Scheduling jobs and technicians

Scheduling is one of the most important dispatcher responsibilities. Getting appointments right the first time prevents cancellations, no-shows, and customer complaints. This article explains how to use TruePro's calendar and route planner to schedule jobs and manage technician time effectively.

Accessing the calendar

Go to Calendar in the main navigation. The calendar shows all confirmed appointments for your business. Switch between week view and day view using the buttons at the top right. By default, all technicians' schedules are shown — use the technician filter to view one person at a time.

Planning a technician's route for the day

Go to Route in the main navigation. The route planner shows a specific technician's jobs for a chosen day as numbered pins on a map, alongside a drag-and-drop visit order list.

Use the route planner to:

• See at a glance where each stop is on the map and whether the current order makes geographic sense.
• Drag and drop jobs in the list to set the visit order. The map updates the numbered pins to match. Changes save automatically.
• Click "Suggest route" to have TruePro calculate the nearest-neighbour order — starting from the first job and always picking the closest next stop. The suggestion is applied immediately and you can adjust from there by dragging.

The technician sees their jobs in the order you set here. The order appears on their mobile job list when they start their day.

Note: Job locations are geocoded automatically when a job is first created. If a job shows no pin on the map, the geocoding may still be in progress — reload the page after a minute.

Proposing an appointment

1. Open the accepted job from the jobs list.
2. Click "Propose appointment".
3. Check the calendar first to confirm your preferred technician has no clashes at that time.
4. Select the date and time. You can propose a specific hour or a morning/afternoon window.
5. Assign the technician.
6. Add any preparation notes for the customer — for example, "Please have your geyser isolator switch accessible."
7. Send the proposal. The customer is notified and must confirm.

Assigning technicians to appointments

Always assign a specific technician to every appointment before it is confirmed. An unassigned appointment creates uncertainty and can lead to no-shows. If your usual technician becomes unavailable, reassign the appointment promptly and notify the customer of any changes through the messaging system.

Handling scheduling conflicts

If a technician calls in sick or a job runs long, open the affected jobs in your dashboard and either reassign to another available technician or propose a new time to the customer. Use the platform to communicate any changes — do not rely on phone calls alone, as there will be no record of the change.

Tips for effective scheduling

• Build travel time into your schedule — do not book back-to-back jobs in distant suburbs.
• Leave buffer time for jobs that run longer than expected.
• Group jobs by area on the same day to reduce travel costs and technician fatigue.
• Check the calendar first thing every morning and identify any potential gaps or risks for the day ahead.