Delivery Arrival Times That Work: Windows, Breaks & Sorted Runs

The daily scramble of “when will you get here?”

You know the scene. The phone rings while you're driving. A customer wants a firm arrival time, not a vague “sometime this afternoon.” You guess, and the guess is wrong. Now you're either rushing through stops or explaining a delay you couldn't control.

The office feels it too. Dispatch spends half the morning fielding calls and checking on drivers, instead of planning tomorrow. Every “where are you now?” is time not spent on the next run.

The fix is simple: build the day around the times that actually matter, then let the sorter shape the route around them. This article shows you how to set fixed times, delivery windows and planned breaks so the sorted run matches the real day — and how that changes what you tell customers.

How it works: times and breaks shape the sort

StopSorted sorts stops into the best driving order for real roads. But you can tell it which stops have a deadline or a window, and it will try to hit them.

When you add a stop, you can set:

• Any time — leave arrival blank. No time constraint.
• Fixed time — enter a start time, or the same start and end (e.g. 15:00). The sorter treats it as a tight window around that clock.
• Window — enter start and end (e.g. 15:00–17:00). The sorter aims to visit between those times.

The sorter tries to hit fixed times and windows. If a window makes the whole day impossible, the sort fails with a clear error instead of quietly dropping the stop. That way you know straight away and can adjust — before the driver leaves.

Breaks work the same way. You can plan a break into the day so the sorted run includes it. Drivers see a break row in the app and tap Start break. If you allow it, they can choose when the break happens — but the length stays as you set it.

Setting up arrival times and breaks, step by step

1. Add stops with times. In Build Route or on the phone, enter a fixed time or a window for any stop that must be hit at a certain time. Leave the rest as Any time.
2. Sort the run. The sorter builds the best stop order around those constraints. If it can't, you'll see a clear error and can loosen a window or move a stop.
3. Turn on Jump to timed stops (optional). Under Fleet Settings → Runs, enable this if you want phones to handle a late run during the day. When on and a fixed time or window would be missed in normal stop order, the phone goes to that stop next, shows a short banner (e.g. “Next: #12 — due by 3:00”), then continues the run from the next unfinished stop number. Freight numbers do not change. Off by default — drivers follow sorted order unless you enable it for the fleet.
4. Set up planned breaks. Open Fleet Settings → Breaks. Tick Use planned breaks. The phone then shows a break row after the sort, with Start break.
5. Choose driver flexibility. If drivers choose when the break happens, tick one or both: Allow driver to pick break start time, and Allow driver to place break midway or at the end. Set Default break length (minutes) — required when either box is on. The phone asks “When is your break?” before sorting.
6. Add a fixed break if needed. Only if the office sets the clock time (or midway / end) itself.
7. Save. These become the fleet default for multi-phone and single-phone sorts.
8. Override per phone. Under Devices → Device Settings, you can set a different break rule for one phone — fleet default, no break, or custom. See Capacity and breaks.

Play drivers turn Use planned breaks on or off under app Settings, and add their own lunch there.

What the driver sees vs what the office sees

Driver's phone:

• A numbered stop list in sorted order.
• Icons or labels for fixed times and windows.
• A break row with Start break when planned breaks are on.
• If Jump to timed stops is enabled and a timed stop is at risk, a banner: “Next: #12 — due by 3:00”. The driver taps to go there next, then resumes the run from the next unfinished stop number.
• If driver options are on, a prompt before sorting: “When is your break?”

Office / fleet controller:

• The same sorted run with times and windows respected.
• A clear error if a window makes the day impossible — so you can fix it before dispatch.
• Fleet-wide break defaults, with per-phone overrides.
• The ability to turn Jump to timed stops on or off for the fleet.

The customer just gets a better answer when they ask “when will you get here?” — because the run was built around the times that matter.

A realistic before and after

Before: A driver has 12 stops. One is a business that closes at 15:00, another is a school with a 14:30–15:30 window. The driver follows the usual route and hits the business at 15:20 — closed. The school is missed too. Two failed deliveries, two return trips, and a phone call to the office to explain.

After: The same 12 stops, but the business is set to fixed time 15:00 and the school to window 14:30–15:30. The sorter builds the run around those constraints. The driver arrives at the business at 14:55 and the school at 15:10. No failed deliveries. The office doesn't get the “where are you?” call because the plan already accounted for the deadlines.

That's the difference between a list of stops and a sorted day that respects the clock.

Frequently asked questions

What if a delivery window makes the whole day impossible? The sort fails with a clear error. It won't drop the stop or ignore the window. You'll see the problem immediately and can adjust the window or move another stop.

Do drivers have to follow the jump to timed stops? No. Jump to timed stops is off by default. When you turn it on, the phone will jump to a timed stop if it would otherwise be missed, then return to the normal sorted order. Drivers still see the same stop numbers and freight numbers.

Can drivers choose their own break time? Yes, if you allow it. Under Fleet Settings → Breaks, tick Allow driver to pick break start time and/or Allow driver to place break midway or at the end. The phone will ask “When is your break?” before sorting. The break length always stays as you set it.

Does setting arrival times slow down the sort? No. The sorter uses the same road data; it just adds time constraints to the calculation. The result is a route that still makes sense for driving, but also hits the times you've set.

Ready to shape your sorted day?

Stop guessing arrival times and start building runs around the deadlines that matter. Whether you run one van or a fleet, setting fixed times, windows and planned breaks means fewer failed deliveries and fewer phone calls.

• See how it works: /how-it-works
• Check pricing: /pricing
• Read the full guide on arrival windows and breaks: /help/fleet/arrival-windows-breaks

StopSorted is live in Australia today, with more countries added as drivers and fleets request them. Start free and see the difference a sorted day makes.