Smart Scheduler works as a live optimization tool, not just a one-time scheduling step.
This guide walks through the ways to run it, adjust policy rules on the fly, reschedule assigned and paused jobs, fit in critical work, and read the results before applying a plan.
🗒️ Note: These features are available in the New Scheduler. Running Smart Scheduler from the unassigned list works exactly as described below. No setup changes are required.
Running Smart Scheduler
You can start a Smart Scheduler run from the Unassigned List, just as before, or directly from jobs already on the schedule board. Either way, you'll go through the same short guided flow, so you always see what's included and can adjust the rules before anything is optimized.
Select your jobs. Choose jobs from the Unassigned List, or select them directly from the schedule board. Selecting two or more jobs on the board brings up the multi-select menu.
Preview the jobs. A preview step lists the jobs going into the run so you can confirm the selection or exclude any you don't want included.
Select your technicians. Technicians from your current view are included by default as candidates for scheduling.
Set your rules. Choose whether to retain existing job leads, allow unassignment, and adjust policy settings.
Run. The optimizer builds routes and loads the result into the Gantt view for review.
🗒️ Note: Because the run loads into the Gantt view as a proposed plan, review the result in planning mode and click Apply to accept it, the same way you accept a plan today.
Adjusting Policy Rules on the Fly
You can modify scheduling policy for a single run without leaving the flow, so you can experiment and get a valid, well-optimized run every time.
On the technician and rules step, you can:
Turn Skills Matching on or off
Turn Location Permits on or off
Modify other policy rules
Change how workload balancing works
Change the travel time buffer
Save your changes, either by updating the current policy or saving it as a new version.
💡 Tip: If a run leaves jobs unscheduled because of a constraint, try adjusting the relevant policy rule, such as relaxing workload balancing or the travel time buffer, and run again to compare the outcome.
Rescheduling and Reshuffling Assigned Jobs
Jobs already assigned on the schedule board can be rescheduled or reshuffled directly.
On the schedule board, select the assigned jobs you want to reshuffle. Selecting two or more brings up the multi-select menu.
Click Run Smart Scheduler. The preview step lists the jobs you selected.
On the next step, the technicians already assigned to those jobs are selected by default.
Choose whether to retain job leads:
Leave it on to keep the same job lead on each job and simply reshuffle the timing.
Turn it off to let the optimizer reassign jobs to different technicians for the best overall result.
Click Run Smart Scheduler and review the result.
In the results view, confirm what changed, such as job leads kept in place while jobs moved from one day to another, and view those changes on the Gantt chart before applying.
Rescheduling Paused Jobs
Paused jobs can be optimized by Smart Scheduler instead of requiring manual rebooking. This supports a common workflow: a technician visits a site, identifies parts needed to complete a job, and the job is paused until those parts arrive. Once parts are received, use Smart Scheduler to reschedule the job.
On the schedule board, select the paused jobs you want to reschedule. Selecting two or more brings up the multi-select menu.
Click Run Smart Scheduler. The preview step lists the selected jobs.
Note: The Retain Paused Jobs rule is applied automatically and cannot be changed. Smart Scheduler always tries to assign a paused job back to the technician who already worked it, since that technician typically has the parts and context needed to finish the work.
Click Run Smart Scheduler. The optimizer reschedules the paused jobs, keeping each one with its original technician.
Review the changes on the Gantt chart and click Apply to assign them.
🗒️ Note: Retain Job Lead for paused jobs is enforced by design and cannot be turned off for a paused-job run.
Fitting Critical and Additional Jobs into a Plan
When a day is nearly full but has some spare capacity, use Smart Scheduler to fill that capacity, including making sure critical jobs get done, by letting it reshuffle the existing plan. This works best for a plan a few days out, where appointments have not yet been committed to customers.
Select the jobs you want to combine in one run. You can combine:
Unassigned jobs from your backlog, including any critical jobs you need completed
Scheduled jobs already on the board (lasso-select to grab several at once)
Paused jobs
Click Run Smart Scheduler. The preview shows everything going into the run.
On the rules step, to give the optimizer full freedom to build the best schedule:
Turn off the checkbox to retain job leads for assigned jobs.
Allow unassignment, so the optimizer can remove low-priority or costly-to-serve jobs to make room for higher-priority or cheaper-to-serve work.
Click Run Smart Scheduler.
When the run finishes, the results view and Gantt chart show:
Critical jobs highlighted in red, so you can confirm they were placed
Optimized routes built for all included technicians
Jobs marked in grey that will be unassigned when you save
Paused jobs remaining with their original technicians, with routes rebuilt around them
🗒️ Note: When skills matching is enabled, technicians without the skills for any selected jobs are left with an empty schedule. Run Smart Scheduler again separately to assign them job types they are qualified for.
How the optimizer decides: Smart Scheduler works to minimize cost. The highest cost is travel, followed by job priority, with further costs around skills, workload balancing, and other factors. It always works to minimize technician travel distance and to serve critical and higher-priority jobs first.
Reviewing the Results View
Every run ends in a results view that shows what the optimization engine did, so you can confirm the schedule is sound before applying it.
The results view includes:
Wrench time — the share of time technicians spend on jobs versus traveling, shown as an average, with maximum and minimum called out. Higher is better.
Average travel time per job
Average technician utilization — how much of technicians' available time is used to serve jobs
Jobs scheduled and not scheduled — including the reason why, for jobs that could not be scheduled
Changes made — such as jobs moving between days, job leads retained, or jobs reassigned between technicians
You can view all changes on the Gantt chart and return to the results view as many times as needed before accepting.
💡 Tip: Before accepting a plan, use the results view as a final check. Confirm critical jobs are in, the unscheduled list is acceptable, and the metrics look right for your data set. Once satisfied, mark jobs as tentative, confirmed, or dispatched as usual, then click Apply. You can also discard the plan if you would rather start over.
Setting Which Technicians Can Be Smart Scheduled
A toggle in the User record controls whether a technician can be included in Smart Scheduler runs.
Set the toggle to On to allow Smart Scheduler to consider that technician for optimization runs.
If the toggle is Off, Smart Scheduler ignores that user entirely.