Day planning
Plan the day before the day plans you.
Ten minutes of planning the afternoon before saves hours of calls, backtracking and apologies. Here is what to check, and where a suggested route order helps.
Start with what can't move
Put fixed commitments in first: appointment windows promised to customers, site access times, inspections and anything booked with a third party. Everything else fits around them.
Five things to check for each visit
- WindowIs there a promised time? Is it a firm slot or a window like "morning"?
- DurationHow long does this job really take, including set-up, clean-up and paperwork? Use what past jobs took, not the optimistic number.
- SkillsDoes it need a certified person, a senior tech or two people?
- PartsIs everything on the vehicle? If not, plan the supplier stop as part of the route.
- TravelAllow real travel time between areas, not straight-line distance.
Suggested order, human decision
Once one person's visits for the day are known, a route suggestion can propose a sensible order that reduces backtracking. Fixed appointments stay where they are. A person who knows the customers, the traffic and the technician then reviews the suggestion and applies it — or changes it.
- 108:00Geyser check · HeatherlandsFixed
- 209:30Leak repair · Blanco
- 311:15Quote visit · Glenwood
- 413:30Tap replacement · Denneoord
This is planning help for one person's day. It is not live GPS tracking, and it does not automatically dispatch work across a whole team. Visits that need more than one person are planned separately.
A worked example
Sipho's Tuesday
- 08:00 Heatherlands — geyser check, customer leaves for work at 08:30. Fixed.
- Blanco — leak repair, about 90 minutes, flexible.
- Glenwood — quote visit, about 45 minutes, customer home all day.
- Denneoord — tap replacement, parts collected Monday.
The suggested order keeps 08:00 fixed and groups the rest to avoid crossing town twice. Thandi checks it, knows Glenwood is easier after lunch, swaps two visits and applies the plan. Each customer gets a confirmation with their window.
Copy the checklist
Day plan checklist
DAY PLAN CHECK — [technician] · [date] For every visit: [ ] Fixed window? (customer appointment, access time, site rule) [ ] Realistic duration, including set-up and clean-up [ ] Right skills / certification for the work [ ] Parts and tools on the vehicle, or a planned collection stop [ ] Access notes, gate codes, contact on site [ ] Address checked on the map For the day: [ ] Travel time between visits allowed for (traffic, load-shedding robots) [ ] Breaks and a buffer for overruns [ ] Visits needing two people planned separately [ ] Suggested order reviewed by a person before it is applied [ ] Customers told if their time changes [ ] Technician has the final plan before leaving
When the day changes
- Decide who is allowed to change the plan once the day has started — usually one person.
- Tell affected customers early, with a new window, rather than arriving late.
- Note why a job overran. Those notes make tomorrow's durations more realistic.
Automate OnSite keeps jobs, teams and routes in one place, including route suggestions for one person's day. Next: from finished job to checked invoice.
Want this set up around your team?
Book a personal demo to talk through your enquiries, jobs, schedules and invoices, and which level of help fits. Or compare the plans first.