FuelForce Software FuelForce Server and SQL Server Multiforce Systems 609-683-4242 www.fuelforce.com
FuelForce Fuel Management Systems The Software How To. Quick Guide How to create a vehicle record How to disable a vehicle record How to restrict products for a vehicle How to view vehicle fueling records How to create a driver record How to disable a driver record How to view driver fueling records How to view inventory levels by site and product How to establish and update the vehicle and department relationship How to view site specific fueling transactions: issues, and deliveries How to display the real time inventory levels by site and product How to display a system message at the fuel island How to create and display a vehicle specific message at the island How to correct meter readings How to correct a fuel transaction to the appropriate vehicle How to update the fuel delivery quantity How to update the fuel prices How the find the reason for the alarm notification How to poll the fuel transactions from the sites How to run standard reports o Fuel consumption by site and product o Fuel consumption by department/agency o Fuel Deliveries by site and product o Site alarms with reason How to export fuel transactions (example shown for fleet management software, i.e. CCG FASTER, ) For more information call (609) 683-4242, email Sales@FuelForce.com or visit us at www.fuelforce.com 1
VEHICLES Choosing Vehicles from the Database menu bar accesses the FuelForce Vehicles Entry Form shown below. Vehicles Entry Form This form adds or changes records in the Vehicle_Master Table. A vehicle record contains data required to authorize fuel at Site Control Processor. ADDING A VEHICLE 1. Click New or New Carry on the toolbar to add a record to the data table. The Vehicle field becomes active. Enter the desired ten (10) character Vehicle code. This code must be unique and cannot be modified once the record has been saved. <Tab> to the next field. 2. Enter the Tank type. Most vehicles have fuel tanks containing fuel for the vehicle to consume. Some vehicles actually represent transfer tanks. Eventually, fuel in a transfer vehicle transfers to another vehicle. The driver enters the same information at the RIT. 3. Enter the vehicle s Department. Press <F2> for a list of department codes. 4. Enter the vehicle s Site Group. Press <F2> for a list of site group codes. 5. Enter the vehicle s Spec Group. Press <F2> for a list of spec group codes. 6. Enter the vehicle s Products Group. Press <F2> for a list of product group codes. 7. Enter the vehicle s ten (10) character Meter Type. Enter the measurement units for the vehicle s meter. This is a free form field. Press <F2> for a list of previous meter type entries. 8. Enter the vehicle s Privileges. FuelForce compares the vehicle s privilege code with a driver s privilege code at time of fueling. Fuel will only be authorized when both codes match. A question mark (?) acts as wild card that matches any other character. The privilege code???????? permits authorization to fuel any driver. Press <F2> for a list of privilege codes. 9. Check Status to activate the vehicle. Changing the status to inactive prevents the vehicle from getting authorization in any manner. 2
10. Check Keypad to enable the driver to enter the vehicle code via the keypad. Disabling the keypad prevents authorization from occurring when the driver enters this vehicle code via the keypad. The driver, however, may use an alias vehicle code or other input device such as a card. 11. Enter the vehicle s fuel Capacity. This represents the total tank capacity of the vehicle. 12. Enter the vehicle s Minimum Delta traveled between fuel issues. The SCP adds this value to the previous meter reading to calculate the minimum allowable range. A positive value prevents a user from entering the same meter reading repeatedly to get authorization. A negative value can also be entered to minimize the effect of the tens or hundreds digits. Usually it is set to zero (0). 13. Enter the vehicle s Maximum Delta traveled between fuel issues. The SCP adds this value to the previous meter reading to calculate the absolute maximum allowable range. Usually it is set to a value equal to 3 times the range of a vehicle on a full tank. A value less than 1000 will also prevent errors due to fat fingers. 14. Check Short or Long for the fueling Timeouts. Set the hook and pulser timeout values in the Site_master. Choose Long if the vehicle requires more time to access the fuel tank or has saddle tanks. 15. Enter the vehicle s Maximum Range/Hr, Minimum Range/Hr and Range/Hr. The SCP multiplies the Range/Hr value by the number of hours since the last known meter reading. This is added to the previous meter reading to calculate the maximum allowable range. FuelForce adjusts this value according to the vehicle's usage patterns. The maximum and minimum values limit the adjustments to account for seasonal usage. 16. Select the Messages to appear when this vehicle gets authorization at the site. 17. Click on the Properties page. This reveals the properties sheet for the vehicle. See Properties for configuring the properties sheet. 18. Click Save on the toolbar to save the record. If you modify a record and forget to save before performing another task, FuelForce will prompt you to save your changes. 3
VEIWING TRANSACTIONS To view a vehicles transactions click on the transactions tab PRODUCT GROUPS Choosing Product Groups from the Database menu bar accesses the FuelForce Product Groups Entry Form shown below. Product Groups Entry Form This form adds or changes records in the Prodgrp_Master Table. A Product Group references a list of fueling parameters that are assigned to a vehicle. 4
ADDING A PRODUCT GROUP 1. Click New or New Carry on the toolbar to add a record to the data table. The Group Code field becomes active. Enter the desired four (4) character Group Code. <Tab> to the next field. 2. Enter a forty (40) character Description. 3. Enter the allowed Product codes. For each product you want to include, highlight the field, press F2 to view the Pop-up list and make a selection. 4. Check the Validate box to require odometer readings is validated. If the meter is validated, you may choose to only do this during Business Hours. 5. Check the Cut-Off box to limit the product quantity delivered to a vehicle to the capacity of that vehicle over a two hour period. This prevents this vehicle code from being used to fill multiple vehicles. 6. Click Save on the toolbar to save the record. If you modify a record and forget to save before performing another task, FuelForce will prompt you to save your changes. 5
DRIVERS Choosing Drivers from the Database menu bar accesses the FuelForce Drivers Entry Form shown below. Drivers Entry Form This form adds or changes records in the Driver_Master Table. A driver record contains data require to authorize fuel at Site Control Processor. ADDING A DRIVER 1. Click New or New Carry on the toolbar to add a record to the data table. The Driver field becomes active. Enter the desired ten (10) character Driver code. <Tab> to the next field. 2. Enter the driver s First Name, Middle Initial and Last Name. <Tab> to the next field. 3. Enter the driver s Department. Press <F2> for a list of department codes. 4. Enter the driver s Site Group. Press <F2> for a list of site group codes. 5. Enter the driver s Privileges. FuelForce compares the driver s privilege code with a vehicle s privilege code at time of fueling. FuelForce will only authorize when both codes match. A question mark (?) acts as wild card that matches any other character. The privilege code???????? permits authorization to fuel any vehicle. Press <F2> for a list of privilege codes. 6. Check Status to activate the driver. Changing the status to inactive prevents the driver from getting authorization in any manner. 7. Check Keypad to enable the driver to enter the driver code via the keypad. Disabling the keypad prevents authorization from occurring when the driver presses <Enter> to begin a transaction. The driver, however, may use an alias driver code or other input device such as a card. 8. Enter the driver s Supervisor. Enter the driver code of the supervising person. You can leave this field blank. Press <F2> for a list of supervisor codes. 9. Enter the driver s Phone number. Use this field to indicate a number to call for information or in case of emergency. 10. Select the Messages to appear when this driver gets authorization at the site. 6
11. When using encrypted pin codes, enter the driver s Epin. The pin code is a 1-4 digit code appended to the end of the driver code (maximum 10 characters). e.g. A 4 digit pin means only 6 characters are available for the visible portion of the driver code. This adds security to the driver code. You can change a driver s Epin any time the driver wants. 12. Click Save on the toolbar to save the record. If you modify a record and forget to save before performing another task, FuelForce will prompt you to save your changes. VEIWING TRANSACTIONS To view a drivers transactions click on the transactions tab 7
1. Go to Database Tanks 2. Click on the INVENTORY tab HOW TO VIEW INVENTORY LEVELS 8
DEPARTMENTS Choosing Departments from the Database menu bar accesses the FuelForce Departments Entry Form shown below. Departments Entry Form This form adds or changes records in the Department_Master table. You assign Vehicles, Drivers and Sites to departments for analysis, billing and security. This table must be complete before attempting to import vehicles, drivers or sites. ADDING A DEPARTMENT 1. Click New or New Carry on the toolbar to add a record to the data table. The department field becomes active. Enter the desired 10 character Department code. This code must be unique and cannot be modified once the record has been saved. <Tab> to the next field. 2. Enter a Description and any Notes regarding the department. 3. Click Save on the toolbar to save the record. If you modify a record and forget to save before performing another task, FuelForce will prompt you to save your changes. 9
HOW TO VIEW SITE SPECIFIC TRANSACTIONS 1. Go to DATABASE SITES 2. Click on the LIST tab and highlight the site you are interested in 3. Click on the TRANSACTIONS tab 10
HOW TO DISPLAY A MESSAGE AT THE FUEL ISLAND This will explain how to display a message at the fuel island for a vehicle or driver 1. Go to Database Vehicles (or Drivers) 2. Click on the dropdown next to message 1 or 2 3. Choose the message you wish to send to the island 4. Click on the SAVE button 5. The updated information will go to the island with the next poll cycle 11
HOW TO CORRECT METER READINGS This will explain how to correct a bad meter reading 1. Go to Database Vehicles 2. Use the SEARCH button to locate the vehicle with the bad odometer reading 3. Highlight the existing meter reading and delete it 4. Put the correct meter reading in the box and tab out of the box 5. Click on the SAVE button The corrected meter reading will get to the fuel island during the next scheduled poll 12
CORRECTING FUEL TRANSACTIONS You can correct the vehicle number, the vehicle meter, the driver, the quantity, and the unit price of a fuel transaction. 1. Determine the vehicle number of the transaction that needs correcting. 2. Go to UTILITIES FUEL LOG ALL 3. After the fuel log loads click on the LIST tab 4. Double click on the VEHICLE column header 5. Click on the SEARCH button 6. Put the Vehicle number in the box and click on the SEARCH button 7. Locate and highlight the transaction you are correcting 8. Click on the DATA ENTRY tab 9. Click on the UNLOCK button 13
10. Place your mouse in the location that needs correction 11. Delete the bad information and replace it with the correct information 12. Click on the SAVE button These corrections need to be done before the transactions are uploaded to your fleet management system. If they are made after the original transactions have been uploaded then you should also do the correction in the fleet management system. 14
FUEL DELIVERY SHEET Choosing Deliveries from the Manual Data Entry option of the Database menu bar accesses the FuelForce Fuel Delivery Sheet Entry Form shown below. Fuel Delivery Sheet Entry Form This form adds or changes records in the Fuel_Sheet Table. You can enter manual deliveries through this form. Manual deliveries result whenever a tank is refilled. ADDING A MANUAL FUEL DELIVERY 1. Click New or New Carry on the toolbar to add a record to the data table. The Site Code field becomes active. 2. Enter the three (3) digit Site code. Press <F2> for a list of site codes. 3. Enter the eight (8) digit Tank code. Press <F2> for a list of tank codes. 4. Enter the ten (10) character Driver code. Press <F2> for a list of driver codes. 5. Enter the dip Quantity. 6. Enter the Unit Price. The unti price will update the tank unit price if the tank s Price Factor property has been set. 7. Enter when the issue Occurred. 8. Enter the Invoice and/or Vendor information (Required). 9. Enter the Purchase Order number (Required). 15
10. Click Save on the toolbar to save the record. If you modify a record and forget to save before performing another task, FuelForce will prompt you to save your changes. 11. Repeat steps 1-10 until you enter all of the manual fuel dips. 12. Click Process on the toolbar to process the fuel deliveries. FuelForce will prompt you to save your changes. Clicking <Yes> converts the current fuel sheet transactions into a file. FuelForce processes this file like any file received from a site. FuelForce discards transactions if you close the Fuel Delivery Sheet form before processing them. REMOVING A MANUAL FUEL DELIVERY 1. If you make a mistake entering a transaction, modify them before processing them. Simply correct the error and click Save. 2. If you enter a transaction twice, delete the duplicate entry by choosing File Delete. You also can save the next transaction over the duplicate record and continue entering more records. 16
HOW TO UPDATE FUEL PRICES This section will explain how to update fuel prices. Fuel prices are kept in the tank record and typically will change each time you get a fuel delivery. Because the prices are for each individual tank you can charge different prices at different sites depending how often each site gets a fuel delivery. If you wish to keep your fuel prices the same for all of your sites you will need to update all of the tanks at the same time. If you are adding a markup to your fuel and billing it from FuelForce this is when you will add your markup 1. Go to DATABASE TANKS 2. Place your mouse in the UNIT PRICE box 3. Highlight and delete the existing price 4. Input the new price delivery price or delivery price plus markup depending on how you bill for your fuel. 5. Click on the SAVE button 6. Repeat for each tank that you need to update 17
FINDING THE REASON FOR SYSTEM ALARMS This section explains how to view the alarm log to see if there are any problems 1. Go to the menu bar and click on the ALARM CLOCK icon or go to UTILITIES ALARM LOG 2. The alarm log will be displayed with the most recent entry at the bottom of the page Most of the entries are for information only and do not need any further attention. Contact your Customer Support Representative for further information. 18
SITE POLLING Any changes that are made to the database will be transferred to the site at the next scheduled poll. If, however, you want the changes to be sent to the site more immediately by manually polling the site. Choose Poll SCP(s) from the View menu or click on the yellow phone to open the Poll Remote Sites dialog. Poll Remote Sites Dialog (Sites Selected) Select the site to poll from the list. To select multiple site, hold the control key (Ctrl) and click on the sites you want to poll. The sites will be highlighted when they are selected. Click <Poll> to initiate the poll. The form will close. To monitor the polling status, open the Poll Remote Sites dialog again. The sites that are going to be polled will show Pending. The status line at the bottom of the form will display the current status of the communications application. When a site poll is completed, the Pending text will be replaced with the time and date of the last poll request. Poll Remote Sites Dialog (Polling in Progress) 19
REPORTS All of the FuelForce reports are accessed the same way 1. Go to FILE PRINT REPORTS 2. Click on the LIST tab 3. Scroll through the list and highlight the report you want to run 4. Click on the DATA ENTRY tab 5. Tab to the PERIOD box and use the dropdown to choose the reporting period. Your choices are ALL all transactions in the database YTD current year to date LAST N DAYS last (N) number of days backwards from today MONTHLY fuel report for a specific month 1 st of the month to 1 st of the following month USER SPECIFIED user can choose the start time and date and the end time and date for the report AUDIT N used to create and audit report or look at a previously created audit report 6. Choose the type of report you want detail or summary 7. The OUTPUT box is used if you wish to create a file instead of looking at the report on the screen or creating a hard copy. Your output choices include TXT text file ASC ascii type file used to create files to be imported into other applications such as a fleet management or billing application TAB tab delimited file WKS Microsoft Works spreadsheet file XLS Microsoft Excel file XLS Microsoft Excel File (preferred format for OFFICE 2003 and above) 8. Click on the CRITERIA tab. The criteria area is where you can set any filters that you want for your report. Typical Criteria selections are: Department Vehicle 20
Driver Product Spec Code Site Tank Hose Property Property Value 9. After you have selected your criteria you are ready to run the report. Click on the button at the bottom of the report box that will give you the output that you want VIEW Puts the report on your screen for viewing PRINT Left click with your mouse to send the report to your default printer. Right click with your mouse to choose any printer installed on your computer. FILE If you have chosen an output method such as an ascii file or excel spreadsheet this will create the file. BROWSE Will display the query results in a grid. 21
SAMPLE REPORTS Fuel by Site Detail Fuel by Site Summary Fuel by Department Detail Fuel by Department Summary Fuel Deliveries Alarms 22
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Vehicle Dept Desc Meter Occurred Prod Quantity Price Driver 25
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EXPORT TRANSACTIONS TO YOUR EXISTING SOFTWARE PACKAGE (EXAMPLE SHOWN FOR FASTER FLEET) The FF2FASTER report will create the file that is needed to get the fuel transactions in to the FASTER fleet management program. 1 Go to FILE PRINT REPORTS 2 Locate the FF2FASTER report and select it. 3 Make sure that the report period is AUDIT N 4 Make sure that the output mode for the report is ASC 5 Make sure the N box has the correct number this will be set up with the initial Fuelforce install 6 Click on the FILE button 7 When the SELECT AUDIT box appears click NOW and OK 8 Click YES to the warning box 29
9. When the file has been created you will get an acknowledgment box that will give you the location of the file. 10. Go to your FASTER program and run the Fuel Import Module using the file you just created. Document # FSHT-0417 For more information call (609) 683-4242, email Sales@FuelForce.com or visit us at www.fuelforce.com 30