Add time windows to stops
Set an earliest and latest arrival time on a stop so Upper schedules the visit inside the customer's window. Add windows by import or on the stop itself.
A time window tells Upper the period during which a driver should arrive at a stop. When you set an earliest and a latest arrival time, Upper's optimizer sequences the route so that stop is serviced inside its window — so a 9–11 AM customer is visited in the morning rather than late afternoon.
Each stop can hold up to two time windows. You can add windows two ways: include them in your spreadsheet import, or set them directly on a stop in the Edit a Stop panel.
This guide uses the default driver and delivery labels. If your workspace is configured for service work, you may see Technician and Service wording instead — the time-window fields work the same way.
How time windows affect the route
- Upper sequences stops so the driver arrives within each stop's window.
- Tight windows give the optimizer less room to work with. Use a window only where the customer actually needs one.
- A stop with no window can be scheduled at any point during the driver's shift.
Add time windows during an import
When you import stops from a spreadsheet, you can map columns to the time-window fields so every stop gets its window in one pass.
Add time columns to your spreadsheet
Add a column for the earliest acceptable arrival time and another for the latest. Put one stop per row, the same as the rest of your import data.
Start an import with preview
In a route, open the Add Stops tab and choose Import with Preview to open the Upload spreadsheet wizard. Upload your file, then pick the row that holds your column headers.
Map your columns to the time-window fields
On the Review & Import step, map your earliest-time column to From (Time Window) and your latest-time column to To (Time Window) in the Map to field dropdown. (The dropdown also lists a second pair, From and To (Time Window)1, for a second window.)
Import the rows
Make sure Address Line 1 is mapped, then finish the import. Each stop arrives with its time window already set.
Upper remembers your column mapping. Keep the same headers in the same order next time and it re-applies the mapping automatically — including the time-window columns.
Add a time window on a stop
You can set or change a window on any individual stop without re-importing.
Open the stop
In your route's stop list, open the stop's Action (…) menu and choose Edit Stop. The Edit a Stop panel opens on the right.
Set the earliest and latest times
On the Basic Info tab, find the Time Window field and enter the earliest and latest arrival times for this stop.
Save the stop
Click Done to save. The window now applies the next time you optimize the route.
Need a second window for the same stop — for example, a morning slot and an afternoon slot? Use the blue + beside the Time Window field. See Add multiple time windows to a stop.
Troubleshooting
Related
Add special instructions to a stop
Add a Notes field to any stop in Upper for gate codes, leave-at-back-door directions, and access details — manually on the stop or in bulk through your import.
Address validation statuses
Reference for Upper's four address validation statuses: Verified, Needs Review, Not Found, and Duplicate. See what each one means and the action to take.