To synchronize the dashboard with fuel purchase information from a non-integrated fuel card provider, you can upload fuel purchase data using the Fuel Purchases Report.
Samsara supports importing fuel data in comma-separated values (CSV) format. Using the upload widget, map your data to Samsara fields. The mapping is not persistent and does not apply from file to file. Therefore, you must map the fields each time you upload a file.
After you upload a file, should you need to update prices, you must delete the transactions and re-upload.
To import fuel purchases:
-
Create your fuel purchases file in CSV format (see CSV Format for Fuel Purchases for detailed formatting requirements). Also see Units & Currencies for additional information about units of measure.
-
Select Fuel & Energy (
) > Fuel Purchases.
-
Select More Actions > Upload CSV.
-
Click Upload a file to browse to it, or drag and drop it on the dialog.
-
Click Next.
-
Map the headers to your CSV file starting with the required headers and any optional headers that you use in your file.
-
Click Next.
Samsara validates the fields and data in your file. If necessary, resolve any errors and click Next to proceed with the data import.
After you upload the CSV file, Samsara immediately begins processing the data. Depending on the number of transactions, processing can take a few minutes to a few hours to complete.
-
If there are no errors in the file, you can review the data.
If the data looks as you expect, click Confirm. Otherwise, to make changes to the mapping, click Back and make the desired changes.
If your field headers are different than the fields below, you can use the CSV upload to map your fields. However, the CSV file must still include the required fields. When there is no data specified for a given field, the value will be n/a. This can mean either this data has never been entered or is not being collected by Samsara.
Here are some important things to keep in mind when you create your file:
-
No more than 2,000 rows
-
The file must be a properly formatted CSV file.
-
The first row of the CSV file is the header row, and you must include it in the file.
-
A max upload size of 750kb
-
Date format: EFS fuel card provider exports dates into the yyyy-m-d format. Dates provided in the X/X/XXXX format will be interpreted as an American format (m/d/yyyy).
-
Time zone interpretations: Samsara assumes the date and time of the transaction is in the time zone of the merchant full address.
-
Location interpretations: Samsara performs geocoding to transform a given street address to a set of coordinates (latitude/longitude). This formatted address is often a higher quality (or at least more consistent) than the provided address.
Tip
To avoid an Invalid Device error, ensure that the information in the fuel purchase transaction corresponds to the data in your dashboard. For instance, if your vehicle name is "Vehicle 1" but the dashboard displays "Vehicle 1 " with a trailing space after the number, you can update the vehicle name in your dashboard to resolve the error. Likewise, if you've recently changed the name of a vehicle in the Samsara dashboard, make sure the name is updated in the CSV file as well.
The following table describes the CSV fields you can use to define fuel purchases:
|
Field |
Description |
Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Transaction Number |
(Required) Purchase transaction identifying information, such as a receipt number or transaction ID |
1725 |
|
Quantity |
(Required) Amount purchased |
5.37 |
|
Gross Price |
(Required) Total purchase cost (currency of the organization) |
21.83 |
|
Full Address |
Street, city, and jurisdiction address of fuel purchase location. For a successful upload, you must include an address. The Full Address should be used only if all location data is in one column in the CSV file. If location data is separated across multiple columns in the CSV file, provide information for Site Name, Street Name, City, Jurisdiction, and Postal Codes instead. |
4600 North World Drive Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830 |
|
Date & Time |
Date and time of fuel purchase transaction. Acceptable formats include: A date and time must be provided, either in the Date & Time field or by providing values for both the Date and Time fields. The date format in this column must match the date format selected within the Fuel & Energy Settings in the Samsara dashboard (Settings ( The time should be in the time zone where the purchase transaction occurred. |
|
|
Date |
Date of fuel purchase transaction. Acceptable formats include: A date and time must be provided, either in the Date & Time field or by providing values for both the Date and Time fields. The date format in this column must match the date format selected within the Fuel & Energy Settings in the Samsara dashboard (Settings ( |
|
|
Time |
Time of fuel purchase transaction (h:mm) A date and time must be provided, either in the Date & Time field or by providing values for both the Date and Time fields. The time should be in the time zone where the purchase transaction occurred. |
22:40 |
|
Fuel Type |
Type of fuel purchased. See Fuel Type Assignment for more information on Fuel Types. |
Gasoline |
|
Site Name |
The name of the gas station. |
Shell |
|
Street Name |
This field is optional if Full Address field is complete. |
4600 North World Drive Lake |
|
City |
This field is optional if Full Address field is complete. |
Buena Vista |
|
Jurisdiction |
State or region of purchase transaction. This field is optional if Full Address field is complete. |
FL |
|
Postal Code |
This field is optional if Full Address field is complete. |
32830 |
|
Vehicle |
The name of the vehicle that received the fuel purchased. |
Semi#1 |
|
VIN |
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) |
3FADP0L35AR143889 |
You can provide a Fuel Type field that will assign a fuel type to the transaction. The accepted Fuel Type values are:
-
a55
-
biodiesel
-
cng
-
compressed natural gas
-
diesel
-
e85
-
electricity
-
electric
-
ethanol
-
gasohol
-
gasoline
-
hydrogen
-
lng
-
liquified natural gas
-
liquefied natural gas
-
liquid natural gas
-
m85
-
methanol
-
propane
-
other
Samsara does not store the unit or currency and defaults to the currency and volume shown on the dashboard report relative to the location of your organization. If needed, you can modify the unit by changing your metric settings in your profile. Because Samsara does not store the unit, this amount will not change when the unit of measure is changed.
|
Country |
Unit |
Currency |
|---|---|---|
|
United States |
US gallons |
$ / USD |
|
United Kingdom |
Imperial gallons |
£ / GBP |
|
Canada |
Liters |
$ / CA USD |
|
Mexico |
Liters |
$ / MXN |
|
Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain |
Liters |
€ / EUR |
|
Switzerland |
Liters |
CHF |
Comments
2 comments
I had the same problem and contacted Samsara Support and found out the following...
"The error I keep getting is "Invalid device. Ensure that this is a device that you have fuel purchase write permissions for."
My problem was I had changed the name of the Samsara Device in Samsara when I installed them to the Vehicle# and Driver. But then the when uploading the CSV file the names didn't either match the name of the device or there was no device installed with that name at all.
For example:
Original device name: XXXX-XXXX-XXX (Device Serial #) Changed to: Truck# - Driver Name
Now in the CSV file under the heading "Assigned Vehicle" should have "Truck# - Driver Name" instead of "XXXX-XXXX-XXX"
This is what worked for me - Hope this helps!
Hi,
Thank you for your comments and feedback. We updated this article on July 25 to clarify the upload instructions.
Please sign in to leave a comment.