Hectares Online — Field Operations Accounting Module

1. General Information

Hectares Online is a system designed to convert agricultural machinery tracking data into records of completed field operations.

The system analyzes vehicle tracks in relation to field boundaries, calculates the actual treated area, identifies overlaps and missed areas, and allows field operations to be registered automatically or manually.

1.1. Main Objectives

• Automatically identify intersections between vehicle tracks and field boundaries.
• Calculate the actual treated area based on the working width of the implement.
• Identify overlapping passes and missed areas.
• Register field operations manually or automatically.
• Maintain crop rotation records.
• Monitor planned and actual work through campaigns.
• Generate reports and operational statistics.

1.2. System Scope

The system includes the following functional areas:

• Fields and field groups.
• Crops and crop rotation.
• Operations and implements.
• Consumables.
• Campaigns.
• Operation search and registration.
• Area calculations.
• Composite operations.
• Reports and dashboard.
• System settings and backup management.

Telematics data collection and storage, as well as the management of monitoring objects and drivers, are outside the scope of Hectares Online. This information is received from the external monitoring platform.

2. How the System Works

Hectares Online uses vehicle tracks received from the monitoring platform to identify potential field operations.

1. The system receives vehicle tracks, object information, driver assignments, and field geofences from the monitoring platform.
2. The system checks whether vehicle tracks intersect with registered field boundaries.
3. Potential operations are identified and displayed to the user.
4. The system calculates the treated area using the implement's working width and offset.
5. The user reviews the operation and fills in the required information.
6. The operation is confirmed manually or registered automatically if all configured conditions are met.
7. Registered operations become available in reports, campaigns, and dashboard statistics.

3. Key Concepts

Term	Description
Monitoring platform	An external system providing vehicle tracks, objects, drivers, and geofences.
Object	A vehicle or machine equipped with a tracker and managed in the monitoring platform.
Field	A polygon representing a cultivated land plot. It may contain excluded areas.
Implement	An attached or towed agricultural implement with a defined working width.
Operation	A type of field work, such as sowing, fertilizing, or harvesting.
Operation record	A vehicle track intersection with a field that has been registered in the system.
Potential operation	An intersection detected by the system but not yet registered.
Registration	Conversion of a potential operation into a registered operation, either manually or automatically.
Composite operation	Several registered operations on the same field combined into one accounting record.
Campaign	A planned task consisting of one operation assigned to a group of fields for a specified period.
Working width	The operating width of an implement or self-propelled machine, measured in meters. Used to calculate the treated area.
Offset	The lateral displacement of the implement center relative to the vehicle center. Right is positive; left is negative.

4. Integration with the Monitoring Platform

Hectares Online is integrated with the external monitoring platform, which provides the data required to identify and calculate field operations.

4.1. Access and Authorization

• The module is available in a dedicated Marketplace section of the user interface.
• The module operates on a separate domain and opens in a separate browser window.
• Users can open the module from an authenticated monitoring account or access it directly through the module's authorization page.
• When opened from an authenticated account, authorization is performed automatically.
• When a user accesses the module directly for the first time, they must enter their monitoring platform credentials.
• A separate user account cannot be created exclusively for the module.

4.2. Required Source Data

For complete operation data, the monitoring platform should contain the following configurations:

• Driver assignments to vehicles for the period when work is performed.
• Fuel sensors.
• Implement sensor.
• Ignition sensor.

The absence of any of these data sources does not prevent the system from searching for operations. However, configuring these sensors is recommended to improve the accuracy and completeness of reports.

4.3. Field Grouping

Fields can be grouped into farms. These groups can be used as filters when generating reports.

5. Fields

Fields are the core elements of the agricultural monitoring system. A field represents the digital boundaries of a land plot used to track crop rotation and field operations.

5.1. Field Attributes

Attribute	Type	Required	Rules
Name	String	Yes	Maximum 50 characters. Uniqueness is not required.
Description	String	No	Maximum 255 characters.
Boundary	Polygon	Yes	Self-intersections are not allowed.
Excluded areas	Polygon	No	Each excluded area must be entirely inside the field boundary.
Area	Calculated number	Calculated	Hectares. Terrain elevation is not taken into account. Maximum 1,000 ha.
Version	Timestamp marker	Calculated	Stored in the database and not displayed to the user.
Source	List	Calculated	Manual, Synchronization, or Import. Stored in the database and not displayed to the user.

5.2. Field Creation Methods

Fields can be added in three ways.

Manual Creation

The user draws a field boundary on the map by adding points. The field name and boundary are mandatory.

Synchronization with the Monitoring Platform

The system requests polygon geofences from the user's monitoring account and creates fields based on them.

The following information is transferred:

• Name.
• Description.
• Boundary.

The user can select all geofences, individual geofences, or geofence groups. Selecting groups is required because an account may contain geofences that do not represent fields.

Geofences that are not polygonal are ignored.

File Import

Fields can be imported from the following formats:

• KML.
• KMZ.
• SHP — a ZIP archive containing SHP, SHX, and DBF files.

The name, description, and boundary are imported. If the system cannot determine a field name, it assigns the name NONAME.

5.3. Repeated Synchronization Rules

• Synchronization affects only fields whose source is marked as Synchronization in the database.
• The name, description, and boundary are updated.
• Excluded areas, crop rotation records, and operation history are not changed.
• Deleting a geofence in Hectares Online does not delete the corresponding field in the monitoring platform.
• If a geofence is found without a linked field but has the same name and description as an existing field, the user is offered a choice: link it to the existing field or create a new field.

5.4. Geometry Restrictions

• Only polygons are supported.
• The field area cannot exceed 1,000 ha. Exceeding this limit prevents saving.
• Self-intersecting boundaries are prohibited.
• After a boundary is changed, all excluded areas must remain inside it. Otherwise, saving is blocked and the problematic excluded area is identified.
• Area is calculated without accounting for elevation changes.

5.5. Field Versioning

The field version is updated whenever the name, description, or boundary changes, including changes made through synchronization.

The field version is used as a condition when grouping composite operations and is recorded in the properties of each operation.

5.6. Fields Page

The Fields page uses a two-panel layout: the list is displayed on the left and the map on the right.

The list includes:

• Number of fields and total area.
• A color indicator showing the current crop for each field.
• Search by field name and description.
• Crop filters, including the No Crop value.
• Multiple selection for crop assignment and deletion.

Crop assignment through multiple selection is available only for fields that do not already have a crop assigned.

Map tools include drawing, boundary editing, moving, creating excluded areas, rotation, measurement, map layer selection, field labels, full-screen mode, and PNG map capture.

If an account contains no fields, the map is centered on the city specified in the user's profile.

5.7. Export

Fields can be exported in KMZ format. The exported file contains the outer boundary and excluded areas.

5.8. Field Deletion

Deleting a field also deletes all related operation records, composite operations, and crop rotation records.

The action requires confirmation and must explicitly indicate the number of operation records that will be deleted.

6. Crops

Crops are managed in the Directories module and are used to associate fields with specific crops.

Crop information is used in reports to identify which operations were performed on which fields and for which crops.

6.1. Crop Creation

When creating a crop, the user specifies its name and color.

Attribute	Type	Required	Rules
Name	String	Yes	Maximum 50 characters. Must be unique within the account.
Color	HEX	Yes	Selected from a palette or entered as a custom value.

The crop color determines the field fill color on the map, based on the current crop in the crop rotation, and the color of the corresponding dashboard chart segment.

Renaming a crop updates all related crop rotation records and registered operations.

Deleting a crop removes it from all crop rotation records and clears the Crop field in all registered operations. Confirmation is required and must indicate the number of affected records.

6.2. Crop Assignment

A crop can be assigned to a field from the Fields module.

When a crop is selected, the user enters the crop planting date and harvesting date.

7. Crop Rotation

Crop rotation records store the history of crops grown on a field.

Crop rotation information is associated with fields and is used to determine the current crop and provide context for field operations and reports.

When a crop is assigned, the planting and harvesting dates are recorded. The system uses these dates to maintain the crop history for the field.

Crop rotation records can also be created when an operation is registered, where the corresponding registration workflow allows the user to add the operation to crop rotation.

8. Operations

Operations represent types of agricultural work performed on fields.

Examples include:

• Sowing.
• Fertilizer application.
• Spraying.
• Harvesting.
• Other field operations configured in the system.

Operations are used when registering field work and generating reports.

An operation must be selected when confirming a potential operation if it has not already been determined.

9. Implements

Implements are agricultural tools attached to or towed by vehicles. Their working width and offset are used to calculate the treated area.

9.1. Implement Parameters

• Implement name.
• Working width.
• Offset relative to the vehicle center.

The working width determines the width of the calculated treatment strip. The offset determines the lateral displacement of this strip relative to the vehicle track.

9.2. Assignment History

The system maintains the history of implement assignments. This makes it possible to use the relevant implement configuration when analyzing operations performed during a specific period.

10. Consumables

The system includes a directory of consumables used in field operations.

Consumables can be associated with registered operations to maintain information about the resources used during field work.

The available information is used in operation records and relevant reporting workflows.

11. Campaigns

A campaign is a planned task consisting of one operation assigned to a group of fields for a specified period.

11.1. Campaign Parameters

• Campaign name.
• Operation.
• List of fields.
• Assigned monitoring objects.
• Start and end dates.

A campaign can cover a period of 2 to 30 days and include up to 50 fields.

11.2. Campaign Purpose

Campaigns are used to compare planned work with registered operations.

The campaign report shows the amount of work completed on the assigned fields during the campaign period.

11.3. Campaign Calculation Rules

Only registered operations are included in campaign calculations.

The fact that an object is assigned to a campaign is not, by itself, a condition for counting an operation as completed. The operation is evaluated based on its registration status, field, operation type, and date within the campaign period.

The campaign report includes all campaign fields if at least one operation has been registered for any field in the campaign. Fields without registered operations are displayed with zero values so that the user can identify work that has not yet been completed.

12. Operation Search

Operation search identifies potential field operations by analyzing vehicle tracks and their intersections with field boundaries.

12.1. Search Parameters

The user selects the date and the objects to be analyzed. Search can also be performed using a campaign.

The maximum number of objects that can be selected for a manual search is 50.

12.2. Search Algorithm

The system analyzes vehicle tracks and identifies periods when an object is moving inside a field boundary.

The search algorithm groups relevant track segments into potential operations according to the configured criteria.

The grouping window for operations is 15 days.

A minimum movement duration of 5 minutes inside a field is required for the corresponding activity to be considered during operation detection.

12.3. Background Search

Background search is required for the full operation of automatic registration.

The system performs search tasks independently so that potential operations can be processed according to the automatic registration settings.

13. Treated Area Calculation

The system calculates the actual treated area based on the vehicle track, the field boundary, the implement's working width, and its offset.

The calculation provides information about the area treated at least once, overlaps, small missed areas, and larger untreated areas.

13.1. Calculation Model

The treatment strip is constructed as a buffer around the vehicle track inside the field boundary.

• The buffer width is determined by the implement's working width.
• The buffer centerline is shifted relative to the vehicle track by the implement offset.
• Excluded areas inside the field are removed from the calculation geometry.

The offset is necessary because the working part of a towed implement may be positioned to the side of the tractor rather than directly along its centerline.

13.2. Calculation Indicators

Indicator	Description
Treated area	The area of field sections passed over at least once. The percentage is calculated relative to the total field area.
Overlaps	The area of field sections passed over more than once. The percentage is calculated relative to the treated area.
Missed areas	The total area of untreated sections, each no larger than 1 ha. These include gaps between passes and strips along field boundaries.
Remaining area	Untreated area excluding missed areas. Untreated sections larger than 1 ha are included here.
Distance traveled	Total distance traveled by the object during the operation period.
Average speed	Distance traveled divided by operation duration.
Maximum speed	The maximum speed recorded in messages received during the operation.
Fuel consumed	Fuel consumed during the operation period, including turns.

13.3. Missed Area Threshold

The 1 ha threshold separates two different situations:

• Small missed areas, which represent minor gaps in the operator's work.
• Larger untreated areas, which may simply not have been processed yet.

Each untreated section of up to 1 ha is classified as a missed area. Larger untreated sections are classified as remaining area.

13.4. Recalculation

Changing the working width or offset does not automatically recalculate the indicators.

The calculated indicators are replaced by a Recalculate Areas action. The user must explicitly initiate recalculation.

13.5. Fuel Calculation

• If an object has several fuel sensors of different types, their values are summed by default.
• The name of the sensor type used for the calculation is displayed next to the fuel consumption value in the operation properties.
• The beginning of the fuel calculation interval is the last message received before the object entered the field boundary.

14. Operation Registration

The Registration module is the main workspace for processing potential operations and converting them into accounting records.

14.1. Registration Principles

The system identifies potential operations, but the user is responsible for confirming whether the detected activity represents actual field work.

Until an operation is confirmed, it does not affect reports, campaign calculations, or dashboard statistics.

14.2. Manual Registration Workflow

1. The user opens the Registration page.
2. The system displays previously found but unconfirmed operations for the selected date.
3. The user selects a date and chooses objects or a campaign.
4. The user optionally changes search parameters for the current session.
5. The user starts the search.
6. The system retrieves tracks and applies the operation search algorithm.
7. The user reviews the list of potential operations.
8. The user opens an operation to view its properties and map.
9. The user fills in the driver, crop, implement, and operation information where required.
10. The user recalculates the treated area.
11. The user reviews the calculated indicators and map layers.
12. The user confirms or rejects the operation.

When an operation is confirmed, the system saves the relevant context and, if requested, creates a crop rotation record.

When an operation is rejected, it is removed from the current results list but can be found again through a subsequent search.

14.3. Search Panel

The search panel includes:

• Date selector.
• Objects or Campaign mode selector.
• Object selector with search by name.
• Campaign selector.
• Search button.
• Search settings button.

The object selector supports multiple selection and is limited to 50 objects.

In Campaign mode, the calendar is restricted to the campaign period. Dates outside the campaign period cannot be selected.

Search settings opened from this panel apply only to the current search session and do not change the account settings.

14.4. Potential Operations Table

The table contains the following columns:

Column	Content
Field	Field name and area in hectares.
Crop	Crop color marker and crop name in a tooltip.
Object	Object name.
Start	Operation start date and time.
End	Operation end date and time.
Duration	Operation duration.
Driver	Driver name or multiple names. Empty if not identified.
Implement	Implement name. A dash is displayed if not identified.
Working width	Working width in meters. A dash is displayed if not specified.
Operation	Operation name. Empty if not identified.
Treated area	Percentage of the field area and the corresponding area in hectares.

Any column can be sorted in ascending or descending order.

Hovering over a row displays the Reject and Confirm actions. Confirm is disabled if the Working Width column is empty. The reason is displayed when the user hovers over the disabled action.

Clicking a row outside the action area opens the operation properties.

The table supports multiple selection and group confirmation. Rows that do not pass the registration checks are excluded from the group action, and the system displays the excluded rows with their reasons.

The table footer displays the number of operations and the total treated area.

14.5. Operation Properties

The operation properties screen is divided into two areas:

• Editing panel on the left.
• Map on the right.

The editing panel contains the operation period, object, driver, crop, operation, implement, working width, and offset.

The map displays the field boundary, vehicle track, and selected calculation layers.

After the required information has been entered, the user can recalculate the treated area and review the results before confirmation.

14.6. Confirmation and Rejection

Confirming an operation converts it into a registered accounting record. The operation is then removed from the list of potential operations.

Rejecting an operation removes it from the current results list without registering it. It remains possible to find it again through a new search.

14.7. Automatic Registration

Automatic registration processes potential operations that meet the configured conditions.

The system checks the available operation parameters and registers operations that pass the required validation rules.

Operations that do not pass the checks remain available for manual review.

14.8. Automatic Registration Conditions

The automatic registration checks include:

• The implement working width must be defined.
• An operation must be specified.
• The treated area must be at least 0.5 ha by default.
• The average speed must be within the configured range.
• The operation must not overlap in time with another operation.

Operations that fail the checks are not automatically registered and remain available for manual processing.

15. Composite Operations

A composite operation combines several registered operations on the same field into one accounting record.

This functionality is intended for cases where multiple vehicles or operators perform the same field work and their individual operation records need to be represented as one combined operation.

15.1. Grouping Conditions

Composite operations are grouped according to the applicable field and operation context, including the field version.

The field version is important because changing a field boundary may change the geometry used for area calculations.

15.2. Area Calculation

The area of a composite operation is recalculated using the combined geometry of its constituent operations.

16. Reports

The Reports module provides information about registered field operations and supports analysis of completed work.

Only registered operations are included in reports. Potential operations are excluded until they have been confirmed.

16.1. Report Filters

Reports can be generated using the available filters, including the relevant period and operation-related entities.

Fields can be filtered individually or through farm groups.

16.2. Report Output

Reports display information about completed operations, including relevant fields, objects, drivers, crops, operations, areas, and other available indicators.

The maximum report size is 5,000 rows.

16.3. Report Templates

The system provides seven report templates.

Template	Grouping	Purpose	Composite operations
All Operations	No grouping	Overview of all operations for the selected period. Management summary.	Included
By Object	Object	Vehicle utilization, operating time, and fuel consumption.	Excluded
By Field	Field	Complete work history for a field: what was done, when, and with which equipment.	Included
By Operation	Operation	Total area for each type of work, such as disking, sowing, or spraying.	Included
By Driver	Driver	Operator productivity. Primarily used for calculating compensation.	Excluded
By Crop	Crop	All operations performed for a specific crop.	Included
By Campaign	Campaign	Results of the planned task across all campaign fields.	Included

The By Campaign report includes all fields in the campaign if at least one registered operation exists for any campaign field. Fields without operations are displayed with zero values.

The report period is automatically set from the campaign dates and cannot be edited.

Composite operations are excluded from the By Object and By Driver templates because a composite operation may combine work performed by several vehicles and drivers and cannot be attributed to a single one.

16.4. Report Map

The report map displays the geographical information associated with registered operations.

The map report mode supports up to 150 operations.

17. Dashboard

The dashboard provides a summary of field operations and key agricultural indicators.

It presents aggregated information that helps users monitor work progress and understand the distribution of operations across fields and crops.

Crop colors are used in the dashboard to represent the corresponding crop categories.

18. System Settings

The Settings module contains parameters that control operation search, registration, and other system behavior.

18.1. Account Settings

Account-level settings define the default behavior used by the system during operation search and processing.

18.2. Search Settings

Search settings determine how the system analyzes vehicle tracks and identifies potential operations.

The search settings dialog opened from the Registration page uses the same parameters but applies changes only to the current search session.

18.3. Work Shifts

The system includes settings related to work shifts. These settings are used in the context of field operation analysis and reporting.

18.4. Map Settings

The system supports user-configurable map display options, including the selection of map layers and the display of relevant field and operation information.

19. System Limits

The following limits apply to the main system entities and workflows.

Item	Limit
Maximum field area	1,000 ha
Maximum number of fields per account	12,000
Maximum objects in a manual search	50
Campaign duration	2–30 days
Maximum fields in a campaign	50
Operation grouping window	15 days
Minimum movement duration inside a field	5 minutes
Missed area threshold	1 ha
Default minimum area for automatic registration	0.5 ha
Maximum report size	5,000 rows
Maximum operations in report map mode	150
Registered operation retention period	5 years
Operation geometry retention period	11 months
Number of report templates	7

20. Technical and Operational Requirements

20.1. Reliability and Data Integrity

• Repeating a search for the same date and object must not create duplicate potential operations.
• Interrupting a search task must not leave partially calculated operations in the Registered status.
• Changes to registered operations, directories, and settings must be recorded in the audit log.
• The audit log must contain the user, timestamp, entity, previous value, and new value.
• Area calculations must use a projection that provides an error of no more than 0.5% for a field with an area of 1,000 ha.

20.2. Interface and Localization

• All interface strings must be stored in resource files.
• Russian and English languages are mandatory.
• Units of measurement throughout the interface and reports must correspond to the selected measurement system.
• Both a period and a comma must be accepted as decimal separators during input.
• Displayed decimal separators must follow the selected locale.
• Every screen must support four states: empty, loading, error, and populated.
• Empty states must contain an explanation and an action that leads to populating the screen.
• Error messages must explain the cause and the next step rather than displaying only an error code.
• Full keyboard navigation must be supported.
• Tab and Shift+Tab move between elements; Enter and Space select; arrow keys navigate lists and change numeric values; Esc closes menus and modal windows.
• The minimum workspace resolution is 1280 × 720.
• Two-panel screens must switch to a single-panel layout with a panel selector at smaller widths.

20.3. API

The public REST API provides the following capabilities:

• Read fields.
• Read crops.
• Read operations.
• Read implements.
• Read registered operations.
• Execute reports.

API authorization is performed using a token.

Identifiers of all entities available through the API are displayed in the interface when Developer Mode is enabled.

21. Product Development Priorities

The original development plan defines the following implementation priorities.

Priority	Scope	Purpose
1	Monitoring platform integration, fields, operations, implements, search, area calculations, and manual registration.	Minimum functional workflow for field operation accounting.
2	Crops, crop rotation, reports, and dashboard.	Turn basic operation accounting into a complete product.
3	Campaigns, composite operations, automatic registration, and background search.	Introduce campaign management and automate operation processing.
4	Consumables, user map settings, backups, and API.	Expand system capabilities and support advanced workflows.

22. Product Summary

Hectares Online is a field operation accounting system that transforms agricultural vehicle tracking data into structured records of completed work.

The system combines field management, operation detection, treated area calculations, manual and automatic registration, crop rotation, campaigns, reports, and dashboard analytics.

Its main purpose is to provide reliable information about the actual area processed by agricultural machinery, identify overlaps and missed areas, and support operational and management decisions.

Registered operation records form the basis for reporting, campaign progress monitoring, and analysis of agricultural work.