A dispatcher in Hauler Hero gets every request onto a route, keeps an eye on the day, and gives drivers what they need to finish it. This guide covers those jobs only, written generically so it fits any hauler and any line of business.

In scope: publishing on-request work (deliveries, swaps, finals, extra pickups), assigning and sequencing stops, rescheduling and cancelling work, monitoring routes and driver paths, writing notes and tags drivers will see, supporting drivers on the tablet, and confirming completed work (including disposal tickets) so it is ready for the office.

Out of scope: creating and sending invoices, taking or posting payments, configuring pricing or settings, and building reports. A dispatcher may see the Billing tab to review work orders, but hands off from there.

Every company routes differently. Where this guide says "your company decides," agree the convention with your manager before you start (for example, route names, naming of services, or how often tickets are reviewed).

A dispatcher works mostly in two tabs, Customers and Routes, and dips into Billing → Work Orders Review only to confirm completed work. Ask your admin for a Dispatcher role with Office login turned on, so you see what you need and nothing else (Training Plan for New Office Staff).

Skip the older Board and Map views; the Advanced versions replace them. Star the Advanced Board so it opens by default.

A typical day

Service names should say the action. On an account, an on-request service can show only its name, not its action. If the price book has several services all called "Roll-off Service," you cannot tell the delivery from the swap. Ask your admin to name them with the action and size, for example "20-Yard Roll-off Delivery" or "30-Yard Roll-off Swap." When a name is edited in the price book with Update all related configured services checked, existing accounts pick up the new name too.

Use pricing-zone filters when they exist. When adding a service, the left panel filters (recurrence, business line, measure, pricing zone) are optional. They shrink a long price book to the right options, for example only the services priced for the customer's zone. You can also type in the search box.

Pins matter. Routing and the tablet both use the service location's map pin. If a stop shows up far from everything else, the address was probably not selected from the dropdown. Open the location, correct the address, and pick it from the dropdown so it re-pins.

A published job does nothing until it is on a route, so publishing is only half the task.

Either publish button works. Pick one habit and stick to it.

Repeat jobs on the same container. After the first delivery, the swap or final service stays on the account. For the next swap, click the + next to that existing service, click the date first, then schedule it. You do not add a new service each time.

An unassigned stop never reaches a driver's tablet, so assign it before you leave the account. On the service calendar an orange cone (or a "U") marks a day that still needs a route.

Four ways to assign a stop (all reach the same result; use whichever fits the moment):

Sequence number = the stop's place on that route. If a route already has 3 stops and this one goes last, enter 4. Nearest-stop suggestions are a guide; override them when you know the road better.

Save current day vs. save permanent. Every routing save asks which one (Daily vs. Master route):

A save that is grayed out usually means a stop is missing a sequence number.

The unassigned bucket is your safety net. Anything published but not routed lands in Unassigned on the Advanced Board for its date. Check it for today and tomorrow at the start and end of every day.

All schedule changes happen from the service's + button on the account's Services tab.

Recurring stop not happening one week? Change that work order's status to Canceled rather than leaving it scheduled. A skipped stop is still treated as completed work; a canceled one is not.

Customer moving day for good? Update the service's schedule, then re-route with Save permanent so every future week follows.

Work orders are not created for past dates, so a service started mid-week only shows future days. Use the calendar's week arrows to view the next week when the current week looks partial.

When many stops need to move, use the blue Bulk button (top right of the Board or List view) instead of dragging one at a time (Bulk actions). Always confirm the date at the top first; routing views show one day at a time.

Moving stops without losing the order: after Move, enter a Starting position (for example 1) and choose Preserve sequence. Leaving it blank or choosing Reset sequence clears the numbers, and the save stays grayed out until every stop has one.

Temporary mode (orange bar on the Board) makes drags apply only to that date. With it off, changes go to the master route.

One driver per route works best. Several drivers can run one route, but each tablet shows every stop on it. If a section is always run by a different driver, make it its own route. Name routes so anyone can read them (for example "Mon Commercial 1"); your company decides the convention.

Route looks out of order? Fix the master in Master Sequence, publish, then resync the daily routes. You can also import a driver's actual sequence from a past day, or restore an earlier version from Activity History (Route out of order). After any change made in another browser tab, refresh before saving.

Reading an in-progress route card. It shows Completed and Remaining miles, an estimated finish time, and percent of stops finished (serviced or skipped). Miles are straight-line between stops and skip the yard trip, so they read low; the finish estimate is optimistic and shows a dash when the truck is stopped (Today's routes).

Driver path (breadcrumbs). Routes → Advanced Map → open the Control panel → toggle Driver path on. Hover a line to see driver, time stamp, and speed; the blinking end is the truck's last reported location. Use the Filters button at the top to show one route. Change the date to review a past day.

Use it to:

If the Advanced Map won't load, have the user finish any pending browser update and refresh; then contact Support.

Put each instruction at the narrowest level that covers it. Too broad and drivers see stale notes every week; too narrow and they miss it (Notes article).

A note on a swap service repeats on every swap you schedule from it. If the instruction is for next Tuesday only, put it on that work order.

To check exactly what a driver will see, open the work order and click the Notes icon (top right). Toggle Show on mobile per note there.

Tags flag a location or service for quick scanning (gate code, aggressive dog, low wires, special price). A tag reaches the tablet only if it was created with Mobile checked; account-level tags are office only. Your admin creates tags; you apply them.

On-request work orders stay out of billing until someone marks them ready, so a regular review keeps the office from facing hundreds at month end. If your company assigns this to dispatch, this is where your job ends and billing's begins.

Recurring services are marked ready automatically, so they don't appear here by default. If your company adds disposal tickets to recurring work (compactors, for example), filter to recurring services and check those tickets too.

How often to review is your company's call: daily for busy roll-off operations, weekly or less for low volume. Stop at Ready for invoice; creating and sending invoices belongs to billing.

Drivers use the Hauler Hero Road app, each with their own login. Most "where's my stop?" calls are fixed with a sync (Tablet Training 101).

Recommended settings (tap initials, top left → Settings):

Exceptions. The red X records why a stop wasn't serviced (cart not out, blocked, unsafe, access issue), and partial service records which container was missed. Review them when a customer calls about a miss.

End of route. Ask drivers to Finalize and leave unfinished stops unfinished rather than bulk-skipping them, so you can move those stops to the next day. Ask them to give you the work order number first when they call.

If your company tracks inventory, the container on a service is what the driver sees and what the yard count relies on. Keep it accurate as jobs happen.

Ask your manager whether your company tracks serialized containers before changing any of these.

Start of day

During the day

End of day

Pitfalls to avoid