Meters
Formbird FLEET tracks three meter values on each asset: Primary Meter, Secondary Meter, and Total Fuel Consumed. These values are kept up to date automatically through a nightly update process that draws on data entered across the application.
Accurate meter readings are important beyond tracking usage — they also drive the automatic creation of service requests. When a meter crosses a service threshold, Formbird FLEET generates a service request in the same nightly process that follows the meter update. See Service Requests for more.
Meter Configuration on an Asset
Meters are configured in the Asset Meters panel on an asset record. The relevant settings are:
| Field | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Asset Meters | Which meters are active — check Primary, Secondary, or both. Leave all unchecked (or select None) for assets that should not be metered. |
| Primary Meter Measure | Whether the primary meter tracks Distance (odometer) or Hours (engine hours). The secondary meter automatically tracks whichever measure the primary meter does not — if the primary meter is Distance, the secondary meter is Hours, and vice versa. |
Assets that have no meters selected are not included in the nightly meter update process.
How the Nightly Update Works
Each night, Formbird FLEET checks the latest available data for every active, non-disposed asset and updates its meter values if a higher reading is found. The system always moves meters forward — it will not reduce a meter value.
Data is drawn from three sources, in priority order:
- Telematics — readings pulled directly from the vehicle via a telematics integration. These are considered the most reliable because they don't depend on user entry.
- Fuel Receipts — odometer or hour readings recorded on fuel transactions.
- Daily Driver Check Sheets — meter readings submitted by operators during pre-start checks.
The update logic for each meter field is as follows:
| Meter field | Priority 1 | Priority 2 | Priority 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Meter | Telematics (if configured and returning data) | Most recent Fuel Receipt without errors | Most recent Daily Driver not flagged for exclusion |
| Secondary Meter | Most recent Daily Driver not flagged for exclusion | — | — |
| Total Fuel Consumed | Telematics (if environment is configured to use telematics for fuel) | Sum of all Fuel Receipt quantities without errors | — |
If a higher-priority source is available, lower-priority sources are not used for that night's update. If none of the sources returns a value higher than what's already on the asset, the meter is not changed.
For information on setting up a telematics integration, see Telematics Integrations.
Error Checks
Formbird FLEET includes built-in error checking on Daily Driver meter readings and Fuel Receipt imports to filter out obviously incorrect values before they can affect asset meters. Readings that fall outside expected thresholds are flagged with an error and excluded from the nightly update.
For more detail on how errors are identified and reviewed, see:
- Meter Reading Errors — reviewing and correcting flagged readings
- Fuel Card Errors — errors on imported fuel data
Discrepancies Between Asset and Source Documents
If a source document is edited after it has already been used to update an asset's meter, the asset value and the document value will no longer match. For example:
- A fuel import runs on Tuesday. One fuel receipt sets the asset's primary meter to 5,000.
- On Wednesday, that fuel receipt is corrected — the reading is changed to 4,500.
- The asset still shows 5,000 (set on Tuesday night). The fuel receipt now shows 4,500.
This discrepancy won't resolve itself automatically. If you need to correct a meter value on an asset, see Meter Reading Errors.
Published: April 2026 · Formbird FLEET 4.2.8