Stop Time Mode: Fixed or Auto Pace for Arrival Clocks

Why Your Arrival Clocks Keep Being Wrong

If you run a delivery fleet, you know the scene: the office tells a customer "between 10 and 2," the driver shows up at 9:30, and the customer is still in pajamas. Or worse, the driver is late because one stop took forever, and the next customer is calling dispatch angry.

That miss costs you phone calls, wasted time, and trust. Your drivers waste minutes waiting at doors, and your office spends the day putting out fires instead of planning.

This article explains how StopSorted's stop time mode fixes that. You'll learn the difference between Fixed minutes and Auto pace, when to use each, and how to set it up so your arrival clocks actually match real roads and real drivers.

How Stop Time Mode Works

Stop time mode controls how long the app assumes each stop takes for arrival estimates and for the live map. You set a default stop time in minutes under Settings → Runs. That default applies to every stop unless you override it for a specific stop.

There are two modes:

• Fixed: Every stop uses the same default minutes. Simple and predictable.
• Auto (match driver pace): The app learns how long each driver actually takes at stops, then uses that learned time plus a small buffer for arrival clocks. If the driver is faster than the default, the clocks adjust to be realistic, not padded.

Here's the key: Auto only uses the default when it hasn't learned a better figure yet. After a few completed stops on that phone, the arrival times follow the driver's actual pace.

Fixed Mode: When You Want Set Minutes

Fixed mode is best when most of your deliveries need a similar amount of time on site. For example, if you do standard parcel drops where the driver rings, waits a minute, and leaves, setting 5 minutes per stop gives the office and customers a consistent expectation.

Fixed is also useful when you have a contract that promises a window, or when customers expect a certain service time. If every stop is roughly the same, Fixed keeps it simple — no surprises.

Auto Mode: When Drivers Beat the Clock

Auto mode is for when your drivers often finish well ahead of the Fixed clocks. This happens a lot with quick drops — think ATL (authority to leave) parcels left at the door. A driver might take only 2 minutes per stop, but your Fixed default is 5. With Fixed, the arrival clock says 3:00 for a stop that the driver will actually hit at 2:45. That 15-minute gap throws off the whole afternoon.

Auto fixes that by learning the driver's real pace. After a few stops, the app sees "this driver averages 2 minutes per stop" and updates the clocks to match, with a small buffer so they aren't tighter than the roads allow.

Even if you use Auto, any stop that you've deliberately set a longer time for — like a heavy freight delivery that needs a forklift — keeps that longer time. The app respects your manual override.

How to Set It Up

Setting up stop time mode takes less than a minute. Here's the step-by-step:

1. Log in to your StopSorted fleet dashboard.
2. Go to Settings → Runs.
3. Find the "Stop time" setting.
4. Choose Fixed or Auto.
5. If Fixed, enter the default minutes per stop. If Auto, enter a default too — it's used until the app learns the driver's pace.
6. Save your changes.

The live map and driver arrival times update immediately. You don't need to push a new app build to your fleet phones — they'll pick up the change automatically.

What the Driver Sees vs What the Office Sees

Driver's phone: The driver sees their run sorted in the best stop order, with arrival times for each stop. They don't see the stop time mode setting — it's behind the scenes. What they notice is that the arrival times actually make sense. If they're running ahead, the next stop's time adjusts, so they don't feel rushed or like the schedule is fake.

Office dashboard: The controller sees the live map with each driver's position and the arrival time for the next stop. When you switch to Auto, you'll see the arrival times shift to reflect the driver's pace — often earlier than the old Fixed times. You also get per-device statistics under Devices → Statistics that show the learned average stop time for each phone.

Customers: If you share delivery windows with customers, they get a more accurate "when will you arrive" answer. That reduces missed deliveries and angry calls.

A Real Example: Before and After

Let's say you run a crew doing parcel deliveries in a suburb. Your default stop time is 5 minutes. Your driver, Maria, is fast — she averages 2 minutes per stop because most customers have ATL instructions.

Before (Fixed): The office tells a customer at stop #7 that Maria will arrive at 2:15. Maria actually gets there at 1:50. The customer isn't home, so she has to leave a card. That's a failed delivery attempt, and the customer calls dispatch, annoyed.

After (Auto): After Maria completes a few stops, the app learns her 2-minute average. Now the office tells that same customer "Maria will arrive around 1:50." The customer is waiting, Maria makes the delivery, and no one calls dispatch.

Over a day, that saves Maria 15–20 minutes of waiting at doors and saves the office a handful of complaint calls. Multiply that by your whole fleet, and the time savings are real.

When to Switch Modes

Switch to Auto if:

• Drivers often finish well ahead of the Fixed clocks.
• You have many quick drops like ATL parcels.
• You want arrival times to reflect actual driver pace without manual updates.

Stay on Fixed if:

• You need a set number of minutes at every stop for customers or the office.
• Your stops genuinely take about the same time.
• You're not comfortable with the app learning from driver behavior yet.

You can always switch back. It's a simple toggle.

How the Learned Pace Works in Sorting

A common question: does Auto affect the stop order? No. When you unlock and re-sort a run (or use Sort / reoptimize), the sorting uses the learned stop time without the clock buffer. That means the route is optimized for actual drive and stop times, not padded estimates. The buffer only applies to arrival clocks, so you get an accurate route and a realistic schedule.

Checking and Resetting a Phone's Learned Average

If you suspect a phone's learned average is off — say a driver had a one-off delay that skewed the data — you can check it under Devices → Statistics. You'll see the average stop time that the app is using. If it looks wrong, you can reset it there. The app will then fall back to the default stop time until it learns new data.

That's useful if you move a phone to a different route or a new driver takes over.

FAQ

Q: Does changing stop time mode require a new app update on my drivers' phones? No. The setting updates on the server, and the phones pick it up automatically. No app build or manual update is needed.

Q: What happens if I have a stop that needs longer than the default? You can set a longer time for that specific stop. The app respects that override, even in Auto mode.

Q: How long does it take for Auto to learn a driver's pace? After a few completed stops on that phone, the arrival clocks start following the learned pace. The more stops, the more accurate it gets.

Q: Can I use Auto mode if I have different drivers on the same phone? Yes, but the learned average is tied to the phone. If a new driver uses the phone, you might want to reset the statistics under Devices → Statistics so the app learns the new driver's pace from scratch.

Get Accurate Arrival Times Today

Stop time mode is a small setting that makes a big difference in how accurate your delivery arrival times are. Whether you choose Fixed for consistency or Auto for real-world pace, you'll stop guessing and start telling customers when you'll actually arrive.

Want to try it? Start with a free account on StopSorted and see how it works for your fleet. When you're ready to set it up, the full guide is here: Stop Time Mode Guide. For pricing and plans, visit our pricing page.

Your drivers will thank you for fewer wasted minutes. Your customers will thank you for showing up when you said you would.