ERP connectionsUpdated
Connect Vectis to your ERP: send odometer, engine hours, work requests and monthly usage, and keep your fleet register in sync. Where to find each guide.
An ERP connection links Vectis to the system that holds your asset register. Depending on the connection, it sends your vehicles' odometer and engine hours readings, raises work requests from failed inspections and sends monthly usage by cost centre, and it can read your fleet register into Vectis. Nobody has to re-key the data.
Before you start
ERP connections are a custom add-on. Vectis switches them on for your organisation after a short discovery call, and your contract sets how many connections you can have. Until then, Settings → Integrations → ERP connections explains that it is an add-on and invites you to contact Vectis.
Access to the screens is controlled by three permissions:
| Permission | What it allows |
|---|---|
| View ERP connections | See connections, their status and delivery history. |
| Manage ERP connections | Create and change connections, map vehicles and fields, set schedules, run now, resend and dismiss readings, pause and resume, and approve register changes. |
| Set ERP credentials | Set or replace a connection's credential. By default only System Administrators have this. |
Connection types
When you create a connection you choose its type. The type cannot be changed afterwards.
| Type | How data is delivered |
|---|---|
| REST API | Vectis calls your ERP's API. It can authenticate with OAuth client credentials, an API key or basic authentication. |
| Signed webhook | Vectis sends each item to a URL you provide. Every request is signed so your receiver can check it came from Vectis. |
| CSV file | Vectis writes a file. You can download it (files are kept for 30 days), have it emailed, or have it uploaded by SFTP. |
| TechnologyOne | Available as a custom add-on and set up with Vectis. See TechnologyOne connections. |
What a connection can do
Which of these a connection offers depends on its type and how it was set up.
| Capability | Where to find it |
|---|---|
| Send odometer and engine hours readings | Set up an ERP connection |
| Read the fleet register from the ERP (Fleet register tab) | Keep your fleet register in sync with your ERP |
| Raise work requests from failed inspections (Work requests card) | Send failed inspections to your ERP as work requests |
| Send monthly usage by cost centre (Monthly usage card) | Send monthly usage to your ERP |
How readings are sent
- You create a connection, set its credential and the hosts it may call.
- You tell Vectis each vehicle's asset number in your ERP. A vehicle without one is not sent.
- You choose which fields are sent and in what format, and when readings are sent.
- Each reading is sent once, in order, with a key your ERP can use to spot a repeat.
- You watch the status screen and fix anything that is refused.
A reading that is lower than the last one sent for that vehicle is held for review rather than sent, so a mistyped odometer does not reach your ERP.
Guides
- Set up an ERP connection: credentials, field mapping and schedules.
- Map vehicles to ERP asset numbers: by hand, bulk edit or file import.
- Read the sync status screen and fix failures: statuses, alerts, resending.
- Keep your fleet register in sync with your ERP
- Send failed inspections to your ERP as work requests
- Send monthly usage to your ERP
- TechnologyOne connections
- Engine hours: where they come from and how to correct them.
Fields managed by your ERP
A vehicle field that your ERP is set up to manage is read-only in Vectis while the connection is on. The vehicle shows a note saying which connection manages it. If the connection reads your fleet register, the registration, VIN, make, model, year, department and cost centre become read-only once you approve the first register sync. See Keep your fleet register in sync with your ERP. If the connection is switched off, the fields go back to being edited in Vectis.