Run the day from the office
Technicians run their routes from the mobile app (see run your route), but the office keeps a set of admin controls: a live Field Operations map with intervene-from-the-desk actions, Start Route and Complete Route buttons that act on behalf of a technician, per-stop skip controls, and a Schedule History audit log of every schedule change. These actions are permission-gated, so only roles with route-management permissions see them — see roles and permissions.
Field Operations: the live map
The Field Operations page shows the day in real time: a summary bar of active and completed routes with stops done and remaining, a column of route cards, and a map with each technician's live position and route line. Click a technician on the map (or a route card) to expand that route's stop-by-stop progress.
- Active Routes cards show each in-progress route with completed vs. total stops; Completed routes stack below them.
- The date picker (top right, defaults to Today) switches the page into review mode for any past day — the header changes to "Reviewing {date}" and shows that day's routes and stops. Future dates are disabled.
- Admin actions only appear when viewing today, on in-progress routes.
Skip a stop or force-complete a route from the map
Admins get two intervention controls on expanded route cards while a route is running:
- Skip stop — a skip icon on each pending stop opens a Skip Stop confirmation ("Skip the stop for {customer}? The technician will be notified."). The stop is marked skipped and the tech's app updates.
- Force Complete Route — at the bottom of the card, this ends the route from the office. The confirmation warns that any remaining stops will be marked as skipped, and the technician is notified.
Skipped stops aren't lost — reschedule them onto another day with reschedule missed stops.
Start or complete a route on behalf of a technician
On a route's page (day view), admins can run the route lifecycle for the technician:
- Start Route — appears when viewing today and the route hasn't been started. The Start Route for Technician dialog confirms you're starting the route on the tech's behalf, shows how many stops it creates, and notes the technician receives a notification that their route has been started.
- Complete Route — appears while the route is in progress. The Complete Route as Admin dialog shows how many of the stops are done and, if any are incomplete, warns that they will be marked as skipped. This action cannot be undone.
The same day view also lets admins skip an individual job for just that date (Skip Job — the job stays on the route for future dates), un-skip it, add jobs or unplanned stops, transfer stops, and complete a pending stop with the full web completion form — see log a past completion.
Schedule History: the audit log
Every schedule change is recorded and visible behind History buttons: on each route's page (that route's changes), and on the Route Schedule and Route Builder pages (changes across all routes). Each entry shows:
- What happened — a typed event badge: Rescheduled, Transferred (Single Day) or Transferred (Permanent), Added, Removed, Frequency Changed, Skipped, or Reordered.
- The details — which job (with the customer), the from/to dates, technicians, or routes, with clickable links to the job and routes involved.
- Who and when — the person who made the change and how long ago.
- Why — the reason, when one was entered (skip reasons, for example).
- Undone — entries that were later reversed are dimmed and labeled with when they were undone.
Use Schedule History to answer "why did this stop move?" — a transferred or skipped job always has an entry naming who did it, and skips include the reason.
Frequently asked questions
Can the office see past days, not just today?
Yes — the date picker on Field Operations switches the page into review mode for any past day, showing that day's routes, stops, and map paths. Admin actions (skip stop, force complete) only apply to today's in-progress routes.
What happens to unfinished stops when I force-complete a route?
They're marked as skipped, and the technician is notified. Already-completed stops are untouched. Skipped stops can be moved to another day with the reschedule missed stops flow.
Can I start a route for a technician who forgot to?
Yes — on the route's page (day view, today), the Start Route button creates the route instance on the tech's behalf and notifies them it was started.
Is there a record of who changed a schedule?
Yes. Schedule History logs every transfer, add, removal, frequency change, skip, reschedule, and reorder with the performer, timestamp, reason (when given), and an Undone marker if it was reversed. Find the History button on each route page, the Route Schedule, and the Route Builder.