The complete order-to-completion workflow
Follow the full Upper workflow end to end: get stops into a route, assign drivers, optimize, dispatch with Share to Drivers, track live, and close out with proof of delivery.
This is the full Upper Route Planner workflow for one day of operations — from getting stops into a route, through optimization and dispatch, to tracking drivers and closing out completed work. Each stage links to a deeper article so you can go further where you need to.
Default labels in this article are the driver/delivery set — Assign Drivers, Share to Drivers, Proof of Delivery. If your workspace is set up for field service, you may see Technician and Service instead (for example "Share To Technician"). Both label sets refer to the same features.
Why this matters
Most teams piece the workflow together stop by stop and never see the full sequence. Knowing how the stages fit together helps you decide where to invest your time — automating stop intake has a different payoff than tightening your driver schedules. This page is the map; the linked articles are the deep dives.
The route status lifecycle
As a route moves through the day, its status badge advances through five stages:
Draft → Ready for Dispatch → Dispatched → In Transit → Completed
You'll see this badge on the route in your Route Plan list, alongside details like start time and duration. Use it to tell at a glance where each route stands.
Step 1 — Get stops into a route
Build a route plan and add the stops you need to serve. You can add stops by typing addresses, or import them from a spreadsheet.
For teams running the same stops day after day, save them as Contacts once and pull from your address book each morning instead of re-entering addresses.
Step 2 — Assign drivers and optimize
Open the route plan you want to work on.
Use Assign Drivers to choose the driver or drivers for the route.
Optimize the route so each driver's stops are put in an efficient order.
- For a single-driver route where you want to keep your exact stop order, use Quick Share — it shares the route without re-sequencing. Quick Share is single-driver only.
- For a multi-driver route, use Optimize Route to optimize and split the work across drivers.
The route status moves to Ready for Dispatch once it's prepared and ready to send.
Step 3 — Dispatch to drivers
When the route is ready, send it to drivers' phones with Share to Drivers. From an opened route, you also have a Share URL button that generates a view-only share link — useful as a backup channel, separate from sending the route to the driver app.
Open the route and click Share to Drivers. The Share to Drivers modal opens with two tabs: Share Now and Schedule.
Select the drivers you want to send to. Each row shows shift times, total duration, distance, stop count, and a share status. You can select all with the header checkbox.
Choose your timing:
- Share Now — Click Share Now to All to send the route right away to every selected driver. You can also use the per-row Share link to send to one driver at a time.
- Schedule — Pick a pre-notification timing (Before 15 min, Before 30 min, Before 1 hour, Before 2 hour, Before 4 hour, or Custom), then click Schedule for All. With Custom, you choose a specific date and time; the scheduled time must be at least one minute in the future.
Sending triggers a push notification to each driver's Upper Route Planner driver app, and you'll see a confirmation that the route was shared. After the first send, the per-row action becomes Share Again so you can re-send if anything changes.
Need to change who runs a route? On the route, the driver row menu offers Reassign Route, which lists other available drivers you can move the route to.
Step 4 — Track the route live
Once a route is dispatched and underway, follow it from Track → Live Tracking.
- Use the route/period selector at the top to choose which route plan you're tracking.
- Each driver appears as a card showing stops done out of total, total time and distance, a status pill, a Route Complete % indicator, and an ETA and Avg. Speed line. Average speed shows N/A until the route is in progress.
- View Details on a card expands an inline stop table. Use Edit Column to choose which columns it shows — there are many to pick from, including addresses, estimated and actual duration and distance, status, notes, photo, and signature.
- Show Actual Path overlays the driver's traveled path on the map; the button switches to Hide Actual Path when it's on.
ETAs and speed are calculated from your route data and historical traffic — not a live traffic feed.
Step 5 — Close out with proof of delivery
As drivers finish their stops, completed work surfaces under Plan → Tasks → Completed. There you'll find finished stops with their proof of delivery, timestamps, and notes, and a Download button to export. The route status reaches Completed when the work is done.
The full stage-by-stage flow
| Stage | What happens | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stop intake | Stops enter a route by manual entry, spreadsheet import, or your saved Contacts | Route Plan |
| 2. Assign & optimize | Drivers chosen; route optimized (or Quick Share for single-driver) | Assign Drivers, Optimize Route / Quick Share |
| 3. Dispatch | Route sent to driver apps now or on a schedule | Share to Drivers |
| 4. Live tracking | Driver progress, ETAs, and stop status visible | Track → Live Tracking |
| 5. Proof of delivery | Completed stops with POD, timestamps, and notes | Plan → Tasks → Completed |
Troubleshooting
Related
Add a stop to an in-transit route
Add a stop to a route that's already In Transit in Upper, then share the update so the new stop reaches the driver's app without rebuilding the route.
Dispatch routes to drivers
Dispatch routes in Upper with Share to Drivers — push to drivers' phones now, schedule ahead of the shift, or reassign a route to another driver.