Fleet Financials: Setting Up Accounting Codes & Uploading Data

Overview

Fleet Financials in CLUE lets you track and analyze ownership costs, operating costs, and revenue for your equipment fleet. Before you can upload financial data, your accounting codes need to be configured in the system.

This guide walks you through the full setup — from requesting your accounting codes to uploading your first batch of financial data via CSV.

What Are Accounting Codes?

Accounting codes map your general ledger (GL) accounts to CLUE's financial categories. They are organized in a two-level hierarchy:

• Parent Categories (Level 1) — The top-level groupings that organize your codes. The three standard categories are:
  • Ownership Costs — Expenses tied to owning or financing equipment (rentals, leases, depreciation)
  • Operating Costs — Day-to-day expenses to run equipment (labor, parts, repairs, tires, fuel)
  • Revenue — Income generated by your equipment (internal rentals, external billing)
• Child Codes (Level 2) — The individual cost or revenue line items under each parent category. Each child code maps to a specific GL account in your accounting system.

Example Accounting Code Structure

Below is an example of how accounting codes might be organized. Your setup will reflect your own GL accounts.

Category	Code Name	GL Account
Ownership Costs	EquipmentLease	6100
Ownership Costs	DepreciationExpense	6150
Operating Costs	RepairsAndMaintenance	6200
Operating Costs	EquipmentParts	6210
Operating Costs	Tires	6220
Operating Costs	Fuel	6250
Revenue	EquipmentRental	4100

Important: The Code Name column is exactly what you will use later when uploading financial data. These names are case-sensitive, so pay attention to spelling and formatting.

Step 1: Send Your Accounting Codes to CLUE

To get started, send your CLUE Customer Success Manager a list of the accounting codes you want to track. For each code, include:

• Category — Ownership Costs, Operating Costs, or Revenue
• Code Name — A short, descriptive name (this becomes the exact value you use in CSV uploads)
• GL Account Number — The corresponding account from your general ledger

A simple spreadsheet or list grouped by category works great. Your CSM will configure the codes in CLUE and confirm when they are ready.

Tips for Preparing Your Codes

• Keep code names concise and avoid spaces where possible (e.g., RepairsAndMaintenance rather than Repairs and Maintenance)
• If you have similar codes, make the names distinct (e.g., DepreciationEquipment vs DepreciationOther)
• Double-check spelling — you will need to match these names exactly when uploading data

Step 2: Download the CSV Template

Once your accounting codes are configured, you can start uploading financial data. First, download the CSV template:

1. In CLUE, navigate to Insights > Fleet Financials
2. On the Fleet Overview tab, click the Upload button in the top-right area
3. Click Download Template to get a blank CSV file

Step 3: Format Your Financial Data

You can fill in the template using Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet application — you do not need to edit the CSV as a text file. Simply open the downloaded template in Excel, enter your data in the columns, and save (or "Save As") the file in CSV format when you are done.

The template has 5 columns. Each row represents one cost code for one asset for one month.

Column	What It Is	Format
EquipmentCode	The asset identifier as it appears in CLUE	Text — must match your asset's external code or alias in CLUE exactly
Year	The financial period year	4-digit number (e.g., 2026)
Month	The financial period month	Number 1 through 12 (e.g., 1 for January)
CostCode	The accounting code name	Text — must match one of your configured code names exactly (case-sensitive)
Amount	The dollar amount	Number only — no dollar signs or commas (e.g., 1250.00)

Example CSV

Here is what a completed CSV file looks like. This example uploads January 2026 costs for two pieces of equipment across several cost codes:

EquipmentCode,Year,Month,CostCode,Amount
EX-200-001,2026,1,RepairsAndMaintenance,1250.00
EX-200-001,2026,1,EquipmentParts,430.50
EX-200-001,2026,1,Fuel,875.00
EX-200-001,2026,1,EquipmentLease,3200.00
DZ-450-003,2026,1,RepairsAndMaintenance,640.00
DZ-450-003,2026,1,Tires,1800.00
DZ-450-003,2026,1,Fuel,1100.00
DZ-450-003,2026,2,RepairsAndMaintenance,520.00
DZ-450-003,2026,2,Fuel,980.00

Notice that:

• Each row is one cost code for one asset for one month
• You can include multiple months in the same file (see January and February rows for DZ-450-003)
• You can include multiple assets in the same file
• The CostCode values match the code names from your accounting code setup exactly — RepairsAndMaintenance, not repairsandmaintenance or Repairs And Maintenance

Where to Find Your Equipment Code

The EquipmentCode column must match the asset's identifier in CLUE. To find it:

1. Go to Directory > Assets
2. Find your asset and open its detail page
3. The equipment code or alias shown on the asset detail page is the value to use in your CSV

If your organization uses external equipment codes (from an ERP or accounting system), CLUE will match against those first. Otherwise, it uses the asset alias.

Step 4: Upload Your Data

1. Go to Insights > Fleet Financials > Fleet Overview
2. Click the Upload button
3. Select your completed CSV file
4. CLUE will validate the file and show any errors before importing
5. Review and confirm the upload

If there are errors (such as unrecognized equipment codes or cost codes), CLUE will tell you which rows have issues so you can fix them and re-upload.

Troubleshooting

"Equipment code not found"

The EquipmentCode value in your CSV does not match any active asset in CLUE. Check Directory > Assets for the correct code or alias. Make sure the asset is active (deactivated assets are not matched).

"Cost code not found"

The CostCode value does not match any of your configured accounting codes. Double-check spelling, spacing, and capitalization — the match must be exact. For example, RepairsAndMaintenance is different from Repairs And Maintenance.

Data not showing after upload

After uploading, refresh the page. Make sure the year and month filters on the Fleet Overview are set to match the period you uploaded. If you uploaded January 2026 data, set the financial view to show 2026.

Best Practices

• Upload monthly — Keep your fleet cost analysis current by uploading data at the end of each accounting period
• Use the Fleet Overview tab to see cost trends and totals across your entire fleet
• Use the Asset Financial tab to drill into costs for individual pieces of equipment
• Need to add or change codes? Contact your CLUE Customer Success Manager — code names need to stay consistent with your uploaded data