technician misses the help text indicating the last-updated meter value and the hint to uncheck if meter usage has increased since WO Start Date.
Upon clicking Save, Fleetio warns it cannot save the current Work Order.
Once the completion meter is adjusted to reflect the new odometer reading, the Work Order is able to be saved. A Service Entry will then be generated using the Completed Date and Completion Meter.
The vehicle Meter History maintains the correct sequential order of all meter readings:
