New Features
European compliant VAT Treatment
EU law regarding VAT in the EV charging industry is constantly evolving. To stay in line with the latest VAT framework, we have updated our billing engine. For a clearer understanding of these changes, please read our explanatory articles:
Labeling Functionality Charging Stations
Streamline the management of large charging networks with Label Functionality, enabling Charge Point Operators to group stations by attributes like location or capacity for easy identification and bulk actions.
You can now add labels to charging stations to group them in a way that fits your needs, such as all stations in City X. The Label functionality is available for all customers.
To learn more about labels and how to use them, read the article here.
Usage-Based Billing Plan for Charge Stations
Empower your business with a new revenue stream through Usage-Based Billing Plan for Charge Stations. This innovative feature allows Charge Point Operators that use the Road Private Label Product to charge an additional fee per kWh consumed on their charging station network, generating income beyond traditional subscription-based plans.
Benefits:
Flexible billing options tailored to different customer needs
Competitive differentiation with customizable pricing strategies
Increased revenue potential by monetizing energy consumption
Enhanced customer solutions with adaptable billing models
Use Case:
Charge Point Operators (CPOs) selling an EV charging proposition to their customers can implement usage-based billing to align with specific kWh-rate agreements. This approach helps optimize revenue streams while offering more tailored pricing solutions.
Improvements
Create new stations:
You can now add new charging stations directly through the user interface, removing the need to connect to the backend for the station to appear on the platform. This allows chargers to be configured before on-site installation.
Charging stations filters:
We’ve added more filters to the charging station overview, making it easier to find stations with similar characteristics. Examples of new filters include Vendor, Power Type, and Account.
Description:
Charging stations now have a "description" text field, allowing you to add notes about each station.
No connectivity period:
We monitor the connectivity of all charging stations on the platform. By default, an issue is raised and an email is sent to a general Provider admin, Charge Point Owner, or Field Service Technician after 24 hours of disconnection. You can now configure the "No Connectivity Period" to as low as 10 minutes. Contact Road support to make this adjustment.
Detected issues - Vendor Error Codes:
For stations reporting a socket error, we’ve added the VendorErrorCode, which provides more details about the specific hardware being used. This information is retrieved from the charger’s Status Notification.
For API customers: the full content of the Status Notification is now displayed in the EVSEIssue context field, making it easier for further processing.
Download OCPP logs:
You can now download the OCPP commands sent to or received from the charger. This includes the log of a single command or an export of all commands based on your applied filters. This is useful if you need to share the data with a third party.
Test Token Authorization:
In the "Test Token Authorization" section of a charging station, you can now check for any concurrent active sessions on the wider Road platform. This helps operators to easily identify if a token is being used on another station and provides tools to stop the session if needed. If a user does not have permission to view or edit the station, the session ID will be displayed so they can contact Road support for assistance with troubleshooting.
Invoice Improvements:
We’ve added the invoice number and page numbers, which now appear on each page.
Two disclaimers have been added to the invoice: one informs customers that some sessions may fall outside the specified billing period, and the other explains that rounding may vary.
Block Card → Block token
When a user's card is disabled, the connected token will now be automatically disabled as well. Previously, these were two separate actions. Please note that disabling the token does not immediately disable the card.
Coming soon
Bulk Actions for charging stations
Bulk actions for charging stations will make it easier to update multiple stations at once. This includes tasks like updating pricing, changing billing plans, or assigning labels. You’ll also be able to update charger configurations, send bulk commands, or run firmware upgrades across a list of stations.
Operational Management
With operational statuses, provider admins can manage the state of a charging station throughout its lifecycle. The default system statuses are based on the existing charger onboarding process, which guides users through the steps to configure and activate a station before it goes live. Custom statuses allow providers to adjust this process or add extra steps, such as connecting stations in a warehouse before shipping and on-site installation.