Add a Late Stop Without Reshuffling the Whole Day

You’ve just sorted the run, sent it to the driver, and the day is humming. Then the phone rings: “Can you squeeze in one more pick-up?” Or a customer calls asking for a delivery today. The driver is already on stop 8. You don’t want to renumber every stop, reprint manifests, or confuse the driver. But you also can’t ignore the request.

This is the daily reality for fleet controllers and drivers. Adding a late stop usually means reshuffling the entire route, which can add hours of admin and disrupt the driver’s rhythm. In this article, we’ll show you how StopSorted solves this: by letting you add a late stop as a fractional number (like 12.1) without touching the rest of the sorted order. You’ll learn how it works, how to use it, and why it keeps your day on track.

How it works

When a run is sorted and confirmed, it becomes Locked. Locked means the stop order is final for navigation. Drivers follow the numbers they already have. If you need to add a stop, you don’t unlock and re-sort. Instead, the new stop weaves in as a fractional stop. For example, if the new job sits between stop 12 and stop 13, it becomes stop 12.1. The existing stops keep their numbers. The driver sees a new pin between 12 and 13, and the rest of the day stays exactly as it was.

This is not just a cosmetic trick. The fractional stop is fully integrated: it appears in the driver’s list, gets an estimated arrival time, and can be navigated to. The office sees it on the live map. No renumbering, no reprinting, no confusion.

Step-by-step: adding a late stop

1. Open the locked run in the fleet login (or the driver can do it from the app if allowed).
2. Find the spot where the new stop fits best. The system suggests a position based on sorted order, but you can place it manually between any two stops.
3. Add the stop by searching the address. The system will assign it a fractional number (e.g., 12.1).
4. Confirm the addition. The driver’s app updates instantly. The new stop appears in the list and on the map.
5. The driver continues with the same numbers. They’ll see stop 12, then 12.1, then 13. No other numbers change.

If you need to hand part of the run to another phone, use Split a run across phones. That lets you reassign stops without renumbering freight. But for a single late job, fractional insertion is the way.

What the driver sees vs what the office sees

Driver’s view: The app shows the updated stop list with the new fractional stop. The driver can tap it to navigate. Estimated arrival times update for all stops, but the order remains the same. The driver can also see “Arrives ~HH:MM” for each stop, which helps them pace the day.

Office view: The live map shows the new pin. The controller can see the driver’s progress, the new stop’s estimated arrival, and any delays. The office can also see if the driver has completed stops (“here X min” shows how long the phone was at an address). If the van sat at the next open stop but the driver didn’t tap Done, the pin turns amber with “Van was here” — a GPS hint, not a completed delivery.

Customer view: If you share tracking, the customer sees the updated arrival window. No need to call them with a new time.

Worked example: the 2 PM add-on

Sarah manages a fleet of five vans. One van, driven by Mike, has a locked run with 15 stops. At 10 AM, a regular customer calls: “Can you deliver a parcel today? It’s urgent.” The parcel is near stop 8, but Mike is already at stop 6.

Before StopSorted: Sarah would either tell the customer no, or she’d re-sort the entire run. That means renumbering all stops after 8, reprinting the manifest, and calling Mike to explain the new order. Mike would have to re-check every package. The whole process takes 20 minutes of admin and disrupts Mike’s flow.

With StopSorted: Sarah opens the locked run, adds the new stop between 8 and 9. It becomes stop 8.1. Mike’s app updates instantly. He sees the new stop after 8, with an estimated arrival time. He continues his route without missing a beat. The customer gets their parcel by 2 PM. Sarah saves 20 minutes and avoids a headache.

FAQs

Can I add a stop after the run is locked? Yes. When you add a stop to a locked run, it becomes a fractional stop (like 12.1). The rest of the order stays the same. Drivers keep following their existing numbers.

What if I need to re-sort the whole run? You can unlock the route from the app menu (or the office can unlock it). But only do this when you and the driver agree a full re-sort is needed. For one late job, fractional insertion is faster and less disruptive.

How are arrival times calculated? Stops show “Arrives ~HH:MM” based on sorted order and stop times. You can set stop times to Fixed (default minutes per stop) or Auto (learns from the driver’s actual pace). Times are estimates; traffic can change things.

What does “Van was here” mean? If the van sat at the next open stop for more than a minute but the driver didn’t tap Done, the pin turns amber with “Van was here.” That’s GPS, not a completed delivery. The driver still needs to tap Done for it to count.

Ready to stop reshuffling?

Adding a late stop shouldn’t derail your day. With StopSorted, you can insert a stop without renumbering, keep drivers on track, and keep customers happy. This feature is part of our locked runs and ETAs toolkit. For more details, see our guide on Locked runs and ETAs.

To see how StopSorted can fit your fleet, visit our pricing page or learn more about how it works. We’re live in Australia today, with more countries coming. If you’re elsewhere, request coverage — we’d love to help.

Stop reshuffling. Start delivering.