Enter data into Portfolio Manager

Once you have collected all the data you need for your properties, you have a few different options for adding buildings and updating data in Portfolio Manager.

Manual entry for one building

To add one building at a time or update data for one building at a time, you can simply key the information into Portfolio Manager, following step-by-step guidance within the tool:

  • Add Property Wizard – This wizard will help you set up your property by gathering key information about the primary use of your building and the operational use details, such as hours and number of workers. If you don’t know all those details, don’t worry! Portfolio Manager will fill in default values and you can come back to update them later.
  • Add Meter Wizard – Once your property is set up, this wizard will help you enter your energy and water meters. You’ll begin by setting up basic information about your meter types and go on to add your actual monthly usage values. 

Spreadsheet upload

If you’re already using Excel to track data or you have a lot of buildings, you may want to import your data straight from Excel.  For large portfolios, this feature helps cut the time that would otherwise be required to add each building manually.

To enter your properties for the first time, you can use the add properties spreadsheet to create new properties in your portfolio.

Once your properties are in Portfolio Manager, simply tell us what you need to do — whether it’s adding meters or bills or editing information — and we’ll create the right Excel template just for you, with all the property ID numbers. Then you can fill in the data and upload your customized Excel template right back into Portfolio Manager.

  • Add Meters – This creates new meters, which may be useful when you’re setting up your properties or if you need to make changes.
  • Add Bills – Use this spreadsheet to upload your meters with the most recent values from your bills each month.
  • Edit Basic Information – This spreadsheet will help you edit things like the Property Name, Address, or Identification Numbers.

Web services

Many leading energy services companies exchange data directly with Portfolio Manager. These companies can upload your energy data and also extract key performance metrics, like the 1 – 100 ENERGY STAR score. (For example, the ENERGY STAR score might be built into a vendor’s energy dashboard.)

Your utility may also be able to exchange data with Portfolio Manager, in which case they can help you keep your energy information up-to-date every month. Learn which utilities across the country are providing web services and other data access solutions to support benchmarking.

Web services are ideal for companies with:  

  • Energy information and bill handling services
  • A large portfolio of buildings
  • Interest in eliminating manual data entry

Find a provider that offers web services.

Your company may also choose to set up web services internally to update your own buildings automatically.  Learn how to use web services to exchange data with Portfolio Manager.

Additional training

See our training resources for more information on getting data into Portfolio Manager.