Fleet Import

Note: This feature is only available for locations that use an automated fleet import process to add units, rather than manually creating unit records.

Fleet Import automates your in-fleeting process, leveraging unit information provided by your manufacturer to create new unit records during the Retail Delivery Report (RDR) process, all behind-the-scenes.

Fleet Imports helps keep fleet in-sync between your system and the manufacturer, allows the manufacturer to ensure accurate in-service dates and VINs, and facilitates subsidy programs, vehicle recall campaigns, and telematics.

Fleet Import Process

Your exact fleet import process is specific to your manufacturer, but the below is a general flow for how automated fleet import works in TSD DEALER.

Note that, in some cases, if your manufacturer supports automated defleeting and/or reinstatements, a unit might be automatically removed from the fleet or flagged for removal, or reinstated to the fleet.

1. You (the dealer) RDR's a vehicle within your dealer management system (DMS).
2. Your OEM reviews and approves the vehicle, based on several considerations, such as financing and insurance.
3. Your OEM sends the VIN to TSD DEALER. The method of transmission varies, but sFTP file transmission is typically used.
4. After successful processing, the unit is placed in the Pending Import Details status, which means it's ready for adding to the fleet.
5. You can complete the import process by accessing the unit record. The easiest way is via the Pending Import Details tile on your Dashboard. See "Import a unit to the fleet".
6. Fill in the remaining required information not known by the manufacturer (e.g., license plate and sticker information, and in some cases, Service Start Date), and add the unit to the active fleet, where its status is set to Ready for use.
7. For locations that use Telematics with certain providers, the newly-imported unit may be onboarded with the Telematics Hub. See "TSD Telematics" for more information.

Fleet Import Restrictions

Depending on your manufacturer, restrictions may in place when it comes to importing units to the fleet, removing units from pending import, editing certain fields, and more.

• You can only import a Pending Import Details unit to the fleet if the Service Start Date is today or in the past. If the Service Start Date is a future date, then the unit cannot be imported yet. When clicking IMPORT, a message is displayed: "Cannot import this unit prior to its In Service Date of MM/DD/YY."

• The Service Start Date may be unavailable for editing while importing a unit, based on the Lock Service Start Date management setting, which may be set by your manufacturer.

How To ...

Glossary of terms

Battery Level (%)

Note: These fields are only displayed for electric vehicles (units with a Fuel Type of Electric). Gas vehicles use Fuel Level.

For electric vehicles in your fleet, the Battery Level (%) represents the percentage measurement of the electric charge remaining in the vehicle's battery (e.g., 80%).

You may see this referenced on unit records, agreements, and reports throughout the application:

• Current Battery Level (%): The current battery level percentage recorded in the unit's record; when assigning a unit to an open agreement, this field is displayed for reference only and cannot be edited.
• Battery Level Out (%): The current battery level percentage recorded at the time the unit is assigned to an open agreement; at return during an exchange or close agreement, this field is displayed for reference only and cannot be edited.
• Battery Level In (%): The current battery level percentage recorded at the time the unit is returned during an exchange or close agreement.

Note that, when an agreement is closed, a unit's returning information is saved as a snapshot, so that if the agreement is re-opened in the future, even if the Fuel Type of that unit has changed to gas, the agreement still displays the battery level at the time the agreement was opened.

Body Style

The unit's Body Style (e.g: Sedan 4-DR or Convertable 2-DR). On new units, this is filled in automatically based in the VIN, but you can change it, if necessary. For automatically imported units, if the Body Style cannot be determined through the import, this field is set to “Other.”

Current Location

The Current Location on a unit record is the current physical location of the unit, as opposed to the Owner Location, which is the financial owner of the unit.

Enable Connected Car

Updates to this field are logged in the unit history, accessible via the History button on the side panel of a unit record. See "Unit History (Event Logging)" for more information.

If a unit's Owner Location has TSD Telematics, the Enable Connected Car toggle indicates whether a unit is enrolled in Telematics, making the unit a "Connected Car".

• :For locations with device-based Telematics, this field is turned on and off automatically when a unit is enrolled or unenrolled, respectively, but may be available for editing, depending on your provider and manufacturer.
• For locations using direct-connect Telematics, this field may be available to manually enroll or unenroll a unit,depending on your manufacturer. When selected, a Confirmed Telematics Request message is displayed: "This unit will be added to the telematics monthly billing. Are you sure you want to request telematics for this unit?" Click Yes, Continue to continue enrolling the unit in Telematics, or Cancel to cancel and return to the unit record. See "TSD Telematics" for more information.

Exterior Color

Updates to this field are logged in the unit history, accessible via the History button on the side panel of a unit record. See "Unit History (Event Logging)" for more information.

While optional, the Exterior Color of a unit is a useful field to fill in, as customers may request a specific colored unit at the counter.

Fuel Capacity

Unit’s fuel capacity or tank size in gallon or liters, depending on your system's Fuel Capacity Unit management setting.​

Fuel Level

Note: These fields are only displayed for gas vehicles (units with a Fuel Type of Gas). Electric vehicles use Battery Level.

For gas vehicles in your fleet, the Fuel Level represents the amount of fuel in the unit's tank in eighths or sixteenths, depending on your system settings.

You may see this referenced on unit records, agreements, and reports throughout the application:

Other fuel-related fields:

• Current Fuel Level: The current amount of fuel in the unit's tank; when assigning a unit to an open agreement, this field is displayed for reference only and cannot be edited.
• Fuel Level Out: The current fuel level amount recorded at the time the unit is assigned to an open agreement; during an exchange (for the returning unit) or close agreement, this field is displayed for reference only and cannot be edited.
• Fuel Level In: The current fuel level amount recorded at the time the unit is returned during an exchange or close agreement.

Turn on a Low Fuel or Missing Fuel alert, so you can be notified when the fuel level of a unit is less than 1/4, when a unit is returned with less fuel than the Fuel Level Out. See "Alerts: Alerts Panel & Email Alerts" for more information.

Note: Fuel and mileage may be automatically retrieved from a vehicle (for example, though an integration with TSD Telematics). In some cases, you may manually edit these values, but refer to the Help topic on your integration for more information.

Fuel Type

When adding or importing a unit to the fleet, you can use the Fuel Type selection to identify units as gas (the default) or electric vehicles.

Note that for Electric vehicles, the Battery Level (%) field replaces Fuel Level on unit records, and the agreements show the Current Battery Level (%), Battery Level Out (%), and Battery Level In (%) instead of fuel. Additionally, electric vehicles do not generate fuel charges, so if you have fuel charges set up, this charge for fuel is only displayed if a gas vehicle was assigned to the agreement, and is only applicable to the gas consumed, not the electric vehicle's battery.

Updates to this field are logged in the unit history, accessible via the History button on the side panel of a unit record. See "Unit History (Event Logging)" for more information.

Hard Hold

Updates to this field are logged in the unit history, accessible via the History button on the side panel of a unit record. See "Unit History (Event Logging)" for more information.

When editing a unit record, select the Hard Hold check box to prevent a unit of any status from being assigned to an appointment or agreement. When putting a unit on Hard Hold, you must also enter a reason (Hard Hold Reason).

Track the number of active units in your fleet placed on Hard Hold on your Fleet Operations dashboard. See "Fleet Operations & Performance Dashboards" for more information.

Hard Hold Reason

Updates to this field are logged in the unit history, accessible via the History button on the side panel of a unit record. See "Unit History (Event Logging)" for more information.

When a Hard Hold is applied to a unit, you must enter a reason of up to 100 characters (example: "Grounded for sales" or "Grounded for VIP customer").

Inspection Expiration Date

Updates to this field are logged in the unit history, accessible via the History button on the side panel of a unit record. See "Unit History (Event Logging)" for more information.

Expiration date of the unit's inspection sticker.

Track the number of units in your fleet with inspection stickers that are expired or expiring within 30 days on your Fleet Operations dashboard. See "Fleet Operations & Performance Dashboards" for more information.

Last Communication

For locations with Connected Car integration and unit records with Connected Car enabled, the Last Communication is the date and local time at which telematics were last provided. See "TSD Telematics" for more information.

License Plate

Permission required to edit this field: Edit License Plate

Unit’s license plate number; the combination of the license plate number and plate state must be unique for active units in your fleet. The plate must be unique for your region.

Make

Make of unit. On new units, the Make is filled in automatically based in the VIN, but you can change it, if necessary.

Available options may be based on the following management setting in Admin Setup: Restricted Make in Admin Setup (Management tab)

Miles

Updates to this field are logged in the unit history, accessible via the History button on the side panel of a unit record. See "Unit History (Event Logging)" for more information.

The Current Miles on a unit record reflects the current odometer reading of the unit.

Other odometer-related fields:

• Miles In: The unit's odometer reader at the time of return from an agreement or exchange. Depending on your manufacturer, this may be Customer Miles In and Dealer Miles In on Delivery and Collection agreements.
• Miles Out: The unit's odometer reading, at the time the unit is assigned to an agreement or exchange. Depending on your manufacturer, this may be Dealer Miles Out and Customer Miles Out on Delivery and Collection agreements.

Model

Model of the unit. On new units, the Model is filled in automatically based in the VIN, but you can change it, if necessary.

Owner Location

Updates to this field are logged in the unit history, accessible via the History button on the side panel of a unit record. See "Unit History (Event Logging)" for more information.

A unit's Owner Location is the location that owns the vehicle, as opposed to the vehicle’s current location. When adding a new unit, this selection is unavailable and defaults to your current location. The Owner Location list contains locations to which you have viewership.

Plate Expiration Date

Permission required to edit this field: Edit License Plate

The expiration date of a unit's license plate.

Track the number of units in your fleet with plates that are expired or expiring within 30 days on your Fleet Operations dashboard. See "Fleet Operations & Performance Dashboards" for more information.

Updates to this field are logged in the unit history, accessible via the History button on the side panel of a unit record. See "Unit History (Event Logging)" for more information.

Service Start Date

The Service Start Date cannot be edited if the Lock Service Start Date management setting is enabled for your location or at the OEM level.

A unit's Service Start Date, or in-service date, represents the first day on which the unit becomes available for service and able to be used on appointments and agreements.

If your location manually adds units to the fleet, or if your location uses automatic fleet import but the Lock Service Start Date setting is not enabled for your location, the Service Start Date is set to the date on which the unit record is added to the active fleet from Pending Import Details (in other words, the unit record's Creation Date).

Otherwise, a unit's Service Start Date may be provided by your manufacturer during the automated fleet import process.

You can only import a Pending Import Details unit to the fleet if the Service Start Date is today or in the past. If the Service Start Date is a future date, then the unit cannot be imported yet. When clicking IMPORT, a message is displayed: "Cannot import this unit prior to its In Service Date of MM/DD/YY."

See "Fleet Import" for more information about the import process.

Status

Your employee role must have the Fleet Status permission to change a unit's status.

Note: Depending on your manufacturer, the Status selection may be set to Recall and may be unavailable for editing if the unit has been assigned to a safety recall campaign, as indicated by a Recall tag on the unit record. This is to ensure no driver uses the unit until the recall campaign is completed. See "Vehicle Safety Recalls" for more information.

Updates to this field are logged in the unit history, accessible via the History button on the side panel of a unit record. See "Unit History (Event Logging)" for more information.

This is the unit's current status (example: Ready, In Use, or Maintenance). For a complete list of fleet statuses, see "Fleet Statuses" .

Subsidy / Idle Days

If your location uses automated fleet import, this column is present when viewing a list of units that are pending fleet import in table view (). It shows the number of days the unit has been in the Pending Import Details status, including today and the day it was received from your manufacturer. Once you add (import) the unit to your active fleet, Subsidy / Idle Days becomes 0.

Telematics ID

For locations with TSD Telematics (Connected Car integration) and units that have Enable Connected Car turned on in the unit record, the Telematics ID is the serial number on the telematics device used to provide fuel and mileage information. See "TSD Telematics" for more information.

Transponder ID

This field is only available with Toll Processing with TSD Connect integration. See "TSD Toll Connect: Toll Processing" for more information.

Updates to this field are logged in the unit history, accessible via the History button on the side panel of a unit record. See "Unit History (Event Logging)" for more information.

A Transponder ID is a unique identifier for the transponder device associated with the VIN being used for toll processing, for locations using Verra Mobility as the toll authority.

Note: When moving transponder devices between units, you must delete the Transponder ID from the unit record of the unit whose transponder you are removing, then add the Transponder ID to the unit record of the unit that is receiving the transponder.

Trim

Trim level of the unit. On new units, this is filled in automatically based in the VIN, but you can change it, if necessary. For automatically imported units, if the Trim cannot be determined through the import, this field is set to “Other.”

Turnback Date

If your manufacturer allows you to edit a unit's Turnback Date, your employee role must have the Edit Turnback Date permission to edit the Turnback Date field on a unit record. See "Roles & Permissions".

If your manufacturer does not allow you to edit a unit's Turnback Date, then the field cannot be edited, regardless of your employee role's permissions.

A unit's Turnback Date is the date after which the unit must be removed from service. This field is automatically set when a unit is added or imported to the fleet, based on its Service Start Date and the Dealer Turnback Days or your manufacturer's settings, if applicable, (If managed at both the dealer and corporate levels, the more restrictive setting is used when adding units in TSD DEALER.)

When a unit reaches its Turnback Date, the status of the unit is automatically set to Turnback Reached so you can remove the unit from the fleet.

Turnback alerts warn employees when the Turnback Date is approaching. See "Unit Availability & Alerts" for more information.

 

Dealer Restrictions for Turnback Date & Turnback Miles
Can I ....?	If Manufacturer Does Not Allow Dealers to Manage Turnback Dates	If Manufacturer Allows Dealers to Manage Turnback Dates
Edit an individual unit's Turnback Date?	No, even if you have the Edit Turnback Date permission.	Yes, if you have the Edit Turnback Date permission and the new value doesn't exceed your manufacturer's setting (OEM Turnback Days), if applicable. If it does, then a message is displayed under the field: "Must be less than or equal to the OEM turnback ([OEM Turnback Date or OEM Turnback Miles value])."
Edit an individual unit's Turnback Miles?	Yes, if you have the Edit Turnback Miles permission and the new value doesn't exceed your manufacturer's setting (OEM Turnback Miles), if applicable. If it does, then a message is displayed under the field: "Must be less than or equal to the OEM turnback (OEM Turnback Miles value])."	Yes, if you have the Edit Turnback Miles permission and the new value doesn't exceed your manufacturer's setting (OEM Turnback Miles), if applicable. If it does, then a message is displayed under the field: "Must be less than or equal to the OEM turnback ([OEM Turnback Date or OEM Turnback Miles value])."
View / edit the Dealer Turnback Days management setting?	No; the manufacturer's setting (OEM Turnback Days) is used when adding or importing units in TSD DEALER.	Yes, but the value cannot exceed your manufacturer's setting (OEM Turnback Days), if applicable. When adding or importing units in TSD DEALER; the more restrictive setting is used to set the Turnback Date, by default. For example, if your manufacturer sets the OEM Turnback Days to 365, and you set Dealer Turnback Days to 360, then when in-fleeting a new unit, the Turnback Date will be set to 360 days after the Service Start Date, since it is the more restrictive of the two settings.
View / edit the Dealer Turnback Miles management setting?	Yes, but the value cannot exceed your manufacturer's setting (OEM Turnback Miles), if applicable. When adding or importing units in TSD DEALER; the more restrictive setting is used to set the Turnback Miles, by default. For example, if your manufacturer sets the OEM Turnback Miles to 50,000, and you set Dealer Turnback Miles to 45,000, then when in-fleeting a new unit, the Turnback Miles will be set to 45,000 miles, since it is the more restrictive of the two settings.	Yes, but the value cannot exceed your manufacturer's setting (OEM Turnback Miles), if applicable. When adding or importing units in TSD DEALER; the more restrictive setting is used to set the Turnback Miles, by default. For example, if your manufacturer sets the OEM Turnback Miles to 50,000, and you set Dealer Turnback Miles to 45,000, then when in-fleeting a new unit, the Turnback Miles will be set to 45,000 miles, since it is the more restrictive of the two settings.

Turnback Miles

Your employee role must have the Edit Turnback Miles permission to edit the Turnback Miles field on a unit record. See "Roles & Permissions".

A unit's Turnback Miles is the mileage at which the unit must be removed from service. This field is automatically set when a unit is added or imported to the fleet, based on the Dealer Turnback Miles (or your manufacturer's settings, if applicable). (If managed at both the dealer and corporate levels, the more restrictive setting is used when adding units in TSD DEALER.)

When a unit's current miles reaches the number of Turnback Miles, the status of the unit is automatically set to Turnback Reached so you can remove the unit from the fleet.

Turnback alerts warn employees when the Turnback Date is approaching. See "Unit Availability & Alerts" for more information.

 

Dealer Restrictions for Turnback Date & Turnback Miles
Can I ....?	If Manufacturer Does Not Allow Dealers to Manage Turnback Dates	If Manufacturer Allows Dealers to Manage Turnback Dates
Edit an individual unit's Turnback Date?	No, even if you have the Edit Turnback Date permission.	Yes, if you have the Edit Turnback Date permission and the new value doesn't exceed your manufacturer's setting (OEM Turnback Days), if applicable. If it does, then a message is displayed under the field: "Must be less than or equal to the OEM turnback ([OEM Turnback Date or OEM Turnback Miles value])."
Edit an individual unit's Turnback Miles?	Yes, if you have the Edit Turnback Miles permission and the new value doesn't exceed your manufacturer's setting (OEM Turnback Miles), if applicable. If it does, then a message is displayed under the field: "Must be less than or equal to the OEM turnback (OEM Turnback Miles value])."	Yes, if you have the Edit Turnback Miles permission and the new value doesn't exceed your manufacturer's setting (OEM Turnback Miles), if applicable. If it does, then a message is displayed under the field: "Must be less than or equal to the OEM turnback ([OEM Turnback Date or OEM Turnback Miles value])."
View / edit the Dealer Turnback Days management setting?	No; the manufacturer's setting (OEM Turnback Days) is used when adding or importing units in TSD DEALER.	Yes, but the value cannot exceed your manufacturer's setting (OEM Turnback Days), if applicable. When adding or importing units in TSD DEALER; the more restrictive setting is used to set the Turnback Date, by default. For example, if your manufacturer sets the OEM Turnback Days to 365, and you set Dealer Turnback Days to 360, then when in-fleeting a new unit, the Turnback Date will be set to 360 days after the Service Start Date, since it is the more restrictive of the two settings.
View / edit the Dealer Turnback Miles management setting?	Yes, but the value cannot exceed your manufacturer's setting (OEM Turnback Miles), if applicable. When adding or importing units in TSD DEALER; the more restrictive setting is used to set the Turnback Miles, by default. For example, if your manufacturer sets the OEM Turnback Miles to 50,000, and you set Dealer Turnback Miles to 45,000, then when in-fleeting a new unit, the Turnback Miles will be set to 45,000 miles, since it is the more restrictive of the two settings.	Yes, but the value cannot exceed your manufacturer's setting (OEM Turnback Miles), if applicable. When adding or importing units in TSD DEALER; the more restrictive setting is used to set the Turnback Miles, by default. For example, if your manufacturer sets the OEM Turnback Miles to 50,000, and you set Dealer Turnback Miles to 45,000, then when in-fleeting a new unit, the Turnback Miles will be set to 45,000 miles, since it is the more restrictive of the two settings.

Unit Notes

For situations that call for a unit-related note that is independent of any specific agreement, you can enter these notes in the Unit Notes text box when adding a unit (manually or using fleet import) or editing a unit record on the web or mobile app. The text box accepts up to 150 characters.

Once a note is added, you can view it on the unit record.

An event is logged in the unit's history when a note is saved.

Note: To protect customers’ sensitive data and ensure it is properly encrypted, you cannot save credit card numbers in notes and other text fields.

Unit Number

The Unit Number is the unit's unique identifier in the TSD DEALER system.

Unit Tag Number

If your location uses tag numbers, a Unit Tag Number can be assigned to a unit. Not to be confused with a unique Unit Number, the Unit Tag Number carries through the open and close agreement processes.

VIN

The unit's 17-character alphanumeric vehicle identification number (VIN), subject to VIN validation by the system when manually entered.

Year

Model year of unit, between 1970 and 2024. For automatically imported units, if the model's Year cannot be determined through the import, the current year is used as a default.