Today started like any other. You showed up to the office, grabbed a cup of coffee, and started reviewing the schedule for the day. Suddenly, you realized you accidentally reused last week’s schedule and failed to account for two drivers who are on vacation this week. Now, you have to rearrange routes, contact customers, and inevitably cancel several service calls. The result is a whole lot of stress, disappointed consumers, and lost revenue.
Managing a fleet of vehicles can feel a bit like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube while riding a unicycle. At times, keeping up with multiple people, delivery activities, and points of customer information is just plain difficult. You’ve probably thought to yourself, “There’s got to be a better way.”
Fortunately, there is. Driver’s schedule templates can help you track tasks, monitor the status of delivery items, and simplify the schedule-making process. The best part is you don’t even have to make your own—you can download our free template and take the hassle out of building driver schedules.
This article will cover the ins and outs of schedule templates, including:
- Driver’s schedule template benefits
- Key components of Force Fleet Tracking’s driver’s schedule template
- How to use our driver’s schedule template
- How do I create an employee schedule template?
- How Force Fleet Tracking is the ultimate solution for fleet management
Ready to start building your schedule? Download Force Fleet Tracking’s free driver schedule template now!
Drivers’ schedule template benefits
A schedule template is like having a roadmap for your fleet. It helps you:
- Streamline operations
- Avoid scheduling conflicts
- Enhance productivity
- Reduce idle time and fuel waste
- Improve customer satisfaction
Driver’s schedule templates will also help you keep up with fleet maintenance, as you can take vehicles out of rotation in an organized, consistent manner. According to Force by Mojiio Product Manager Ryan Hill, driver schedule templates “help you stagger PM so that you don’t have multiple vehicles off the road on a given day.”
Who needs schedule templates?
Any business owner with fleet vehicles and drivers can benefit from a schedule template. Such a template can help improve driver safety, reduce scheduling conflicts, and elevate the customer experience.
Driver schedule template vs. delivery schedule template
Aren’t all schedules the same? Not quite. A driver schedule template focuses on the who and when—who’s working, when their shifts start, etc. A delivery schedule is about the what and where—what’s being delivered and where it’s going.Solutions like Housecall Pro help you maintain your vehicle inventory and delivery schedules (more on this below). On the other hand, driver schedule templates help you keep track of who’s working, their routes, vehicles, and more.
Key components of Force Fleet Tracking’s driver schedule template
Force Fleet Tracking, a leader in small business GPS tracking and maintenance monitoring technology, has created a free downloadable driver’s schedule template for your convenience. Our template includes sections for:
- Driver Information
- Vehicle Information
- Route Details
- Time Details
- Task Information
- Compliance and Safety
Our driver’s schedule template is an instant upgrade to your scheduling processes.
However, if you really want to simplify driver and vehicle management, you need Force Fleet Tracking. Our plug-and-play GPS tracking and maintenance monitoring software provides all the information you need to keep up with drivers, vehicles, and productivity.
👉 Take control of your fleet’s efficiency with our advanced GPS tracking system. Maximize productivity and minimize costs.
How to use our driver’s schedule template
To use Force Fleet Tracking’s driver’s schedule template, download the free template and save it under your preferred file name. Then, you can adjust the boilerplate language in the template to make it fit your business model.
First, populate it with driver names, fixed routes, and regular clients to create a baseline for your scheduling. Then, you can weave the template into your workflow—update the file as jobs are booked and ensure that each driver’s day is planned out with precision.
By using a template, you can make sure that all of a driver’s time slots are filled without overbooking them. Likewise, you can make sure that all jobs are assigned to a driver, ensuring business efficiency.
Incorporating the driver’s schedule into your workflows
Once you’re happy with the template, you establish a process for updating it with each new week’s information. For example, you could update the schedule every Friday and lock in your projects for the following week. Just remember to build in some margin for flexibility—you’ll need to leave some wiggle room to accommodate last-minute requests or adapt to drivers who call out of work. A good goal to aim for is 90% driver and vehicle utilization rate.
Force Product Manager Ryan Hill believes that our driver’s schedule template is best used as a complement to our fleet tracking solution. You can derive even more value from Force by leveraging its integrations with other software like Housecall Pro.
According to Hill, the Force and Housecall Pro integration “overlays vehicle location data on the map to help you schedule who’s closest to priority jobs.” He calls it an “Uber-like experience” for your customers, highlighting the convenience you can offer when pairing our template with Force software and Housecall Pro.
How do I create an employee schedule template?
Creating a weekly schedule template is easier than you might expect. You don’t need fancy software or a new app subscription. All you need is a simple spreadsheet solution like Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel.
Can you use Google Sheets for scheduling?
Absolutely. Google Sheets is one of the easiest tools for creating, organizing, and sharing your drivers’ schedules. You can use Sheets to keep your team in the loop, share updates about the upcoming week, and make sure you have enough drivers on the road to serve your customers.
Does Excel have a scheduling template?
You bet it does. Excel comes loaded with templates that you can customize to suit your needs. Whether you want to regularly create a new schedule or have the same basic schedule for weeks at a time, Excel makes it easy to keep up with your drivers and vehicles.
Force Fleet Tracking is the ultimate solution for driver management
Force Fleet Tracking isn’t your average GPS tool. It’s a plug-and-play fleet management solution that gathers location data, vehicle performance information, and much more. You can use it to track your vehicles, monitor your maintenance needs, and keep an eye on your drivers to make sure they’re representing your company in a positive light.
Force was designed to address common fleet management challenges, including scheduling mishaps. The platform also includes fleet maintenance monitoring tools, and lets you set custom alerts for certain odometer values or mileage thresholds. This way, you can integrate maintenance appointments into your new schedule template and minimize the number of vehicles you have off the road at any given time.
Force also offers geofencing capabilities, allowing you to track when a vehicle has entered/exited a specified area. So if a truck has arrived back at the shop, you can reassign it quickly, minimize downtimes between jobs, and maximize productivity.
Take control of your fleet’s efficiency and driver schedules with our advanced GPS tracking system. Maximize productivity and minimize costs. Start your free trial today!
