Route optimization

In SortScape, we’re all about making your day more efficient. One tool designed to help with that is the Route Optimization feature. This feature allows you to optimize your routing by reordering your job runs to minimize travel time, meaning less time on the road and more time at your job sites.

Route optimization only reorders the jobs already on one job run. To move clients between runs so each run covers one area, use the schedule map view first. See Which map to use.

Here’s how to use it:

1. Go to your SortScape app and open up the schedule.
2. Click the map button at the top of each job run. This will open a modal that shows all jobs for that particular job run on a map. It’s a great way to visualise your day.
3. Set your start time. Enter when you plan to start your day to see estimated arrival times for each job and when you’ll finish.
4. Set your start and end address. If you start your day at the office/shed or at home and end it there, you should put that as your start and end address to allow us to optimise your route properly.
5. Review the route. If you notice that your route doesn’t look quite right, look out for the ‘Optimize Route’ button. If your route could use some tweaking for better efficiency, this button will be enabled.
6. Optimize. All you need to do is click on the ‘Optimize Route’ button. The SortScape app will then reorder your jobs to make sure you’re taking the quickest route possible.

Using Route Optimization not only saves you time, but it also reduces non-billable time spent on the road. That’s more time you can dedicate to your tasks, your clients, and growing your business.

What is saved when you optimize

Clicking Optimize route saves the new job order to the job run straight away. The schedule (including the anytime band on Calendar day and week), the mobile app and printed runsheets all follow that order. There is nothing else to click.

Only the order is saved. The Smart ETAs you see in the map modal are not written to each job’s start and end time, so they do not appear in calendar time slots and are not used in automatic job reminders. If customers need a time in their reminder, or you want the job to sit in a time slot on the calendar, enter a start and end time on the job. See How do I add start and end times to jobs?.

Smart ETAs (estimated arrival and finish times)

Smart ETAs are SortScape’s automatically calculated arrival and finish times for each job on a job run. They give you a realistic plan for the day — when to arrive at each property and when you’ll finish — without entering a start and end time on every job.

Smart ETAs are shown only in the route optimization view (the map modal). They do not appear on the main schedule or on printed runsheets. If you need times visible on the schedule or print view, use Calendar view.

Where to find Smart ETAs

Smart ETAs are easy to miss because they live inside route optimization, not on the schedule itself. To view them:

1. Open the Schedule (day or week view)
2. Click the map button at the top of the job run you want to plan
3. Enter a start time and start address — Smart ETAs appear above each job in the list on the left

The map button is the only way to open route optimization and see Smart ETAs for a run.

How Smart ETAs work

When you set a start time and start address, SortScape calculates:

• Arrival time — when the crew should reach each property
• Finish time — when they should leave, based on the job’s estimated duration
• End of day — when the crew is expected to finish the run

These times factor in your day’s start time, each job’s estimated duration, and travel time between stops. If you click Optimize Route, the job order is reordered for efficiency and the Smart ETAs are recalculated to match.

Make sure each job has estimated time set for the most accurate Smart ETAs. Use the Presets dropdown on the job form to pick a duration, then fine-tune with - and +. See Setting estimated time.

Estimated vs actual times

In the route optimization modal, times appear above each job:

• Grey times are estimates based on your route and job durations
• Green times are actual logged start and end times after a job is completed or the job timer is used

As your crew works through the day, remaining Smart ETAs in route optimization adjust automatically based on real progress.

When to use Smart ETAs vs Calendar view

	Smart ETAs (route optimization)	Calendar view
Best for	Planning a day’s route and checking estimated arrival/finish times before crews head out	Times that need to appear on the schedule, mobile app, or printed runsheet
Where times appear	Route optimization modal only (click the map button on a job run)	Schedule, calendar views, and print view
How times are set	Automatically calculated when you set a start time and address	Manually entered on each job
Route optimization	Works with anytime jobs	Only works with anytime jobs; fixed-time jobs stay in their time slots
Setup required	Open route optimization and set a start time and address	Enable Calendar view under Settings → Jobs → Job settings

If you want to plan arrival and finish times for a flexible Classic schedule day, Smart ETAs in route optimization are the simpler option. If you need staff to see those times on the schedule, in the mobile app, or on a printed runsheet, use Calendar view instead.

Default start times

Administrators can set the default start time used for route optimisation in Settings → Jobs → Job settings.

Adding a shed or home as a start address

A shed or home can be added as an office internal property by clicking add new

near start address, searching for the address and clicking create.

Default start address

To change the default start address, click ‘SETTINGS’ near the start address.

Choose either:

Start from a particular property like your shed or home (if created) or

Start from the first property from the first job in the run.

Manual reordering

Don’t like the optimized route? Simply drag and drop jobs to reorder them manually. The route automatically recalculates as you make changes.

Finish close to end address

Use this option when you want the route to end near your chosen end address (for example, home or the office). When Finish close to end address is turned on, the system orders the run so that the first job is the one furthest from the end address. You then work from farthest to nearest and finish close to where you need to be.

Where to find it: In the route optimization modal, the checkbox appears below the start time and above the Start address field. It only appears when the run has at least two all-day jobs and no jobs are completed yet (so the whole run can be optimized).

If you’re an admin and want this behavior for all new runs, turn the option on and click Set as default. Your choice is saved for this run and, when set as default, for future runs.

Large routes

The default route optimization can handle routes up to 25 jobs. For customers on the premium plan we are able to optimize routes up to 150 jobs. Keep in mind, that this optimisation may take a while.

If the route cannot be calculated

The map names the address it could not use, for example “Could not find a route to 12 High Street.” Pins still show on the map.

Open that property and check the address includes a suburb or town, not just the street name. Then check the GPS pin. If the pin is a long way from the rest of the day, move it and open the map again.

If the message does not name an address, check every stop has a valid address, including notes that have an address filled in.

Notes

Notes are included as stops in the route optimization when you fill out the address field.