Knowledge base > Charging Station Management
What is a "back office" for charging stations?
Charging station sellers often mention a back office system, which is required to enable the “smart features” of a charging station. What exactly is a back office system and what can you do with it?
A back office is a software solution that keeps track of important charging data from your charging station. For example, you can see the power consumption and its cost. Through this cloud-based system, you can automatically settle these costs with your employer or own company. Another name for such a back office is a Charging Station Management System (CSMS).
A back office system also allows you to manage your charging sessions. For example, you can schedule charging sessions or enable guest use through an online environment, such as a browser or a mobile app.
Last Mile Solutions makes has developed a white label back office that allows providers to offer the above services to end users. A wide range of customers in various sectors can use this to expand their existing service package or to focus entirely on providing services to EV drivers.
Data exchange
Charging stations with a UMTS or GPRS module are equipped with a SIM card slot. Using the SIM card from your back office provider, the charging station can exchange data with your online environment via open protocols.
Some charging stations are not simlock free, which means that you can only use the back office system integrated in the charging station. Simlock free charging stations give you the opportunity to choose your own independent back office provider. There are several providers for this, each with their own online environment. This gives you the freedom to choose the back office provider that suits you best.
Your own back office
Through our white label CPO platform anyone can become a provider offering back offices to its customers. Please contact us for a demonstration of this platform and the back office as end customers see it.