Setting up and managing your FMX Utilities module

This article provides a comprehensive guide on how to configure the Utilities module, import billing data using AI-powered tools, and generate insightful reports to track energy and water usage.

Understanding the FMX Utility Manager

The FMX Utility Manager allows your organization to centralize utility tracking, identify missing bills, and monitor utility trends. By consolidating data from various providers, you can gain a clear picture of your operational costs and environmental impact.

Key capabilities and benefits

• Centralized Tracking: Manage all utility providers, accounts, and meters in one location.
• Flexible Data Entry: Choose between manual entry, bulk imports, or AI-powered PDF and email ingestion.
• Automated Insights: Automatically flag missing bills and track efficiency benchmarks like EUI and WUI.
• Custom Reporting: Build dashboards to monitor your utilities and plan strategically.

💡 Note: To begin this setup, you must have a user type with "Full access" permissions for configuration and administration within the Utilities module.

Before you Start

Before you can record data, you must establish the foundational structure of your Utilities module by setting permissions and defining your utility types.

1. Define Utilities Module settings in your General Admin Settings

Within Utilities Settings on the General tab of Admin settings you can 

• Set your Area unit: Identify if you would like to track area using either square fee or square meter units.
• Add approved senders: If you plan to automate bill entry with email forward, these will be the email addresses that are allowed to submit bills.
• Define custom utility types: FMX tracks three standard utility types by default: Electric, Natural Gas, and Water. If you need to track utilities beyond these standard options, you can define custom Utility Types in the Admin Settings.

2. Set User Type permissions

Enable the module for your organization and ensure relevant user types have the appropriate permissions. Select access levels, bulk import access, and audit log visibility.

Access levels include:

• None: No access to the module.
• View only: Can see data but cannot make changes.
• Bill entry: Can enter and upload utility bills.
• Full access: Can add and manage providers and accounts as well as enter and view data.

3. Input area for buildings and locations

To accurately report on EUI, WUI, and Cost per Square footage, ensure you have input area values for all buildings and locations associated with utility usage. To do this, complete the Area field on the building or location record.

Setting up Your Utilities

Step 1: Add Utility Providers

• Go to Utilities.
• Select Add provider.

• Enter the provider name.
• Choose the utility type.
• Set the bill repeat interval (monthly, quarterly, yearly, or other).
  • For monthly, quarterly, and yearly, FMX uses this interval (plus the tracking start date on accounts) to determine when you are missing bills.
  • Other gives you the flexibility to input bills at any cadence; however, it will disable the missing bill reminders.
• Choose what you want to track:
  • Cost (typical)
  • Optional: consumption (and its unit)
  • Optional: demand (and its unit)
  • Optional: split consumption and or demand by meter

💡 Note: Depending on the utility type you select, FMX may show intensity tracking options.

• Water allows you to track WUI
• Electric & Natural gas allows you to track EUI
• Custom Utility Types can track either

7. Select edit custom fields to capture additional data from your bills using custom fields.

8. Add Intelligent Suggestions instructions for the Provider.

Intelligent Suggestion Instructions let you tailor FMX’s bill scanning to match how your utility providers format invoices. Add simple, field-by-field guidance so the system knows exactly where to look for dates, totals, and key charges, even when bills vary from month to month.

Step 2: Add an account

1. Open the provider.
2. Select Add account.

3. Enter the account number.
4. Set the bill tracking start date.
   • This is the starting point FMX uses to calculate “missing bills.”
   • This date will not preclude you from adding additional historical bills. To add bills prior to this date, use the bulk import tool (not the bulk upload method). See our article on adding bills for more information on these tools.
5. Optional: add an account nickname to make accounts easier to identify.

💡 Note: At the account level, FMX can show whether the account is up-to-date or has missing bills, based on:

• The provider bill repeat interval
• The account tracking start date
• Bills already entered (and their workflow state)

Step 3 (optional): Add coverage area and meters

If a provider is not set to track by meters, optionally add the associated buildings and locations to define the providers coverage area. 

If a provider is set to track by meters, add the associated meters and their specific coverage areas.

1. Open the account.
2. Add one or more meters.
3. If available in your configuration, link meters to the appropriate building and or location information.

Tip: This will be used for cost per square foot reporting and, if applicable, EUI and WUI reporting.