True Multi-Phone Sort: One Joint Plan Across Your Vans

If you run more than one van, you already know the routine. Someone splits the list by suburb on a screen or a whiteboard, then each driver sorts their own stops alone. The result looks fine on paper, but the vans cross each other all day, one finishes early while another runs late, and the office spends the afternoon on the phone moving stops around.

That street split feels quick, but it costs you in fuel, overtime, and radio traffic. The alternative is true multi-phone sort: one joint plan built across every phone at once.

This article explains how that works in StopSorted, how to set it up, and what it looks like from the cab and from the depot.

What true multi-phone sort means

When you pick two or more phones in StopSorted, the app runs one joint sort across all of them. It is not a street split followed by separate sorts per van. The solver sees every stop, every phone's start address, and every phone's max stops, then assigns and orders the whole run together.

That is the difference between "each van gets a fair slice" and "the fleet gets the best stop order." One pass, one plan, every phone.

How it works, in plain language

Think of it as one sort that happens to end with stops landing on different phones.

• You load the full stop list once — import it or add stops by address search.
• You pick the phones that are running and set each one's start address.
• You tell the app how many stops each phone may take (its max stops).
• The solver assigns stops to phones and puts them in order, all at the same time.
• You check the preview, then confirm and send. Each driver's phone gets its numbered stops.

Because the sort is joint, the plan can balance load, keep vans from shadowing each other, and respect priority stops across the whole fleet rather than inside one van's bubble.

Setting up a multi-phone build

1. Open Routes → Build Route.
2. Load stops by import or by adding them. Set each stop to high, normal, or low priority if the day needs it.
3. Pick the phones for this run and enter each phone's start address.
4. On Max stops, set how many stops each phone may take. Capacities must cover the whole list — an equal split is fine, or weight it toward the bigger van.
5. Tap Sort / reoptimize. The solver assigns and orders stops for every phone together.
6. Check the preview. If it looks right, tap Confirm & send.

A few things worth knowing up front:

• The multi-phone build caps at 300 stops. Above that, split the day into two builds.
• A single phone still uses the single-run sort, including hard VIP-first tiers.
• Arrival windows you enter on a stop are honoured in the plan.
• Breaks come from Fleet Settings, or a phone's own override under Devices → Device Settings. If Allow driver to pick break start time is on, each driver chooses their break start in the app before sorting their own run.
• You can seed max stops from your fleet or per-phone capacity defaults. Weight in kg is planning-only for now.

The full walkthrough lives in the guide on true multi-phone sort.

High priority across the fleet, not one van first

Priority is a common source of confusion. In a multi-phone build, VIP (high priority) stops are preferred across the fleet — the solver looks for the best overall plan that serves them early, rather than forcing them all onto one van before anyone else starts. That matters when your high-priority stops are spread across suburbs. One van cannot sensibly cover all of them, and pretending it can wrecks the rest of the day.

What the driver sees vs what the office sees

From the driver's seat, the day is simple. The phone shows a numbered list of stops in order, with the address and any arrival window you entered. The driver taps a stop and opens Google Maps, Waze, or uses in-app turns. Breaks are handled in the app, and if break start time is left to the driver, they pick it before sorting their own run. Proof of delivery is captured at the door.

The office sees the other half. The fleet login shows each phone's run as part of one plan, not a set of unrelated lists. A live map shows where the vans are, which stops are done, and where the next stops sit. When a customer calls, the controller can answer without ringing the driver. When something changes, the plan can be re-sorted and sent again.

That split — numbered stops for the cab, one live picture for the depot — is what makes a multi stop route planner actually usable across a fleet.

A worked example

Say you have three vans, 90 stops, and a mix of high, normal, and low priority work. Two vans start from the depot, one starts from a driver's home suburb on the far side of the city.

The old way: someone splits the list by suburb into three roughly equal chunks. Each driver sorts their own chunk. Van 1 finishes at 2pm with ten stops left unassigned, Van 2 is still out at 5pm, and Van 3 has been driving past Van 2's streets all afternoon. The office spends the last two hours moving stops by phone.

The multi-phone way: you load all 90 stops once, pick the three phones, set the three start addresses, and set max stops so the totals cover the list. You tap Sort. The solver assigns stops across all three phones and orders them together. High-priority stops are preferred across the fleet, arrival windows are honoured, and the third van's home start is used properly instead of being treated as a depot run.

After the sort, you check the preview, confirm, and send. Each driver gets a numbered list. The office watches one live map. The afternoon phone calls mostly stop, because the plan already accounted for the whole day rather than three separate ones.

Frequently asked questions

Does this split the streets first and sort each van after? No. That is the older approach and it is exactly what true multi-phone sort avoids. StopSorted runs one joint sort across every selected phone, so assignment and ordering happen together.

What happens if my max stops do not cover the whole list? The build needs capacities that cover every stop. If they do not, raise the max stops on one or more phones. An equal split works, but you can weight it toward a larger vehicle if that suits the day.

How many stops can one multi-phone build handle? Up to 300 stops. Beyond that, split the day into two builds. A single phone still uses the single-run sort, including hard VIP-first tiers.

Can each driver still choose their own break time? Yes, if Allow driver to pick break start time is on. Otherwise breaks come from Fleet Settings or a phone's own override under Devices → Device Settings.

Where to go next

If you are weighing up delivery route planner apps, the honest test is what happens when more than one van is running. A planner that sorts each van alone is not the same tool as one that plans the fleet together. That joint plan is the whole point of true multi-phone sort.

Start free and build a route with two phones to see it. Fleet pricing is $69/month for 2 phones, then $20/month per extra phone that runs — a phone is billed the month it first runs a route, and unused approved phones can be removed with no seat charge. Solo on Google Play is $24.99/month, with a 14-day free try of 1 run/day up to 10 stops. Coverage grows country by country, with Australia live today and more countries added on request.

See pricing for the full list, or read how it works for the end-to-end picture.