Common questions about running deliveries with Circle Routes

Circle Routes helps delivery teams plan routes, assign drivers, track vans in real time, and keep customers updated — all in one place. Instead of juggling spreadsheets, phone calls, and separate map apps, your planners, dispatchers, and drivers work from the same live picture of the day.

Teams running last-mile delivery or field visits — e-commerce and parcels, grocery and meal kits, couriers and 3PLs, wholesale drops, and any operation with multiple stops per van per day. If you care about hitting time windows and keeping customers informed, Circle Routes is a fit.

Circle Routes scales from growing local fleets to larger regional operations. Pricing is based on how many deliveries you run per month, not how many people log in — so adding planners or drivers does not inflate your bill inside your agreed volume band.

Yes. Circle Routes is used by Gulf delivery operations — including slotted grocery runs, parcel networks, and B2B drops across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and the wider region. Scheduling, time zones, and local address workflows are part of how we onboard teams here.

Yes. Circle Routes supports US delivery operations — including e-commerce parcels, grocery and meal-kit runs, couriers, and B2B distribution across major metros and regional networks. Scheduling, time zones, and local address workflows are part of how we onboard teams here.

Circle Routes combines multi-stop optimization, live dispatch, driver mobile workflows, customer tracking links, and operations analytics in one dedicated deployment — so teams are not stitching together separate planning, dispatch, and tracking tools. Browse our comparison hub for capability-by-capability breakdowns.

Most teams go live in stages: import your stops (spreadsheet or connected system), plan a pilot day or depot, train drivers on the mobile workflow, then expand. A typical rollout is one to three weeks depending on how clean your addresses and time windows are — we help you through discovery and training at no extra setup fee.

Yes — long enough to see real results. Book a live demo and we will walk you through Planner, dispatch, the driver experience, customer tracking, and reporting. Then claim one of our limited free 3-month seats: run Circle Routes on real routes and live deliveries for 3 months, with zero commitment. Your first payment lands only after month three — and only if Circle Routes has earned its place in your operation.

Spreadsheets and manual map pins break down when volumes grow, time windows tighten, or the day changes mid-route. Circle Routes automatically sequences stops against real roads and your rules, updates ETAs as drivers move, and gives dispatch one live board — so you spend less time rebuilding plans and more time fixing what actually matters.

Very little. Drivers see their route in stop order on their phone, tap to update status (arrived, delivered, failed), and capture proof of delivery when required. Teams already comfortable with navigation apps usually need one short session — not days of classroom training.

Plans start from about USD 240 per month (up to 1,000 deliveries per month). Your price mainly follows how many stops you deliver each month — not how many staff or drivers you add. Use the calculator on our Pricing page for a guide; we confirm the final number in writing after a short discovery call. Invoices are billed in AED; USD and EUR are shown for reference.

A stop is one delivery or pickup visit at an address that you plan and run through Circle Routes in a month. Your subscription covers unlimited users, drivers, and route runs inside your agreed monthly volume band — you are not charged per login or per optimization click.

No. Add as many planners, dispatchers, and drivers as you need within your volume band. That keeps costs predictable as your back-office team grows.

Yes — genuinely free. New customers run Circle Routes for 3 months on their own fleet and live deliveries with no contracts, no billing, and no setup fees. We want a full quarter of results to convince you, not a sales pitch. Your first payment lands only after month three, at the volume rate confirmed in writing — and only if you choose to stay; otherwise you walk away owing nothing. Seats are limited, and exact start dates and eligibility are set out in your onboarding agreement.

No separate setup invoice. Discovery, environment setup, import alignment, training, and standard integration work are included in your subscription program.

Standard connections — CSV uploads, Shopify, WooCommerce, Zapier, Google Sheets, and agreed API feeds — are scoped during onboarding, not billed as a separate IT project. Unusual bespoke builds may affect your tier; we discuss that upfront.

Commercial terms are agreed in writing during onboarding. Many teams start with a defined pilot period before full rollout. Ask us about commitment length and renewal when you book a demo — we keep it straightforward.

You will have a clear path to reach our team for operational questions — agreed during onboarding. Larger fleets typically receive named success contacts and response expectations in their agreement. For urgent day-of issues, dispatch can escalate through the channels we set up with you.

Visit Book a demo, pick a day and time, and tell us about your fleet. We will show Planner, dispatch, drivers, customer tracking, and reporting live. Prefer a quick message first? Use Contact us — we will reply and schedule from there.

Open the Planner, choose your delivery date, and see every stop on the map — assigned to routes or still waiting. Filter by city, area, or time slot to focus on one wave at a time. Drag stops onto routes or let Circle Routes optimize them for you.

Circle Routes orders your stops using real road distances and your rules — time windows, shift length, and vehicle limits. Large days that take an hour to plan by hand can be ready in minutes. You review the result on the map, tweak if needed, and send drivers out.

Yes. Each stop can carry a delivery window and area tag. Optimization and dispatch honour the same rules your team promises customers — morning slots, evening slots, zone-based waves, and so on.

Yes. Teams with more than one hub filter and plan by depot, city, or delivery area. Each location can have its own routes and drivers for the day while leadership sees everything in one account.

Yes. Drag stops between routes, reorder sequences, or assign late additions by hand when the day changes. Circle Routes flags when a route may need a fresh optimization so ETAs stay realistic.

Yes. Set a maximum route duration so shifts stay achievable. If a route would run too long, Circle Routes guides you to trim or split it before a driver inherits an impossible day.

Yes. Drive times reflect busy roads and time of day — not just empty-street map speeds. Where enabled, Circle Routes also learns from your completed routes to improve estimates on the streets and slots you actually run.

Add cancellations, new orders, or window changes and re-optimize the affected routes. Drivers see updates on their phones; customers see refreshed ETAs on tracking links when applicable.

Yes. Route history shows what was planned, what ran, and stop-level outcomes — useful for customer disputes, audits, and reviewing driver performance.

Yes. Upload a spreadsheet with your usual columns — addresses, time windows, customer details — and Circle Routes maps them into delivery tasks. For daily automation, connect Shopify, WooCommerce, Zapier, Google Sheets, or an API feed instead of manual uploads.

Dispatch is your control room for the active day: see which routes are moving, which drivers are out, how each time slot is performing, and which stops need attention first. Customer service and operations leads use it to answer “where is my order?” without calling every driver.

The timeslots view groups stops by customer-facing window so you can spot an overloaded morning slot or a cluster of late deliveries before complaints pile up — and reprioritize while there is still time to recover.

The priority list ranks the most urgent work so coordinators know what to fix first. You can export it when managers want a snapshot in a spreadsheet.

Yes. Scan barcodes or QR codes at pickup so you know exactly which packages left the hub and which route they belong to — fewer “missing parcel” arguments at the end of the day.

Drivers mark the stop as failed or skipped from their app with a reason. Dispatch sees the update immediately, ETAs adjust for remaining stops, and your team can reschedule or contact the customer. Every status change is logged for later review.

Drivers use their smartphone. Android teams can use the dedicated Circle Routes driver app; others work through the mobile web experience in the browser. No extra hardware is required beyond the phone they already carry.

Planners or dispatch assign routes in the office. Each driver logs in and sees only their work for the day — stop order, addresses, notes, and time windows — without access to back-office tools.

Yes, while a route is active. Live location feeds the dispatch map and customer tracking pages so you can explain delays with facts instead of phone tag.

Yes. You can require or optionally allow a photo when a stop is completed. Photos are stored against the stop for customer service and audit — and can be shown on the customer tracking page when you enable that.

Drivers can open WhatsApp from a stop using templates your team pre-approves — so wording stays on-brand and compliant. Automated email updates (on the way, running late, delivered) can also be triggered from your message settings.

Drivers can keep working through brief dead zones — status updates sync when connectivity returns. Very remote routes should still expect occasional delays syncing photos or live location; design your workflows accordingly.

Send them a tracking link by email or WhatsApp. They open it in any browser — no account or app install — and see live status, ETA, and driver progress on a map when available.

Links are temporary for privacy. They usually expire within 24 hours (you can adjust this in Settings) or shortly after the delivery window ends — whichever gives the customer more time. After that, the link stops working so old URLs cannot be reused.

Yes, when live tracking is enabled for your account. Recipients see updated ETAs and map progress as the driver moves through their route — reducing “where are you?” calls to your team.

Yes. Configure branded email templates for key moments — for example out for delivery, running late, or delivered. Tracking links can be inserted automatically so customers tap straight through.

Yes. Optional post-delivery surveys can appear on the tracking page so customers rate the experience while it is fresh — useful for QA and service reviews.

No. Circle Routes does not monitor fridge temperatures or connect to temperature sensors. We help you plan routes, run dispatch, and keep customers informed — but food-safety temperature logs need a separate monitoring system.

No. Circle Routes does not collect payments, reconcile cash, or manage COD amounts at the door. Your drivers or a separate payments process would handle that outside the platform.

A quick snapshot for the day or week you pick: how many deliveries ran, how many are still open, ETA performance, active routes, and distance or time totals. Good for morning stand-ups and end-of-day reviews.

Insights gives you filterable charts — by driver, time slot, route efficiency, and on-time accuracy — plus exports when you need numbers in Excel or another reporting tool.

Yes. Reporting compares promised and actual arrival times so you can spot systematic late slots, tough zones, or drivers who need coaching — and fix the plan, not just the excuse.

Yes. Typical roles include admin (full access), customer service (dispatch and support tools), and driver (mobile routes only). Drivers never see planner screens.

Admins create accounts from Settings. Each person gets the right experience on first login — no IT ticket required for a standard user.

Yes. Configure shifts and driver-related policies in Settings so route planning respects when your team is actually on the road.

Your team maintains approved WhatsApp templates inside Circle Routes for driver-initiated messages. Automated customer emails use separate branded templates you configure in Settings.

Yes. A searchable customer directory helps repeat-delivery programs and lets customer service pull up history faster when someone calls about an order.

No. Your routes, stops, customer details, and proof-of-delivery photos are kept separate from other fleets. When you or your customers ask who can see your data, the answer is your team under your agreed controls.

Yes. Workflows, integrations, regional rules, and naming can be tailored during onboarding so the platform fits your operation — not the other way around.

You do. Your stops, routes, photos, and exports remain yours. Use built-in exports and integrations for backups and reporting; retention details are in your agreement and privacy policy.

Shopify, WooCommerce, Zapier, Google Sheets, CSV and Excel uploads, REST API push, and webhooks. Most teams start with a spreadsheet or shop connection and expand from there.

Yes. We build custom connections for internal tools and regional platforms during onboarding. Tell us what you use on a demo call and we will scope it together.

Yes. Technical teams can push and update delivery tasks, pull status, and build custom tracking experiences using our API and webhooks. Full endpoint details live on the Integrations page and setup guide — aimed at your IT team rather than day-to-day dispatch users.