Setting up usage tracking

Usage Tracking lets you charge customers accurately for how much they actually use a rental item — not just how long they had it. Your staff records the odometer, fuel level, or battery reading at pickup and again at return. Sharefox handles the maths and adds the correct extra charges to the order automatically.

Common examples:

•     A car rented for 3 days with a 300 km package — customer drives 420 km — 120 km extra is charged at your set rate

•     An electric vehicle rented for a weekend with 80 kWh included — customer returns with 65 kWh — 15 kWh extra is billed

•     A machine rented with a fuel allowance — the fuel used above the included amount is added to the invoice

Usage Tracking must be enabled for your site before the steps below are available. If you do not see the Usage Tracking options described in this guide, contact Sharefox support or your onboarding contact to have the feature switched on.

Setup Overview

Setting up Usage Tracking has three stages. You only need to do this once per usage type:

1. Define your usage metrics - Tell Sharefox which metrics you track and what unit to use — e.g. "Mileage" in km, or "Battery" in kWh.
2. Create a usage add-on product (e.g. "Standard KM Package") that holds your included allowance and the price per extra unit.
3. Attach the accessory to the cars or machines it applies to. Customers will then be able to select it during booking.

Step 1 — Define Your Usage Metrics

Usage metrics are the measurements you track. These are set up at site level and are shared across all your products.

1.   In the Sharefox Admin, go to Settings → Usage Tracking.

2.   Click Add Metric.

3.   Fill in the fields:

Metric name: A clear label your staff will see, e.g. "Mileage", "Battery level", or "Fuel consumption".

Unit: The measurement unit: km, kWh, L (litres), etc

4.   Click Save.

5.   Repeat for each metric you need (e.g. one for km, one for kWh if you have both regular and electric vehicles).

Step 2 — Create a Usage Add-On Product

A usage add-on is a product that represents a usage package — for example "Standard KM Package" or "Premium KM Package". Each package specifies how much usage is included and what you charge per extra unit. In Sharefox add-on products are called accessories.

Creating the usage accessory

1. Go to Products in the Sharefox Admin.
2. Click Add product → Rentals
3. Give the add-on a name that your customers will recognise, e.g. "Standard KM Package (300 km/day)".
4. Set a price for the add-on itself if applicable (e.g. a "Premium Package free km" may have an upfront cost). Leave at 0 if there is no package fee.
5. Activate the accessory checkbox to display the usage section as an add-on
6. Under More Options you now find the Usage Tracking section. Toggle Usage Tracking to On.
7. Select the metric this add-on tracks (e.g. "Mileage").
8. Fill in the usage parameters:

8.  Click Save.

Tip! IF you want to enable a free km or simply track the units, place a high number on Usage Units Included and/or put 0 in the Price Per Extra Unit

Creating multiple packages (e.g. Standard and Premium)

If you offer tiered packages for the same metric — for example a 100 km/day standard package and a 200 km/day premium package — create a separate add-on product for each. You can then group them so that customers can only choose one at a time (see the next section).

Step 3 — Attach the Add-On to a Rental Product

Once your usage  products exist, you need to link them to the rental products (e.g. specific car models) they apply to.

17.    Open the rental product in the Sharefox Admin (e.g. your car model product).

18.    Scroll to the Product options section and find Package and addons.

19.    Click +Add product and select the usage add-on you created (e.g. "Standard KM Package").

20.    Repeat for any additional packages (e.g. "Premium KM Package").

21.    Click Save.

Tracking multiple metrics on the same rental item

You can attach add-ons for different metrics to the same rental product simultaneously. For example, a car can have both a KM package (tracking mileage) and Fuel (tracking litres) active on the same order. Each metric is tracked independently, and each generates its own extra charge line if the allowance is exceeded.

Making packages mutually exclusive (radio button groups)

If you have two or more packages for the same metric and you want customers to pick only one, you can group them with the "One option required" setting.

1. Open the main rental product the add-ons are attached to (e.g. the car model).
2. Find the add-on group for those packages.
3. Check the box One option required.

With this setting on, selecting one package automatically deselects the others — just like radio buttons. The customer must choose exactly one option from the group.

What Customers See on the Booking Page

When a customer books a car with usage add-ons attached, they will see the packages listed on the product page. The display changes depending on whether they have selected their rental dates yet:

•     Before dates are selected: The customer sees the package name (e.g. "Standard KM Package").

•     After dates are selected: The customer also sees the total included usage for their rental period (e.g. "300 km included" for a 3-day rental at 100 km/day) and the price per extra unit (e.g. "2.50 NOK/km extra").

This gives customers the information they need to choose the right package before they confirm their booking.

Creating Orders with Usage Add-Ons from the Admin

Managers can also create orders directly from the Admin (rather than through the customer-facing shop). In this case, usage add-ons can be added manually during order creation.

Unlike the shop, the mandatory selection rule does not apply when creating orders from Admin — you can create an order without a usage package if needed.

Setup Checklist

Use this checklist to confirm everything is in place before your first tracked rental:

Next: Once setup is complete, see the companion guide Usage on Orders (Pickup & Return) to learn how to record values during a rental.