Time windows
How a stop's time window constrains a Premium route optimization.
A time window is a constraint the route optimizer can use to keep a stop from being sequenced outside part of the day, for example a customer who only accepts deliveries before noon.
Where a time window comes from
The optimizer reads a stop's time window from its job site's Access Hours, not from the job itself. Access Hours show up as read-only info on the site's details page and on the job's details page when the site has them set.
There is no Access Hours field on the site forms in the web app or the iOS app today. A site only has Access Hours if they were set by an import or an integration. You can see them, but you cannot edit them from the app yet.
The job's own Time window field, on the job's create screen, sets a target time for dispatch. It's a preset like "8:00 AM," "Noon," or "Any time." That field is useful for showing drivers and dispatchers when a job should happen, but the route optimizer never reads it: only the job site's Access Hours count as a routing constraint.
Premium only
Time windows only affect the stop order when you pick Premium in the optimize dialog. Standard optimization ignores them entirely, whatever the site's Access Hours say.
A route with unassigned stops or a mix of sites with and without Access Hours still optimizes. Access Hours only constrain the stops that have them.
If something's not right
- A stop's time window doesn't seem respected after optimizing: check that you chose Premium, not Standard. Standard never applies time windows.
- You set the job's Time window field, but the stop still moved outside it: that field doesn't feed the optimizer. Only the job site's Access Hours do.
- The window seems tight relative to other stops on the route: the optimizer balances every stop's constraints together, not one at a time.