The ingestion philosophy: no custom transformation required
Most billing integrations require a transformation step: your raw activity data must be mapped, reshaped, or reformatted to conform to the vendor’s proprietary schema before it can be loaded. This mapping work is custom to each integration and a common source of maintenance overhead and data quality issues. Zenskar eliminates this requirement. Rather than defining a proprietary schema that your data must conform to, Zenskar works with your data in its existing structure, either by querying it directly in your source system or by replicating it into an equivalent instance of the same database system you already use. Either way, there is no vendor schema to learn and no mapping layer to maintain.Data source connector modes
When connecting a database or data warehouse as a source, Zenskar provides two distinct modes. The right choice depends on the size of your data and how frequently it changes.Directly from Source
Zenskar queries your source database directly without replicating any data to Zenskar’s servers. Your tables are available in the Data Navigator during aggregate creation, and queries are executed against your source at billing time.- Ideal for databases larger than 30 GB.
- Ideal for real-time data where freshness is critical.
- No sync waiting time.
Sync to Zenskar
Zenskar automatically replicates your source data to its own servers on a periodic schedule. The replicated data is then used during aggregate creation for invoice generation.- Ideal for databases smaller than 30 GB.
- Ideal for periodic data ingestion where real-time freshness is not required.
Ingestion methods
Beyond data source connectors, Zenskar provides three additional methods for getting data into the platform.S3 event sync
S3 Event Sync is an alternative to pushing usage events via API. Instead of sending events directly, you export usage data as CSV files and drop them into an Amazon S3 bucket that you own and control. Zenskar monitors that bucket and automatically picks up new files as they arrive, processes the events, and uses them for billing. This method is suited to teams whose infrastructure already produces CSV exports, or who prefer to decouple data export from the billing pipeline.Aggregator versus source
Traditional billing platforms are designed as sources: your application pushes transaction records to them, and you extract reports or data from their proprietary schema. This model works well for payment processing but breaks down for usage-based billing, where the raw activity data lives in your own infrastructure. Zenskar is designed as an aggregator: it connects to where your data already lives — querying it in place or replicating it on your terms — preserving your schema and eliminating the need to conform to a vendor data model.Next steps:
- To understand the specific data structure required for ingestion, see the [Usage event] concept page.
- Ready to start? See the [Get started with usage ingestion] tutorial.
How-to guides
How to set up a data sync connector
Zenskar connects with your data source, such as a database, data warehouse, comma-separated-value file, or spreadsheet.
How to set up a remote query connector
Zenskar allows you to derive billable metrics by running queries directly on your production databases or data warehouses—without transferring or storing any raw usage events within Zenskar.
How to set up a data ingestion API
Zenskar lets you push usage events or pre-aggregated data via REST APIs into its ingestion layer. This integration enables real-time ingestion for billing, metrics, and reporting.
How to upload a CSV
Zenskar lets you upload usage data in CSV format directly from the Zenskar dashboard. This method is designed for bulk ingestion and one-time imports without writing code.
How to add usage events from the Zenskar dashboard
Use Zenskar’s web form to enter individual usage events when you need to record one-off or low-volume data.