> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nectarclimate.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Usage data
> Understand consumption records, occupancy adjustments, and how edits affect your reports.
Need help in this area? See [Data Inventory FAQ](/platform/data-inventory/faq).
Usage data is the heart of what Nectar collects — the actual consumption numbers from your utility bills. Each usage data record answers a simple question: how much of a resource did a specific meter use during a specific period, and what did it cost?
**See also:** [Glossary — Usage data](/platform/glossary#usage-data) for the term definition.
## What a usage data record contains
Here is a concrete example. One usage data record might say:
> **Meter #A12345** at 123 Main Street used **5,200 kWh** of electricity from **January 1 through January 31, 2024**, at a cost of **\$780.00**.
Every usage data record includes these key fields:
| Field | What it means | Example |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------- |
| **Meter** | Which meter this consumption belongs to | Meter #A12345 |
| **Bill** | Which bill this data was extracted from | Bill #INV-2024-0131 |
| **Service dates** | The start and end of the billing period | Jan 1, 2024 – Jan 31, 2024 |
| **Raw usage** | The consumption value as printed on the bill | 5,200 kWh |
| **Tenant usage** | Your share of the consumption (may be adjusted for occupancy) | 2,080 kWh (at 40% occupancy) |
| **Unit of measure** | What the numbers are measured in | kWh, therms, gallons, etc. |
| **Total cost** | The cost associated with this usage | \$780.00 |
## Tenant usage vs raw usage
In most cases, tenant usage and raw usage are the same number. The distinction only matters when you occupy a shared building.
**When it matters:** Imagine you lease 40% of a 10-story office building. The whole building's electricity meter reads 10,000 kWh for the month. But you only want to report your share.
| Concept | What it means | Example |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------- |
| **Raw usage** | The full consumption amount on the bill — the whole building | 10,000 kWh |
| **Occupancy percentage** | Your share of the building (set on the site) | 40% |
| **Tenant usage** | Your share: raw usage multiplied by occupancy | 4,000 kWh |
**Tenant usage** is the number that appears in your analytics, exports, and carbon reports. If your site does not have an occupancy percentage set, or if the occupancy setting is off, tenant usage equals raw usage.
To configure occupancy for your site, see [Occupancy adjustment](/platform/methodology/occupancy). For the connection-level checkbox, see [Connections — Multiply by occupancy](/platform/data-input/connections#multiply-by-occupancy).
## Estimated usage data
If Nectar could not extract exact numbers from a bill — maybe the PDF was blurry or the bill format was unusual — you can enter the usage data manually and mark it as **estimated**. Estimated records work just like regular records in analytics and exports, but the estimated flag lets anyone looking at the data know the values are approximations.
This is also useful for filling in gaps. If you know a building used approximately 4,500 kWh in March but the bill hasn't arrived yet, you can create an estimated record to keep your reports complete. When the real bill comes in, replace the estimate with the actual number.
See [Glossary — Estimated data](/platform/glossary#estimated-data) for the definition.
## Commodity-specific fields
Different utility types have additional fields specific to their commodity. These are filled in automatically when Nectar processes a bill. For definitions of electricity demand, time-of-use tiers, net metering, gas types, water types, waste streams, fuel types, and more, see the [Glossary — Commodities and Energy Types](/platform/glossary#commodities-and-energy-types) section.
## Additional data fields
Some usage data records include extra metadata that does not fit into the standard fields above. These are stored as **additional data fields** — free-form key-value pairs attached to a usage record. Common examples include:
* **Process type** — the operational process the meter serves (e.g., "Bldg Heat," "Powder Coat," "Heat Treat")
* **Department or cost center** — which part of the organization the usage belongs to
* **Sub-meter classification** — any custom label parsed from the utility bill
Additional data fields appear in the expanded usage detail panel when present. You can add, edit, or remove them in the **Additional data fields** section at the bottom of the usage data edit form.
## Emissions data
Each usage data record can have associated emissions information — CO₂e totals, emission factors, and emissions methodology notes. For definitions and context, see [Glossary — Carbon and Emissions Reporting](/platform/glossary#carbon-and-emissions-reporting).
## How edits affect your reports
When you edit a usage data record, the changes show up across the platform immediately:
| What you change | What happens |
| --------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Raw or tenant usage** | Consumption totals update in analytics. Your site's monthly total goes up or down by the difference. Future exports use the new value. |
| **Change meter assignment** | The usage moves from one meter (and its site) to another. Both sites' analytics update immediately. |
| **Edit cost** | Cost analytics and cost exports reflect the new amount. |
| **Change service dates** | Shifts which time period the data falls into. A record that was in January might move to February if you change the end date. |
| **Update emissions** | Carbon reports and ESG exports reflect the new values. |
Changes take effect immediately in analytics and future exports. Exports you have already
downloaded are not updated retroactively — they reflect the data as it was at the time you
exported. If you need a corrected export, run the export again after making your edits.
## FAQ
There are several common causes. The bill PDF may have been hard to read, leading to incorrect
extraction — compare the usage data against the original bill. The meter's identifiers might be
wrong, causing data from a different meter to appear here. Or the occupancy adjustment might be
applied unexpectedly (or not applied when it should be). Start by opening the bill and comparing
the extracted data to the source document.
**Raw usage** is the full consumption amount on the bill — the total for the whole building or
meter. **Tenant usage** is your share of that total, adjusted by your occupancy percentage. If
you occupy 100% of the building (or no occupancy percentage is set), the two numbers are
identical. The difference only matters for shared or multi-tenant buildings.
Open the bill that contains the usage data and navigate to the **Usage** tab. You can edit the
consumption value, cost, service dates, and other fields directly. Your changes take effect
immediately in analytics. If the entire record is wrong, you can exclude it and create a new
manual entry with the correct values from **Data Input > Manual Entry**.
Yes. You can add usage data manually through the bill detail page (**Usage** tab > **Add usage
data**) or through the manual data entry flow in **Data Input > Manual Entry**. Manually entered
data works exactly like automatically extracted data in analytics, exports, and carbon
calculations.
No. Exports that have already been downloaded reflect the data as it was at the time of export.
If you edit usage data after exporting, the old export file will not change. To get an export
with the corrected data, run the export again.