💱Financial Transaction (Spend) Data

Even if you do not have specific activity data, you can still calculate your carbon footprint for monetary spending on items like purchased goods and services or expenditures for fuel, for example. The spend item can be linked to an asset, partner or meta tags that you have set up in your Brightest account.

To enter spend data, navigate to the Sustainability Module. Then click on the "Spend" tab to open your spend library.

Spend section in the Sustainability Module allows you to calculate CO2e emissions from spend items.

There are two options for entering data:

1. Use the add tool: click on the green "+ Add New" button to open the spend item form. Fill out the form with all relevant and required information. Once you click "save" the spend item will be added to your spend library.

2. Use the csv file importer: click on the gray "+ CSV Import" button to open the csv importer. Download the csv file template and fill it out. Upload the filled out template to the csv importer and follow the steps for field mapping and data review. Once you click "save" the data will be saved to your spend library.

Below are descriptions for the fields for the spend item add tool and csv file template.

Field	Required
UUID	Highly Recommended	Universally Unique Identifier. Enter either an internal identification code or a description of the transaction. If you do not, this field will remain blank in Brightest. Ex: Electricity_HQ_April_2024
Year	Yes	Enter the year the spend item occurred
Month	Yes	Enter the month the spend item occurred
Amount	Yes	Enter the amount spent
Spend currency	Yes	Select the currency the amount purchased in
Asset	No	You can link this spend item to an asset in your asset library
Material	No	You can link this spend item to a material in your material library
Partner	No	You can link this spend item to a partner from your Brightest partner directory
Meta tags	No	You can tag your spend items with any meta tags from your tag library
Document	No	You can drag and drop (or click to search) documents to attach to your spend transactions
Data source	No	You can enter the source or reference of this spend item
Emission Factor	Yes	First step is to add your spend emission factor (EF) to your EF library in your ESG & Sustainability Settings. Once the EF is in your library, you will be able to select it from the dropdown menu.
Scope Category	Yes	Select the scope category (scope 1, 2, 3) and the sub-category. See below for more information on how to format Scope and Scope Category for CSV upload.

Scope and Scope Category Formatting for CSV Uploads

Scope and Scope Category are required fields for CSV uploads for Transit and Spend entries.

Scope and Scope Category should be formatted in your spreadsheet as:

Scope 1

• Company vehicles(Mobile Combustion) = scope_1,fuel

• Direct stationary combustion = scope_1,heating

• Direct fugitive emissions = scope_1,refrigeration

• Electricity generation emissions = scope_1,electricity

• Direct energy generation = scope_1,water

Scope 2

• Purchasing cooling and refrigeration emissions = scope_2,refrigeration

• Emissions from other purchased utility usage = scope_2,water

• Purchased electricity emissions = scope_2,electricity

• Purchased heating and steam emissions = scope_2,heating

Scope 3

• Refrigeration emissions = scope_3,refrigeration

• Emissions from other indirect utility usage and water consumption = scope_3,indirect_utility_usage

• Fuel and energy-related activities = scope_3,fuel_and_energy_related_activities

• Upstream transportation and distribution emissions = scope_3,fuel

• Emissions from other utility usage and water consumption = scope_3,water

• Waste generated in operations = scope_3,waste

• Purchased goods and services = scope_3,materials

• Employee commuting = scope_3,commuting_estimate

• Upstream capital goods = scope_3,upstream_capital_goods

• Business travel = scope_3,business_travel

• Leased upstream assets = scope_3,leased_upstream_assets

• Processing of sold products = scope_3,processing_of_sold_products

• Downstream transportation and distribution emissions = scope_3,downstream_fuel

• Use of sold products = scope_3,use_of_sold_products

• End-of-life treatment of products = scope_3,end_of_lifecycle_products

• Leased downstream assets = scope_3,leased_downstream_assets

• Franchises = scope_3,franchise

• Investments = scope_3,investments

Possible issues and troubleshooting when uploading CSV files

When you're importing data via .csv file, it's important to check that your data is clean and accurate before uploading. Because it's a .csv (comma separated value) file, make sure there aren't any extra commas in your fields that might be mistaken as a field divider.

Make sure that you data is formatted correctly and all required fields have been entered. If you receive an error message, be sure to double check your file. However, just because you see a red error message or don't receive the "Upload Successful" message, it doesn't always mean your upload wasn't successful.

Always be sure to first check your Spend data table to see if your data uploaded correctly even if you receive an error, or if for any reason you believe your data may not have been uploaded successfully. Double check whether data has been uploaded and saved to your account after you click "save" or "import" before you attempt saving again. There may be a slight delay in data upload due to internet speed or data volume.

Above all, please make sure you don't import the same data twice as this can cause duplicates.

If you are uploading large amounts of data (100+ rows), upon selecting "Save" after reviewing your data in the importer, you will receive a message that your import is processing. You will then be sent an email notification when the process is complete (5-15 minutes).

If your import was uploaded, you'll receive a message indicating that your import was successful.

If your file was unable to uploaded, you'll receive a message indicating the rows of your file that have errors. You can then correct your file and upload again.

Finally, take care to manage the size of your file. Always test an upload with a small file first, before attempting to import a larger file.

If you have any additional issues or questions, please contact Brightest support ([e-mail]) for assistance.