Set Max Stops and Breaks Per Phone: Fleet Defaults & Overrides

The problem: one van, one phone, too many stops

You’re a fleet controller. You’ve got three vans on the road, each with a driver and a phone running StopSorted. The morning sort spits out a list of stops. But one driver gets 25 stops and another gets 15—because the system doesn’t know that one van can only fit 20 parcels, or that the driver with 15 stops is covering a tight suburb with long driveways.

Or worse: lunch. You want drivers to take a break, but the app keeps routing them through it. You either turn breaks off entirely and hope they eat on the run, or you manually fiddle with start times every day.

StopSorted lets you set capacity and breaks once, then override on any phone. This article shows you how, so your fleet runs to the same rules—without the daily micromanagement.

How it works

Think of it as two layers: fleet defaults and per‑phone overrides. The fleet default is your fallback. If a phone has no override, it uses the fleet setting. If the fleet setting is blank, Build Route splits capacity equally across the phones you tick.

Breaks follow the same pattern. You can turn planned breaks on or off for the whole fleet, set a default length, and let drivers choose when to take them. Or you can lock breaks to a fixed time. On a per‑phone basis, you can say “No breaks” for a casual driver, or “Custom” for someone who starts at 6am and needs lunch at 10:30.

Weight is stored for planning—you can set a max weight per phone—but the sorter still uses stop count only. That’s important: if you set a weight cap, it won’t change the sort today. It’s there for your records and future use.

Step‑by‑step: set fleet defaults

1. Open Fleet Settings → Breaks.
2. Tick Use planned breaks. It’s off by default. Untick to turn lunch off for every phone.
3. Decide if drivers can pick their own break start time and/or place the break midway or at the end. Tick the boxes if you want that flexibility.
4. Set Default break length (minutes). This applies when either box is on. Leave Optional fixed times empty unless you need to pin a specific time—like a depot‑wide 12pm lunch.
5. Go to Runs and optionally set Default max stops and Default max weight (kg).
6. Save.

If max stops is blank, Build Route will equal‑split capacity across the phones you tick. That’s a good fallback when your vans are similar and you don’t want to set numbers for each one.

Step‑by‑step: override on a single phone

1. Open Devices.
2. Click Device Settings on the phone you want to change.
3. Set max stops and/or weight. Leave blank to use the fleet default.
4. For breaks, choose Use fleet default, No breaks, or Custom breaks.
5. If you choose Custom, you can tick Allow custom start / end on this phone so the driver can pick a different start and finish when creating a run in the app. They’ll see Start and Finish the next time they tap New route—the phone checks this setting then. The office can always choose custom start/finish in Build Route.
6. Under Custom addresses, edit or delete pins that phone saved for itself only. Changes apply to that phone’s search results.
7. Save.

That’s it. The next time you build a route, that phone will use its own max stops instead of the fleet default.

What the driver sees vs what the office sees

Driver: On the phone, the driver sees a numbered stop list. If you’ve allowed breaks, they’ll see a break inserted into the sequence—either at a time they choose, or midway, or at the end. If you’ve allowed custom start/end, they can set their own start and finish when they tap New route. They don’t see max stops or weight caps; those are planning tools for the office.

Office/controller: In Build Route, you see each phone’s effective max stops (phone override → fleet default → equal‑split). You can move sliders to adjust capacity for that build. You also see weight caps on the Devices page, but remember: the sorter doesn’t use weight yet. You can set custom start and finish addresses for each phone—either by searching or picking from that phone’s recent addresses (last five).

Customer: They just get an arrival time and a delivery. The capacity and break settings work behind the scenes to make that arrival time realistic.

Worked example: a small fleet with mixed vans

Before: A fleet has three vans. Van A is a small car—max 15 stops. Van B is a regular van—max 25 stops. Van C is a large van—max 40 stops. The controller sets no fleet defaults, so Build Route equal‑splits 60 stops across three phones: 20 each. Van A is overloaded, Van B is fine, Van C is underused. The driver of Van A finishes late and skips lunch.

After: The controller sets a fleet default max stops of 25. Then overrides Van A to 15 and Van C to 40. Now Build Route seeds each phone with its effective max: 15, 25, 40. The controller can still adjust sliders, but the starting point matches reality. For breaks, the fleet default is planned breaks, 30 minutes, driver can pick start time. Van A’s driver takes lunch at 11:30; Van C’s driver takes it at 1pm. Everyone finishes on time, and no one skips lunch.

Frequently asked questions

What if I leave max stops blank? Build Route equal‑splits capacity across the phones you tick. That’s useful when all your vans are similar and you don’t want to set individual numbers.

Can I turn breaks off for just one phone? Yes. In Device Settings for that phone, choose No breaks under breaks. The rest of the fleet can still follow the fleet default.

Does weight affect the sort? Not yet. Weight (kg) is stored for planning today—the sorter still uses stop count only. You can set weight caps on Devices, but they won’t change the route order.

How do drivers pick a different start or finish? If you tick Allow custom start / end on this phone, the driver sees Start and Finish when they tap New route. They can pick a different start and finish for that run. The office can always choose custom start/finish in Build Route too.

Ready to set your fleet defaults?

Start by opening Fleet Settings and turning on planned breaks. Then override capacity on any phone that needs special handling. For a deeper walkthrough, see the guide on capacity and breaks per phone.

StopSorted is free to start. Fleet pricing is $69/month for 2 phones, then $20/month per extra phone that runs. Solo on Google Play is $24.99/month, with a 14‑day free try. A phone is billed the month it first runs a route; unused approved phones can be removed with no seat charge. See pricing for details. Coverage grows country‑by‑country—Australia is live today; more countries come via requests. Check coverage for the latest.