Quick start: your first route plan

Applies to v1.7+ · ~8 min read · Getting started

This takes you through the whole app once — load your vehicles and jobs, optimize, and export a driver manifest. By the end you'll have produced your first route plan.

Before you start

Have two files ready — a vehicles file and a jobs file (CSV, XLS, or XLSX). Don't worry about column names; the app matches them for you.

1. Open the app and start setup

Sign in. On the Dashboard, the app opens the Onboarding wizard for first-time setup. You can reopen it anytime from Help → Open onboarding.

2. Import your vehicles

In the Onboarding wizard, on Step 1 · Setup Data, find the Fleet card and select Import Vehicles. This opens New Vehicle Import Profile.

Select Choose Vehicle File and pick your vehicles file.
Review the mapping the app proposes for each column. The AI assistant panel beside the mapping can answer questions and correct a mapping for you — for example, combining separate street, city, and postal columns into one address.
Select Save Profile.

Saving the profile imports the vehicle records at the same time. The Fleet card then shows a Complete badge with the vehicle count (for example, 16 vehicles imported), and the app confirms that the records are available in Manage Data.

The other way to import vehicles

Once a vehicle import profile exists, you can also import a fresh fleet file from Data Setup → Manage Data → Vehicles → Import Vehicles. That button reuses a saved profile — it can't be used before one has been created, so first-time imports go through the profile screen above.

3. Set up your job file

Still on Step 1 · Setup Data, find the Daily Job File card and select Import Sample Jobs. This opens New Job Import Profile.

Select Choose Job File and pick a representative jobs file.
Review the mapping — Pickup Address and Delivery Address are required; job name, route date, dwell time, and window fields are optional. The AI assistant panel helps when a column is unmatched or the data has problems.
Select Save Profile.

This step sets up the mapping, not the day's work

Saving a job profile teaches the app how to read your job file. The jobs you actually plan are loaded in Route Planner (step 5 below), where you also choose how a file merges with jobs already on the route date. Jobs that repeat on a schedule are set up separately — see Recurring jobs.

4. Open Route Planner

Continue to Step 2 · Route Planning and select Open Route Planner on the card. Daily planning happens here.

5. Import and validate jobs

On Import & Validate Jobs, confirm the Route date at the top of the screen, then load the day's jobs:

Drag your jobs file onto the drop zone, or select Browse Files and pick it.
Review the staging panel that opens — nothing enters the plan until you confirm it.
Select Validate & Import.

Then check that your jobs and vehicles are loaded (for example, Jobs 500/500, Vehicles 15/15), review Needs attention for any issues, and select Continue to Strategy.

6. Choose a strategy

Pick how to optimize:

Strategy	Best when
Minimize Travel Time	you want the least total driving
Minimize Vehicles Used	you want the fewest vehicles that still cover the work
Balanced Workload Among Vehicles	you want time and jobs spread evenly across drivers

Additional custom strategy cards appear here when strategies have been configured for your account. Each card is labelled Built-in strategy or Custom strategy.

Select a card, then select Run Optimization. To choose well, see Choosing a strategy.

7. Review the route plan

On Review Route Plan you'll see routes created, jobs optimized, travel time and distance, unused vehicles, and any unassigned jobs. Use View reasons to see why a job couldn't be placed and what to fix. When it looks right, Continue to Export.

Watch the unassigned count

A high count on the N jobs unassigned line usually means a data fix, such as an impossible time window, insufficient vehicle capacity, or a required skill that is unavailable.

8. Export your manifest

On Export Manifests, pick an Output package (PDF, Excel, or CSV) and select Export Manifests. Save the file — that's your driver manifest for the day. Past exports live under Route Plan History.

You're done

You've imported data, optimized, and exported a manifest. From tomorrow you only import the day's jobs — your vehicles and saved mappings carry over. See Daily planning workflow.