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Adding Locations and Buildings

In UtilityDirect, Buildings are the primary records associated with your Bill Accounts. This is different from other SchoolDude applications where you may have Locations as the primary record. Locations are required but act only as a filter for your Buildings. There may be multiple Buildings at a Location that are broken out by separate meters or accounts for different utility providers. Any building that receives any type of utility bill should be added as a Building in UtilityDirect.

 

       Bright Idea:

We recommend creating one Location for your organization (ABC School District, Dude University, etc) that is only for use in UtilityDirect. Then, enter all of the Buildings needed to cover your utility accounts under that Location. If you are using other SchoolDude applications, you may see other inactive Locations and Buildings in your list. Leave these inactive in UtilityDirect and only use the new Location and Buildings you have set up. It is a best practice suggestion to add "-UD" at the end of the Building name so it is clear which Buildings are for use in UtilityDirect.

How to Add a Location

  • Click on the Add link in the Actions Menu.
  • Click the Add New Location link. Fill in the following fields on the Add Location screen:
    • Enter the Location Name.
    • The Location Code is only used for database purposes and does not appear on any pages or reports. If you do not enter a Location Code, the system will generate one for you.
    • Enter the Date Built, Location Area, and number of Occupants. This information is not required and can be added at any time.
    • Click Save.

 

How to Add Buildings

  • Click on the Add link in the Actions menu.
  • Click the Add New Building link. Fill in the following fields on the Building Details screen:
    • Enter the Building Code if you have one. This is only used for database purposes and does not appear on any pages or reports. If you do not enter a Building Code, the system will generate one for you.
    • Enter the Building Name and Date Built.
    • Select the Building Type from the drop down list.
    • Enter the Address of the Building. The Zip Code is a required field used to assign a weather station to the Building for use in Weather Reports.
    • Select the appropriate Location from the drop down box.
    • Enter the Square Footage, Occupants, and any Notes for this Building. This information will allow you to track cost and use per sq. ft. as well as per occupant.
    • Click Save.

 

Area History and Occupants History

The Area History and Occupants History sections at the bottom of the Building page track the changes to square footage and occupants for the building. These changes are incorporated into the sq. ft. and occupant reports. Items are added to these sections when changes are made to the information in the Building Details section.

 

  • Edits to the individual items can be made by clicking the Edit link to the far right.
  • You can change the effective Start Date and End Date and also make corrections to the Area or Occupant changes.
  • Click Save when you are finished.