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Need help in this area? See Data Input FAQ.

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What is a connection?

Think of a connection like setting up automatic bill pay at your bank — except instead of paying bills, Nectar is downloading and reading them for you. You give Nectar the login credentials for a utility website (like ConEdison, PG&E, or Duke Energy), and Nectar logs in on your behalf every week to grab new bills and extract the data. Once a connection is set up, you never have to visit that utility website again. Nectar handles it all: finding new bills, downloading the PDFs, reading them with AI, and filing the data in the right place. It’s the core of how Nectar works, and it’s what saves most customers dozens of hours every month.

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How to create a connection

1

Choose your utility provider

Go to Data Input > Connections and click Online Accounts (or Connect account). Search for your utility company by name or URL — Nectar supports thousands of providers. For example, type “ConEdison” or “Pacific Gas” and select the right one from the list. If your provider isn’t listed, choose Custom provider, enter the utility name and website URL, then Continue with custom provider so Nectar can set up the connection to that portal.
2

Enter the login credentials

Enter the username and password for the utility website — the same login you’d use if you were downloading a bill yourself. If someone else manages that account, use their credentials with permission. If the utility requires a text message code or authenticator app, you’ll complete that step here too.
3

Configure your settings

Tell Nectar how to handle the data: which sites the account covers, what type of utility it is, and how far back to collect bills. See the detailed breakdown of each setting below.
4

Submit and wait

Once you submit, Nectar gets to work. The first data pull typically completes within a few days. After that, Nectar checks the utility portal weekly for new bills — automatically, with no effort from you.

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Configuration settings explained

When you create a connection, the configuration step has several settings that control how Nectar collects and processes data. Here’s what each one means in plain terms:

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Sites

Which of your buildings does this utility account serve? For example, if your ConEdison login covers both your Manhattan and Brooklyn offices, select both sites. This tells Nectar where to file the bills and usage data. If you’re not sure which sites an account covers, it’s fine to select your best guess — you can always reassign data later.

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Datasource types

What types of utility service does this account cover? Most utility accounts are straightforward — just electricity, or just natural gas. But some combined accounts cover multiple services (like electricity and gas on the same bill). Select all the types that apply: Electricity, Gas, Water, Waste, Fuel, Solar, or District (steam, chilled water, hot water). Nectar will only process bills that match your selections.

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Data collection start date

How far back should Nectar look for bills? You have three choices:
If a specific account within the connection has its own start date set (in the account’s settings), that account-level setting takes priority over the connection-level one.

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Multiply by occupancy

For shared buildings where you only lease a portion of the space. This setting appears whenever your company has the occupancy adjustment feature enabled (configured in Settings > Company). When a site’s occupancy adjustment mode is set to Per connection, this checkbox controls whether this connection’s usage data is multiplied by the site’s occupancy percentage. For example, if the site’s occupancy is 40% and this box is checked, a bill showing 10,000 kWh becomes 4,000 kWh in your reports. Leave this off if the utility account already reflects only your space, or if the site uses All data mode (which applies occupancy regardless of this checkbox).
This checkbox has no effect when the site’s adjustment mode is Disabled or All data — it is only consulted in Per connection mode. See Occupancy adjustment for the full picture.

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Custom container

For waste and fuel accounts only. If your waste hauler picks up a specific dumpster, or a fuel company delivers to a specific tank, enter the container details (name, size, and units) here. Nectar uses this information to calculate total consumption from delivery records. For example, if you have a 500-gallon propane tank and receive deliveries of 250 gallons at a time, Nectar can track your total fuel consumption accurately.

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Owner email

Who should receive notifications about this connection? Enter the email address of the person who manages this utility account. They’ll get notified if the connection encounters an error (like a changed password) or when new data is collected. Usually this is you, but for accounts you manage for someone else it might be a facility manager or site contact.

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MFA requirement

Does this utility website require a security code to log in? Some utility portals send a text message code, use an authenticator app, or ask security questions during login. If yours does, check this box. During setup you may complete a one-time login in the browser (including MFA), then Nectar walks you through MFA forwarding — how SMS or email codes are delivered so Nectar can complete automated logins on the weekly schedule. If forwarding stops working or the portal rotates MFA, you may need to Reconnect and refresh that setup later.
Need utility-specific instructions? See the MFA overview for detailed setup guides per utility provider and a triage flow for fixing MFA issues.

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What to expect after connecting

  • First data: Nectar typically completes the first collection within a few hours; allow up to 48 hours in some cases. How many bills you get depends on the start date setting and how much history the utility portal makes available (most keep 12 to 24 months).
  • Weekly checks: After the initial pull, Nectar checks the utility portal every week for new bills. You don’t need to do anything — new bills are downloaded and processed automatically.
  • Notifications: The owner email receives updates when new data arrives or when an issue needs attention.

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What to share with the account holder

If you’re an energy consultant connecting someone else’s utility account, here’s a simple explanation you can pass along:
“We use a platform called Nectar to automatically collect your utility data. We’ll need the login credentials for your utility website — the same username and password you’d use to view your bills online. Nectar logs in weekly to download new bills and extract the data. Your credentials are encrypted and stored securely. You can also connect the account yourself through a secure link we’ll send you.”
If the account holder is uncomfortable sharing credentials directly, consider sending them an invitation instead — they enter their own login without you seeing it.

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Connection status

After you create a connection, its status tells you whether data is flowing smoothly or something needs your attention. Plain-language definitions for every status — what it means and what to do — live in one place: Glossary — Connection status.
For API field names and programmatic handling, see Connection statuses in the Developer guide.

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Managing connections

Deactivate and activate — Need to temporarily stop data collection? Open the actions menu on the connection and click Deactivate connection. The status changes to Deactivated, weekly checks stop, and no new bills are collected — but every bill, account, and meter that was already collected stays in place. Click Activate connection when you’re ready and the next weekly check picks up from where it left off. Deactivation is reversible at any time, so prefer it over deleting whenever you might come back to the connection. If you manage connections via the API, deactivate and activate map to PATCH /connection/{id}/details with {"isActive": false} and {"isActive": true} — see the Connection lifecycle developer guide. Delete — Permanently remove a connection you no longer need. Deletion is the right choice when the utility account itself is closed or you’ve moved to a different provider. If you might come back to the connection later, deactivate it instead — deactivation keeps everything in place and you can activate in one click. Reconnect — If a connection enters an error state (password changed, MFA expired, etc.), use the Reconnect action. For most credential errors you re-enter username and password in the browser; for MFA token expired, Nectar opens MFA forwarding setup instead — configure how codes reach Nectar for automated logins. Reconnecting preserves the link to all existing accounts, meters, and historical data. Don’t create a new connection for the same utility account — always reconnect instead. Send an invitation — Need the account holder to connect their own account? Open Data Input > Invitations. You can pre-fill the utility URL, sites, and utility types so they have less to fill in. See Invitations for details.

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Bulk import connections

Create dozens of connections in a single upload — both online (utility portal logins) and email (forwarded bills) connection types are supported in the same template. The platform parses your file in your browser, lets you match columns, and shows validation errors inline so you can fix them without re-uploading.

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Steps

  1. Go to Data Input > Connections and click Bulk import.
  2. Click Download template in the upload area and choose either Excel (.xlsx) or CSV (.csv) — both files have the same columns and example rows, so pick whichever your tooling prefers.
  3. Drop your filled file. Required columns are auto-mapped by header name; review the mapping in step 2.
  4. Review and fix rows inline. Cells with errors show a red border — click a cell to edit it.
  5. Click Import N connections when there are zero errors.
This file contains credentials. Online rows include plaintext usernames and passwords. Avoid sharing the file by email; prefer encrypted file shares, and delete the local copy after a successful import.

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Always-required columns

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Required for ONLINE rows

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Required for EMAIL rows

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Optional columns (any row)

MFA-required connections need a follow-up step. Rows with Requires MFA = true will be created but cannot sync until you open each connection and finish MFA forwarding setup. The completion toast tells you how many follow-ups are needed; the connections page surfaces the same state via the connection status.

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Limits

  • Up to 200 connections per import.
  • Sites must already exist in your sites — bulk-create sites first if needed (see Sites — Bulk import).
  • Security questions (Q&A pairs) are not supported in bulk. Set those up via the per-connection edit screen after import.

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What happens after import

The same things that happen for any individual connection — Nectar starts collecting bills on the next weekly cycle, the owner email receives status notifications, and connections that fail will surface as Password Incorrect, MFA Token Expired, or similar in the Connection status list.

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FAQ

Yes, but it’s encrypted. Nectar stores credentials using AES-128 encryption so it can log in to the utility portal on your behalf. The encrypted credentials are never visible to other users and cannot be retrieved in plain text — not even by Nectar staff. Nectar holds SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2 certifications for security.
The connection will show a Password Incorrect status at the next weekly check. You’ll receive an email notification. Use the Reconnect action to enter the new password. This is the most common connection issue and takes about 30 seconds to fix.
If you go through setup again with the same utility provider and username for your company, Nectar treats it as the same connection and updates that record—for example, new credentials or site selections—instead of creating a second connection. You should still use Reconnect when you mean to fix a failed connection, but an accidental duplicate submit will not leave you with two separate connections for that login.
You should not try to maintain two separate connections for the same utility login—that can cause duplicate data and confusion. Nectar matches on the same provider and username for your company and keeps a single connection, updating it if you submit again. To change credentials or fix errors, edit the existing connection or use Reconnect rather than starting over as if it were new.
There’s no hard limit on the number of connections. Nectar customers range from a handful of connections to thousands. If you’re planning a large rollout, contact [email protected] to discuss the best onboarding approach.
Utility websites occasionally update their portals, which can temporarily disrupt connections. Nectar’s engineering team monitors for these changes and typically updates support within days. If your connection breaks after a utility portal redesign, it will show Under Investigation while the team works on it.
Connections are checked on a weekly cycle. After each check, any new bills found are downloaded and processed. Most utility companies post new bills monthly, so a weekly check ensures Nectar grabs them promptly.
The most common causes are a changed password, an expired MFA token, or a temporary utility website outage. Check the connection status for the specific error and follow the guidance in the Glossary — Connection status. If the status says Under Investigation, the Nectar team is already on it.
Yes. Nectar supports utility providers globally, including across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and other international markets. The platform handles different date formats, currencies, and units of measure. If your provider isn’t listed, contact [email protected] to request it.
Deactivating stops the weekly collection check and sets the connection’s status to Deactivated — but every bill, meter, and account that’s already been collected stays exactly where it is. Deactivation is fully reversible: open the actions menu and click Activate connection whenever you’re ready, and the next weekly check picks up from there. Think of it as putting a subscription on hold rather than canceling it. If you’re done with the connection for good (the utility account itself is closed, for example), use Delete instead.
Go to Data Input > Connections, open the connection, and click Reconnect. For Password incorrect, New password needed, or Additional credentials needed, enter updated credentials in the embedded browser and submit. For MFA token expired, Nectar opens MFA forwarding setup (not the password screen) — you configure or refresh how login codes reach Nectar, confirm, or disable MFA if the portal no longer requires it. Nectar will retry collection after you finish. All existing data is preserved.