Key takeaways
- Group jobs by area and by day: one town on Tuesday, another on Thursday.
- Order the day's stops to avoid back-and-forth driving.
- Leave slack for the unexpected instead of filling every minute.
- Give your crew the address, notes and order of stops on their phone.
In a service business, driving doesn't pay. Every hour behind the wheel between two clients is an hour of wages, fuel burned and one less job in the day.
The good news: with a bit of organization, you can often win back one or two visits a day without hiring anyone.
1. Split your territory into areas
Divide your region into a few simple areas: by town, by neighbourhood or by side of the river. Then assign each area one or two days of the week.
Example for a window cleaning company:
| Day | Area |
|---|---|
| Monday | North side |
| Tuesday | South side |
| Wednesday | Town A |
| Thursday | Town B |
| Friday | Catch-up and surprises |
When a client calls, offer their area's day first. Most accept, especially if you offer a specific date.
2. Order the day's stops
Once you know the day's jobs, the order matters. Doing stops in the order clients called often produces absurd zigzags.
Simple rules:
- start with the farthest or the closest stop, and move in one direction;
- place fixed-time jobs first, then fill around them;
- keep long jobs for the morning if your crew works faster early.
Software that calculates the best order does this in seconds, and redoes it when a job is added or cancelled.
3. Leave some slack
A day filled to the minute overflows at the first surprise: a client who isn't home, a job that runs long, traffic. Keep a free slot, for example at the end of the day. If everything goes well, your crew finishes early or picks up a small last-minute job in the area.
4. Put everything on your crew's phone
Your crew should see, without calling you:
- the order of stops;
- the address, with a button to start navigation;
- the client's notes (door code, dog, where to park);
- what needs to be done and what was sold.
Every "what's the address again?" call costs time at both ends of the line.
5. Measure and adjust
Once a month, look at how many jobs your crew does per day and how much time they spend driving. If one area always needs more driving, rethink its days or your travel price for that area.
In short
Fixed areas per day, ordered stops, slack for the unexpected and everything on your crew's phone: that's the base of a profitable day. The kilometres you don't drive are time you can sell.
Frequently asked questions
How do I cut my crew's driving time?
Group jobs by area on fixed days, then order each day's stops to avoid back-and-forth. A tool that suggests the best order saves time every morning.
Should I accept a job at the far end of my region?
Yes if you can fit it on a day your crew is already in that area, or if the price covers the travel. Otherwise, offer a date when you'll be nearby.
How much free time should I leave in a day?
It depends on your trade, but keeping some slack (for example a slot at the end of the day) stops a morning delay from wrecking the whole day.