🗓️ Route Scheduling & ETAs

EasyRoutes allows you to schedule a single route or a route group for a date and time in the future for when you want the route to leave your starting location for deliveries. By setting a date and time, EasyRoutes can add Estimated Times of Arrival (ETAs) to each stop.

Click either link below for further details specific to the EasyRoutes product you're using:

EasyRoutes for Shopify

Route Scheduling can be enabled from the Route Options page. Dates already containing scheduled routes will display with a circle icon, like March 8th, 13th and 17th below:

Once you enable Route Scheduling and create a route, you will see a "Scheduled For:" field at the top of the route page:

When clicked, a drop-down will appear with options to help you select a date, time, and time zone. By default, EasyRoutes uses the same time zone as your Shopify store.

For Route Groups, scheduling can be updated using from the All routes view, using the checkboxes to select which route(s) to update the schedule for, and clicking the Schedule routes button that appears at the bottom of the page:

Once you have selected your date and time, click the Save button. The table displaying the list of orders in the route will update to show your new ETAs:

ETAs can be shared with customers using order tracking pages or delivery notifications.


ETAs on Order Tracking Pages

EasyRoutes offers a number of settings to configure how ETAs are displayed on tracking links sent to customers. From EasyRoutes Settings > Order tracking page, scroll down to the Tracking page options section, and ensure Show delivery events, timestamps, scheduled and updated ETAs is selected:

From the "ETA display settings" dropdown, you can adjust how precise of an ETA to provide on customer order tracking pages. Note that all ETA windows will be rounded to the nearest 15 minute interval (:00, :15, :30, or :45):

  • Show the estimated arrival time (no delivery window) displays the ETA value exactly, for example: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 4:29 PM"
  • Show +/- 15 minutes from ETA (30 minute window) displays a window including 15 minutes both before and after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 4:15 PM - Jul 7 at 4:45 PM"
  • Show +/- 30 minutes from ETA (1 hour window) displays a window including 30 minutes both before and after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 4:00 PM - Jul 7 at 5:00 PM"
  • Show +/- 1 hour from ETA (2 hour window) displays a window including 1 hour both before and after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 3:30 PM - Jul 7 at 5:30 PM"
  • Show +/- 1.5 hours from ETA (3 hour window) displays a window including 1.5 hours both before and after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 3:00 PM - Jul 7 at 6:00 PM"
  • Show +/- 2 hours from ETA (4 hour window) displays a window including 2 hours both before and after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 2:30 PM - Jul 7 at 6:30 PM"
  • Show +30 minutes from ETA (30 minute window) displays a window including 30 minutes after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 4:30 PM - Jul 7 at 5:00 PM"
  • Show +1 hour from ETA (1 hour window) displays a window including 1 hour after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 4:30 PM - Jul 7 at 5:30 PM"
  • Show +2 hours from ETA (2 hour window) displays a window including 2 hours after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 4:30 PM - Jul 7 at 6:30 PM"
  • Show +3 hours from ETA (3 hour window) displays a window including 3 hours after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 4:30 PM - Jul 7 at 7:30 PM"
  • Show +4 hours from ETA (4 hour window) displays a window including 4 hours after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 4:30 PM - Jul 7 at 8:30 PM"

The three checkboxes below this determines which baseline ETA (when available) will be used on a customer's tracking link once their stop is marked as Out for Delivery:

  • Scheduled ETA: Uses the ETA value calculated when setting up Route Scheduling for a route, as described at the beginning of this article. This ETA value will remain static unless the "Scheduled for:" date or time for a route is changed.

  • Updated ETA: Uses the same baseline ETA as above, but also incorporates the most recent route status updates and is only available once the route has been started by a driver. The Updated ETA value will update every time a stop earlier within the same route is marked as Attempted or Delivered, and may increase and/or decrease as the route progresses.

    Example: If Stop #1 in a route is marked as delivered 30 minutes later than its Scheduled ETA, all stops in the route afterwards will have their Updated ETAs increased by 30 minutes. 

    If Stop #1 is marked as delivered 15 minutes earlier than its Scheduled ETA, all stops in the route afterwards will have their Updated ETAs decreased by 15 minutes.

  • Live driver tracking when stop is next: When enabled, displays a delivery driver's real-time location when a customer's stop is next on their route, indicated with an orange vehicle pin on the tracking link map. More information on setting live driver location on order tracking links can be found here.

Advanced Options:

  • For a scheduled ETA, show only the date: Omits time in Scheduled ETAs altogether, and displays the scheduled delivery date only.
  • For an out for delivery stop, show an updated ETA only when it is outside of the Scheduled ETA window:
    • Uses Scheduled ETAs for all stops by default.
    • Will use Updated ETAs only if an option containing a time window is selected from the "ETA display settings" dropdown above, and the Updated ETA falls outside this window.

EasyRoutes for Web

Route Scheduling can be enabled from the Route Options page. Dates already containing scheduled routes will display with a circle icon, like March 14th below:

Once you enable Route Scheduling and create a route, you will see a "Scheduled For:" field at the top of the route page:

When clicked, a drop-down will appear with options to help you select a date, time, and time zone. By default, EasyRoutes uses the same time zone configured in your EasyRoutes Settings.

For Route Groups, scheduling can be updated from the All routes view, using the checkboxes to select which route(s) to update the schedule for, and clicking the Schedule routes button that appears at the bottom of the page:

Once you have selected your date and time, click the Save button. The table displaying the list of orders in the route will update to show your new ETAs:

ETAs can be shared with customers using order tracking pages or delivery notifications.


ETAs on Order Tracking Pages

EasyRoutes offers a number of settings to configure how ETAs are displayed on tracking links sent to customers. From EasyRoutes Settings > Order tracking page, scroll down to the Tracking page options section, and ensure Show delivery events, timestamps, scheduled and updated ETAs is selected:

From the "ETA display settings" dropdown, you can adjust how precise of an ETA to provide on customer order tracking pages. Note that all ETA windows will be rounded to the nearest 15 minute interval (:00, :15, :30, or :45):

  • Show the estimated arrival time (no delivery window) displays the ETA value exactly, for example: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 4:29 PM"
  • Show +/- 15 minutes from ETA (30 minute window) displays a window including 15 minutes both before and after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 4:15 PM - Jul 7 at 4:45 PM"
  • Show +/- 30 minutes from ETA (1 hour window) displays a window including 30 minutes both before and after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 4:00 PM - Jul 7 at 5:00 PM"
  • Show +/- 1 hour from ETA (2 hour window) displays a window including 1 hour both before and after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 3:30 PM - Jul 7 at 5:30 PM"
  • Show +/- 1.5 hours from ETA (3 hour window) displays a window including 1.5 hours both before and after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 3:00 PM - Jul 7 at 6:00 PM"
  • Show +/- 2 hours from ETA (4 hour window) displays a window including 2 hours both before and after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 2:30 PM - Jul 7 at 6:30 PM"
  • Show +30 minutes from ETA (30 minute window) displays a window including 30 minutes after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 4:30 PM - Jul 7 at 5:00 PM"
  • Show +1 hour from ETA (1 hour window) displays a window including 1 hour after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 4:30 PM - Jul 7 at 5:30 PM"
  • Show +2 hours from ETA (2 hour window) displays a window including 2 hours after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 4:30 PM - Jul 7 at 6:30 PM"
  • Show +3 hours from ETA (3 hour window) displays a window including 3 hours after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 4:30 PM - Jul 7 at 7:30 PM"
  • Show +4 hours from ETA (4 hour window) displays a window including 4 hours after the ETA, for example, on a stop with an ETA of 4:29 PM: "Scheduled for Jul 7 at 4:30 PM - Jul 7 at 8:30 PM"

The three checkboxes below this determines which baseline ETA (when available) will be used on a customer's tracking link once their stop is marked as Out for Delivery:

  • Scheduled ETA: Uses the ETA value calculated when setting up Route Scheduling for a route, as described at the beginning of this article. This ETA value will remain static unless the "Scheduled for:" date or time for a route is changed.

  • Updated ETA: Uses the same baseline ETA as above, but also incorporates the most recent route status updates and is only available once the route has been started by a driver. The Updated ETA value will update every time a stop earlier within the same route is marked as Attempted or Delivered, and may increase and/or decrease as the route progresses.

    Example: If Stop #1 in a route is marked as delivered 30 minutes later than its Scheduled ETA, all stops in the route afterwards will have their Updated ETAs increased by 30 minutes. 

    If Stop #1 is marked as delivered 15 minutes earlier than its Scheduled ETA, all stops in the route afterwards will have their Updated ETAs decreased by 15 minutes.

  • Live driver tracking when this many stops away: When enabled, displays a delivery driver's real-time location when a customer's stop is 1 to 10 stops away (customize how far away via this dropdown - default is 1 stop away), indicated with an orange vehicle pin on the tracking link map. More information on setting live driver location on order tracking links can be found here.

Advanced Options:

  • For a scheduled ETA, show only the date: Omits time in Scheduled ETAs altogether, and displays the scheduled delivery date only.
  • For an out for delivery stop, show an updated ETA only when it is outside of the Scheduled ETA window:
    • Uses Scheduled ETAs for all stops by default.
    • Will use Updated ETAs only if an option containing a time window is selected from the "ETA display settings" dropdown above, and the Updated ETA falls outside this window.
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