How do meters and invoices feed into cost allocation for tenants?

Cost allocation connects meter readings and uploaded invoices to the amounts tenants actually pay. Here is how data flows from meters and invoices through to tenant bills:

The flow: Data Source → Meter → Consumption → Cost Type → Allocation Factor → Tenant Amount

Step 1 — Consumption data enters the system

This happens via two paths:

• Meters with live data: API connections, webhooks, email reports, or file uploads feed readings into meters. The analytics engine calculates consumption (kWh, m³, etc.) for any billing period.
• Uploaded invoices: PDF utility invoices are OCR-processed and linked to meters by matching meter numbers. The extracted consumption (energy in watt-hours, water in cubic meters) is stored on the invoice.

Step 2 — Consumption maps to cost types

Each meter has an energy carrier (electricity, heating, water, gas, etc.) which corresponds to a cost type in the allocation matrix. When you set up cost types for a building (e.g., "Electricity", "Heating", "Water", "Common Areas"), each maps to the relevant meters.

Step 3 — Total cost is determined

For each cost type in a billing period, the total cost comes from:

• The utility invoice amount (if you uploaded an invoice)
• OR: total consumption × unit price (if you configured energy prices)
• OR: a manually entered amount in the cost allocation calculator

Step 4 — Allocation factors split the cost

Each tenant's allocation factor (percentage) for that cost type determines their share:

• Tenant amount = total cost × (tenant's percentage ÷ 100)

Example end-to-end

1. You upload an electricity invoice: 10,000 kWh, €2,500, meter number "707057500012345"
2. The invoice auto-links to your building's main electricity meter
3. In Cost Allocation, "Electricity" cost type shows the €2,500 total
4. Allocation factors: Tenant A = 60%, Tenant B = 25%, Tenant C = 15%
5. Tenant A owes €1,500, Tenant B owes €625, Tenant C owes €375
6. These amounts appear as line items when you generate tenant invoices in Tenant Billing

Building-level vs local-level meters

• Building-level meters (assignment_type = "building") measure total consumption → cost is split via allocation factors
• Local-level meters (assignment_type = "local") measure one unit's consumption → cost goes directly to whichever tenant occupies that local in the billing period, no allocation needed. The meter is assigned to the local, never to the tenant, so a tenant change never requires a meter change
• If you have both, local-level meter costs are billed directly, and the remaining building-level costs are split among tenants via allocation

Where everything connects: Analytics → Data Import for data sources. Buildings → Meters tab for meter setup. Invoices for uploaded PDFs. Cost Allocation for the allocation matrix. Tenant Billing to generate final invoices.