Look at yesterday's schedule. Now draw each crew's day on a map.
For many trade businesses, the map looks like a child's drawing: across town for the first job, back past the shop for the second, out to the far side for the third. Every one of those kilometres was paid for: wages, fuel, wear on the truck. None of it was billed to anyone.
Drive time is the cost most owners never add up.
The short version
- Drive time is paid time with no invoice. Two crews losing an hour a day each adds up to well over $10,000 a year in our example.
- The biggest wins come from grouping work by area, booking new jobs next to existing ones, and setting the order of the day.
- Check every day on a map, not just a list.
- Emergencies will always break the plan; the trick is fitting them in where they move the least.
What drive time costs you
An example for a shop with two crews of two. Use your own numbers.
| Example | |
|---|---|
| Crew wage cost (with payroll costs) | $30 an hour per person |
| Truck cost (fuel, wear, insurance) | $25 an hour |
| Cost of one crew-hour on the road | $85 |
| Extra drive time per crew per day from a poorly ordered day | 1 hour |
| Working days a year | 230 |
| Cost for two crews a year | $39,100 |
Even if better routing only saves 20 minutes per crew per day, that is about $13,000 a year, and more jobs fit in the same day.
Five ways to cut drive time
1. Give each area a day. North on Monday, east on Tuesday. Recurring work, like maintenance plans, lawn routes and cleans, should live on the same day in the same area, week after week.
2. Book new work next to existing work. When a client calls, offer the days you are already nearby first: "We're on your street Thursday morning, does that work?" Clients rarely mind, and you save a trip.
3. Set the order of the day. The same eight stops in a different order can mean an hour less driving. Order matters as much as the stops.
4. Match the tech to the area. Send the closest qualified tech, and start crews from home when it makes sense, not always from the shop.
5. Fit emergencies where they move the least. The urgent call will come. Look at who is closest and what it would move before you call anyone.
Look at the day on a map
A list of jobs hides the problem. A map shows it immediately: the zig-zag, the backtrack, the one stop that is 25 minutes from the rest.
Make it a habit: check each crew's day on the map the afternoon before, and again when an emergency comes in.
Price the far-away work properly
Some jobs will always be out of the way. That is fine, if the price shows it:
- A distance charge outside your normal area
- A minimum job size for far-away addresses
- Grouping far-away work on one day a week
How crewduo helps with routes
On the Crew plan:
- Dispatch map and routes: each tech's route in their own colour, with numbered stops, drive times and who is closest to a job.
- Improve this day: suggested reshuffles and swaps that cut driving, which you review before applying.
- Emergency insertion and gap filling: who can take the urgent call, and exactly what it moves.
- Dispatch board and timeline: every tech's day as a row; drag a visit to hand it to someone else.
On every paid plan from Van, recurring contracts keep repeat work on its schedule, with nearby visits clustered to save driving.
See how scheduling and dispatch works, or compare plans on the pricing page.
Quick answers
Will clients accept being told which day we are in their area? Most will, especially for routine work. Offer the nearby day first, and keep other days for urgent needs.
How many stops can one crew do in a day? It depends on the trade. Track time on site and drive time for a few weeks, and you will know your real number.
Does route optimisation work with promised arrival windows? It should. Suggestions should respect the windows you promised clients, and you approve every change.
