Introduction to Entry Types and Which One Should You Create?

Understanding Site, Group, and CPO

Site, Group, and CPO entries are the core elements for managing a charging network in EV OS. An entry is essentially a record in EV OS that holds all the relevant details for a specific part of your network. This could be information about a Site, a CPO, or a Group of Sites or CPO, depending on what you're managing.

• Site represents individual locations and holds station-specific data.
• Group simplifies management by organizing multiple Sites and/or CPOs based on common characteristics.
• CPO represents an entity that manages and operates charging networks. Creating a CPO entry is required when sub-licensing the service to a client that manages its own network of charging stations.

Site

A Site is the fundamental unit within a charging network, representing a physical location where one or more charging stations are installed. 

Sites are crucial for managing a wide range of station-specific configurations, such as location information, site photos, pricing, and other operational parameters.

For example, Site settings allow you to define how drivers pay for using stations and how much a driver pays at any time of the day. 

Group

A Group is a logical organization of multiple Sites and/or CPOs (Charge Point Operators), designed to simplify management tasks. Think of it as a folder in your computer’s Documents section. It helps to categorize and organize different Sites and CPOs based on shared characteristics, such as geographic region, service type, or operational criteria.

Grouping Sites together allows you to manage several locations at once, making it easier to apply changes. For instance, you can group Sites by location, such as states or cities. Then, specify the payment pre-authorization amount from Group settings, and the settings will be applied to all the sites beneath this group.

CPO (Charge Point Operator)

A CPO is an entity that operates a network of charging sites. Creating a CPO entry is essential when sub-licensing the service to a client (i.e., a business that manages its own network of charging stations). It allows you to manage your clients, and in turn, your clients can collect revenue from the sites and groups under their management. 

Only CPO entries have permission to set up their own payment gateway accounts, while Site and Group entries can only inherit the settings.

So, Which One Should You Create?

Entry types determine the functions you can manage on EV OS. For operational settings such as site information or pricing management, a Site entry is required.

For high-level administrative settings, such as managing client information or enabling automatic revenue transfer, a CPO entry is required.

Example A:

You're creating an entry for Client C, who operates sites X and Y. You need to manage Client C's information, and Client C needs to receive revenue from sites X and Y.

Here's what to do:

1. Create a CPO entry for Client C. This ensures Client C can manage any sites created under this CPO. Client C can also enable automatic revenue transfer, allowing them to receive revenue from sites and groups under this CPO entry.

2. Create sites for site X and Y under Client C’s CPO entry.

Example B:

You are an entity with multiple sites across the states of California and Texas. You (or your organization) directly manage these sites. You want to be able to adjust the charging station rates on these sites individually. You also want to perform site-specific settings, such as who can find your sites on the map, what drivers see on the app when they start a session at your site. You'd also like to organize your sites for easier management by state (or other attributes as you see fit).

Here's what to do:

1. Create Site entries for all of your sites.

2. Create a Group entry and sort your sites by state.