How to Set Up Routes in SynkedUP
SynkedUP allows you to create and manage on-demand and planned routes for your crews. This guide walks you through understanding route types, creating routes, adding jobs, optimizing order, and scheduling them.
1. Open Route Management
In the left sidebar, select Scheduling.
At the top, click Route Management.
This page displays all existing routes.
2. Understand Route Types
SynkedUP supports two types of routes:
On-Demand Routes
Ideal for unpredictable work such as snow events.
Jobs are arranged in order, but not scheduled until needed.
Activated only when you choose to drop them onto the calendar.
Planned Routes
Used for recurring work such as weekly mowing.
Follow a set schedule (e.g., every Monday).
When active, they automatically appear on the calendar based on the schedule you set.
Supported Job Types on Routes
Routes can include the following job types:
Maintenance jobs (e.g., recurring mowing)
On-Demand work (e.g., snow events)
Service Tickets
Projects (install jobs)
Consultations cannot be added to a route. Routes are designed for jobs where work will be performed at the property. If you want to plan a sequence of sales consultations, schedule them as individual calendar events instead.
3. Understand Active vs. Inactive States
Active vs. Inactive behaves differently depending on whether you're using a Planned or an On-Demand route. Read the right one for your case.
Active
On-Demand Routes: Makes the route available to schedule when needed (it appears in the route picker and Map View).
Planned Routes: Places all scheduled future occurrences on the calendar automatically.
Inactive — Planned Routes
Pauses the route.
Removes future events from the calendar (past events remain untouched).
Useful when adjusting a route mid-season — deactivate, edit, then reactivate to regenerate future events with the new details.
Inactive — On-Demand Routes
Removes the route from the route picker / Map View so it can't be newly scheduled.
Does NOT unschedule any events already on the calendar — past, today's, or future. Events you've already dropped onto the calendar stay where they are.
If you need to remove an on-demand route's events from the calendar, you'll need to delete each event individually. See Removing a Route from the Schedule below.
4. Create a New Route
Click New Route.
Enter a Route Name (e.g., "Fred's Route").
4.1 Choose Route Type
Select On-Demand or Planned.
5. Configure Route Details
If Creating an On-Demand Route
Workday settings will follow your system configuration.
Assign crew members.
The first selected member becomes the default crew lead (you can change it).
If Creating a Planned Route
Assign crew members.
Set the route schedule:
Choose start date.
Select frequency (weekly, every other week, monthly, etc.).
Choose the end date.
Save the schedule settings.
Note: A planned route can only have one schedule. If you have customers on different cadences (e.g. some weekly and some biweekly), create a separate route for each cadence.
6. Add Jobs to the Route
After creating the route:
SynkedUP will default to Maintenance Jobs, but you can filter to any job type.
Add jobs using either method:
Map View: Select jobs directly from the map.
List View: Check the boxes next to the jobs you want.
Click Next.
7. Set Job Durations and Work Areas
For each job in the route:
Enter the duration for that stop.
Select the work areas that apply (e.g., Mowing).
Save your selections.
8. Optimize the Route
The map will display your shop location and all jobs in the route.
Click Optimize to automatically reorder stops for the most efficient path.
Optional adjustments:
Drag jobs manually to reorder.
Set a job as the first or last stop.
Update the start time and re-optimize.
When finished, click Save Route.
9. Activate the Route
For Planned Routes
Click Activate to place all scheduled future events on the calendar.
For On-Demand Routes
Activation simply makes the route available to schedule when needed. Nothing is placed on the calendar until you drop the route from Map View.
10. Scheduling an On-Demand Route
To schedule an on-demand route when a storm or event is coming:
Go to Map View.
Click Create Event.
Select On-Demand → Routes.
Choose your route.
Select the date (e.g., upcoming Wednesday).
Click Create Event.
This drops the full route onto the calendar for that day. Crew members will see the ordered stops when they clock in.
Heads up: Once an on-demand route is dropped onto the calendar, the resulting events are independent of the route itself. Editing the route afterward (adding stops, changing the crew, etc.) will only affect future drops — not the events already on the calendar.
11. Editing an Existing Route
If you need to modify a route:
Open the route from the list.
Set it to Inactive.
Make your changes (jobs, durations, schedule, etc.).
Reactivate the route.
What "Inactive → edit → Reactivate" actually does, by route type:
Planned routes: Reactivating regenerates future events on the calendar with the updated details. Mid-season edits flow through cleanly.
On-demand routes: Edits only affect future drops onto the calendar (the next time you schedule the route from Map View). Events already on the calendar are independent and keep their original configuration. To update an event that's already scheduled, edit the calendar event directly.
You can also switch a planned route to on-demand or vice versa from the route settings.
12. Day-to-Day Route Management
Once your routes are live, you'll occasionally need to make on-the-fly adjustments. Here's how to handle the most common day-to-day situations.
Removing a Route from the Schedule
The right way to remove a route from the calendar depends on the route type and what you're trying to remove.
Remove a single occurrence (one day only)
Works the same for both Planned and On-Demand routes:
Go to the Schedule.
Find the route event on the date you want to remove.
Click the event to open it.
Select Delete or Remove Event — this removes only that day's occurrence without affecting the rest of the schedule.
Remove all future occurrences — Planned routes
Open Schedule and select Route Management.
Find the route and toggle it to Inactive.
This removes all future events for that route. Past events remain untouched.
Tip: Use the Inactive toggle whenever you're making mid-season edits to a Planned route — deactivate, make your changes, then reactivate to regenerate future events with the updated details.
Remove on-calendar events — On-Demand routes
For on-demand routes, the Inactive toggle behaves differently than it does for Planned routes:
Toggling an on-demand route to Inactive does not unschedule any events already on the calendar — past, today's, or future drops all stay.
All Inactive does for an on-demand route is remove it from the route picker / Map View so you can't drop new events from it.
To remove on-demand events that are already on the calendar, you need to delete them individually:
Go to the Schedule.
Find the route's event on the date you want to clear.
Click the event to open it, then select Delete or Remove Event. This removes the day's whole-route event.
Repeat for any other dates where the route is on the calendar.
There is no bulk "remove all on-demand events for this route" affordance today. If this is a recurring pain point for you, we'd love to hear from you in chat so we can capture it.
Accidentally Scheduled an On-Demand Route on the Wrong Day
If you dropped an on-demand route onto the calendar for the wrong date and want to move the whole thing to a different day, the workflow is:
Go to the Schedule and find the route event on the wrong day.
Click the event to open it, then select Delete or Remove Event. This removes the whole-route event for that day.
Go to Map View → Create Event → On-Demand → Routes, pick the same route, select the correct date, and click Create Event.
Why Inactive won't help here: Toggling the route to Inactive doesn't unschedule anything for an on-demand route — see Remove on-calendar events — On-Demand routes above. The only way to clear the wrong day is to delete the event from the Schedule.
Removing a Single Stop from a Route Event
If a customer cancels just one job and the rest of the route still runs, you can remove that single stop from the day's event without changing the route itself.
Go to the Schedule.
Find the stop on the date it's planned for.
Click the stop to open it.
Select Delete or Remove Event.
Tip: For a one-time change like a single cancellation, work directly from the Schedule. Don't go into Route Management — that would affect future events of a Planned route, or do nothing for an On-Demand route.
When Stops Aren't Completed (Rain, Breakdowns, Late Days)
If your crew doesn't get through every stop on a route — say it rained and they only finished 21 of 24 — the missed stops do not automatically roll forward to the next day. You'll need to move them manually.
To move missed stops to the next day:
Go to the Schedule in month or week view.
Drag the missed stops from their original day onto the next day.
Click Optimize Day to reorder all stops on the new day for the most efficient drive path.
Tip: Month or week view makes the drag-and-drop easier than day view because you can see both days side by side.
Reassigning a Crew Lead
If your usual crew lead is unavailable or you're restructuring your crews:
Open Schedule and select Route Management, then open the route.
Set the route to Inactive to pause scheduling.
In the crew settings, remove the current crew lead and add the new one. The first person listed in the crew is treated as the lead.
Reactivate the route.
What happens next, by route type:
Planned routes: Reactivating regenerates future events with the updated crew lead.
On-demand routes: The new crew lead only applies to future drops onto the calendar. Any on-demand events already on the calendar keep the original crew lead. To update them, edit each event directly on the Schedule.
Note: The first team member added to a route becomes the default crew lead. You can update this at any time without recreating the route from scratch.
Inserting New Stops Mid-Season
Need to add a new customer or property to an active route after the season has started?
Open Schedule and select Route Management, then open the route.
Set it to Inactive to pause scheduling.
In the route's job list, click to add new stops. Set the duration and work areas for each new stop.
Use Optimize to reorder stops efficiently, or drag the new stop to the desired position manually.
Reactivate the route.
What happens next, by route type:
Planned routes: Reactivating regenerates future events with the updated stop list.
On-demand routes: The new stops only appear on future drops onto the calendar. Any on-demand events already on the calendar keep the original stop list. To add the new stop to an existing on-demand event, edit that event directly on the Schedule.
Tip: Re-optimizing after adding stops ensures your crew's drive path stays efficient — especially important if the new property is on the opposite side of town from the existing route.
Moving a Whole Day to a Different Date (Weather, Holiday, or Wrong-Day Scheduling)
Need to move all of a day's planned-route stops to a different date? Common reasons include weather (rain coming Tuesday → push to Wednesday), a holiday you didn't realize you'd scheduled over (Memorial Day mowing → move to Tuesday), or accidentally dropping the wrong day. The workflow is the same in all three cases.
Heads-up: planned routes don't have a per-day delete. The "Delete / Remove Event" option described in Removing a Route from the Schedule above works for on-demand route events and single stops — not for the recurring days of a planned route. So the workflow is to move the stops by hand:
Open the Schedule in week or month view.
Drag each stop from the original day onto the new day, one at a time.
On the new day, click Optimize Day to reorder all stops for the most efficient drive path.
This is the same mechanic as moving missed stops after a rained-out day (see When Stops Aren't Completed above) — the only difference is that you're moving them proactively, before the original day arrives.
Pushing Multiple Days Back (Rainy Week or Multi-Day Disruption)
If you need to push more than one day — for example, a rainy stretch knocks out Monday through Wednesday and you want to slide everything one day forward (Mon → Tue, Tue → Wed, Wed → Thu) — the mechanic is the same as moving a single day, you just repeat it per day.
Important: work back-to-front. Start with the latest day you need to clear (in the example above, Wednesday) and move it first. If you start with Monday, you'll drop Monday's stops on top of Tuesday's existing stops and end up with a double-booked Tuesday that you then have to untangle.
Open the Schedule in month or week view so you can see all the affected days side by side.
Start with the latest day you're moving. Drag each of its stops onto the destination day, one at a time.
On the destination day, click Optimize Day to reorder all stops for the most efficient drive path.
Repeat for the next day back, working in reverse.
Need Help?
If you have questions or run into issues, reach out to us via the in-app chat — we're happy to help!