Build your crew slots once, save them as a dispatch template, and have SmartMoving apply them automatically to the days of the week you choose.
Available to anyone with the Dispatch permission.
Why teams and templates come first
SmartMoving dispatches jobs onto crew slots, and a slot is only useful once it has a truck and crew on it. Your dispatch template is how those trucks and crew get onto the slots every day without anyone rebuilding the board by hand.
A slot with nobody on it cannot take a job. Anything that assigns work, including Smart Dispatch, needs staffed slots to work with.
When a template is assigned to a day of the week, SmartMoving builds that day's slots from it and carries the trucks and crew across.
When no template is assigned to that day, SmartMoving creates empty slots named Crew Name 1, Crew Name 2, and so on, with no trucks and no crew.
đĄ SmartTip: Slots named Crew Name 1 and Crew Name 2 are the sign that no template is assigned to that day of the week.
Before You Start
Your crew members need to exist in SmartMoving before you can put them on a slot. Add them under Settings > Dispatch > Crew Members.
A crew member only appears in Dispatch when they are available. Their default working days, time off, and termination date all affect this.
Select one branch. Templates are managed per branch, and the Templates link is greyed out unless exactly one branch is selected.
How To Build a Day's Slots
Set one day up exactly the way you want it. That day becomes your template.
Click Dispatch in the left navigation, then open the Schedule page.
Select the Scheduling tab and choose any date to build on.
Select a single branch in the Branch selector.
Drag a truck from the Trucks list onto a slot.
Drag a foreman and any crew members from the Crew list onto that slot.
Repeat for every slot you want in the template.
Delete any slot you do not need using the trash can icon on the slot.
The result: the board shows the exact set of crews, trucks, and slot names you want to start from every day.
How To Save a Day as a Dispatch Template
Click Templates at the top left of the schedule board.
Open the All Templates tab.
Type a name in the Save today as a new template field.
Click Add.
The result: the template appears in the All Templates list, holding the slots, trucks, and crew from the day you were viewing.
Note: The template saves the day you have open. Build the board first, then save it.
How To Assign a Template to Days of the Week
Click Templates at the top left of the schedule board.
Open the Days of the Week tab.
Click the dropdown next to a day and select a template.
Repeat for each day you want the template applied to.
Click Apply [N] Changes at the bottom of the window.
Read the confirmation titled Are you sure you want to reassign slots? and click Yes, proceed.
The result: SmartMoving builds each of those days from the template you chose, with the trucks and crew already on the slots.
â ď¸ Warning: Reassigning a day resets all future jobs already assigned on that day, and this cannot be reversed. Review your upcoming jobs before you apply changes.
Note: Days set to No Template get empty slots named Crew Name 1, Crew Name 2, and so on.
How To Use a Different Template for Today Only
Use this when a single day needs a different setup and you do not want to change the weekly pattern.
Click Templates at the top left of the schedule board.
Open the Days of the Week tab.
Click the Override Today dropdown and select a template.
Click Apply [N] Changes, then click Yes, proceed.
The result: today's board rebuilds from the template you chose. The days of the week keep their own assignments.
How To Schedule a Template Change for a Future Date
Use the Upcoming Schedule tab when you want a new weekly pattern to start on a specific date rather than straight away.
Click Templates at the top left of the schedule board.
Open the Upcoming Schedule tab.
Set the Template Effective Start Date. The earliest date you can choose is tomorrow.
Select the template for each day of the week.
Click Apply [N] Changes, then click Yes, proceed.
The result: your current pattern runs until the date you set, then the new one takes over.
Note: Scheduling a template change overrides any template change already scheduled.
How To Delete a Dispatch Template
Click Templates at the top left of the schedule board.
Open the All Templates tab.
Click Delete next to the template you want to remove.
Read the confirmation titled Are you sure you want to remove [template name]? and click Yes, proceed.
The result: the template is removed from the list.
Note: Unassign a template from every day of the week before deleting it.
Key Details
Dispatch templates are managed per branch. Select one branch before opening Templates.
A template captures the slots, trucks, and crew on the day you had open when you saved it.
Templates carry trucks and crew onto the slots. They do not place jobs.
Days with no template assigned get empty slots named Crew Name 1, Crew Name 2, and so on.
Reassigning a template to a day resets future jobs already assigned on that day, and the action cannot be reversed.
A template has to be unassigned from every day before it can be deleted.
The earliest effective start date you can schedule is tomorrow.
Override Today changes only the day you are viewing and leaves the weekly assignments alone.
Crew members set to unavailable, on time off, or carrying a termination date of today or earlier do not appear in Dispatch and cannot be added to a slot.
Best Practices
Build one template per pattern you actually run, such as a weekday setup and a lighter Saturday setup.
Name templates for the pattern rather than the day, so a template used on more than one day still makes sense.
Check your upcoming jobs before applying changes to a day of the week. Reassigning resets jobs already on those days.
Use Override Today for a one-off day rather than reassigning the whole weekday and putting it back afterwards.
Use the Upcoming Schedule tab for seasonal changes, so the new pattern starts on the date you pick instead of immediately.
Keep crew availability current. A crew member who is unavailable will not land on a slot, even from a template.
Troubleshooting
The Templates link is greyed out. Templates are managed one branch at a time, so the link is available only when exactly one branch is selected. It stays greyed out with no branch selected and with several selected. Hovering shows "You must switch to a specific branch in order to manage templates." Select a single branch in the Branch selector.
Apply Changes is greyed out. The button stays disabled until you change something, and its label counts the pending changes. Assign or clear a template on at least one day and it becomes available.
My slots are named Crew Name 1 and Crew Name 2. No template is assigned to that day of the week. Open Templates > Days of the Week, assign a template to that day, and apply the change.
A crew member is missing from the Crew list. They may be marked unavailable for that day, be on scheduled time off, have no working days set for that weekday, or carry a termination date of today or earlier. Check their record under Settings > Dispatch > Crew Members.
Jobs disappeared from a future day after I changed a template. Reassigning a day of the week resets jobs already assigned on those days, and it cannot be reversed. Rebuild those days from the schedule, and review upcoming jobs before applying template changes in future.
I cannot delete a template. The template is still assigned to at least one day. Set those days to No Template, apply the change, then delete it.
Want to learn more?