- The three tasks we usually take off first are run sheets and driver messages, filing proof of delivery, and fuel and mileage logs.
- Together they typically come to around six and a half hours a week for a small New Zealand operator, as an estimate we check against your own.
- Drivers use the phones they already carry; there is no new device to learn.
- Proof of delivery, photos and logs are filed against the right job, ready when a customer or your accountant asks.
What the repetitive work looks like in transport and delivery
For a courier contractor, a small freight operator, a removals company or a local delivery business, the day starts before the first van leaves the yard. Orders have come in overnight by email, phone and spreadsheet. Someone has to sort them into runs, send each driver their list and answer the inevitable messages: the address is wrong, the customer is not home, the gate code is missing.
At the other end of the day come the signatures and photos that prove each delivery happened, scattered across drivers' phones. Then the fuel receipts on the dashboard and the mileage that nobody wrote down, which matter when it is time to invoice customers and talk to your accountant.
All of this is repetitive and follows clear rules, which makes it a good fit for automation.
The three tasks we usually take off first
The hours below are typical estimates from similar New Zealand operators, not a promise. We measure your actual week in the free session.
Orders gathered into run sheets and sent to each driver's phone.
Signatures and photos filed against the right job, automatically.
Receipts and kilometres captured as you go, not reconstructed later.
Run sheets and driver messages
- Orders land in one list. Jobs arriving by email, web form or a customer's spreadsheet are pulled into a single job list, with addresses tidied and missing details flagged.
- Runs are put together. Jobs are grouped by area, time window and vehicle, using the rules your dispatcher already follows. The dispatcher checks and adjusts.
- Drivers get their sheet. Each driver receives their run on their phone, with addresses, contact numbers, access notes and special instructions.
- Changes reach the right person. If a job is added or cancelled during the day, only the affected driver is told, and customers can be sent an on-the-way message.
Filing proof of delivery
Proof of delivery is only useful if you can find it. In a typical setup the driver opens the job on their phone at the drop-off, takes a photo, captures a signature or notes where the parcel was left, and taps done. The record is saved against the job with the time and driver's name, filed in the customer's folder, and the customer can be sent a delivery confirmation. When someone rings to say a delivery never arrived, the photo is a search away rather than somewhere in a driver's camera roll. Completed jobs can also flow through to invoicing, so fewer deliveries go unbilled.
Agree what counts as proof. Decide with your customers whether a photo, a signature or both is required, and for which jobs. Clear rules make the automation simpler and disputes easier to settle.
Fuel and mileage logs
- Receipts are captured on the spot. Drivers photograph fuel receipts, or fuel card statements are picked up from email.
- Kilometres are recorded with each run. Odometer readings at the start and end of a shift, or distances from the run sheet, are logged per vehicle.
- Everything is matched. Fuel spend and kilometres are matched to vehicles and drivers, and entered as expenses in Xero.
- You get a monthly summary. Cost per vehicle and per kilometre, with any unusual figures flagged for a look.
If your vehicles pay road user charges, accurate kilometres make those easier to keep track of too. How these records are used for tax and charges is one to check with your accountant.
Other transport tasks worth automating
- Customer delivery bookings taken through a web form and added straight to the job list.
- Invoices created from completed and proven deliveries.
- Reminders for vehicle servicing, warrants or certificates of fitness, and registration renewals.
- Driver hours collected from run sheets and totalled for payroll.
- Damage and incident reports captured with photos at the scene.
- Answers to where-is-my-delivery questions sent automatically from the job status.
Tools we usually connect for transport
- Xero for invoices, expenses and receipts.
- Microsoft 365: Outlook for incoming orders and customer confirmations, Excel for job lists, run sheets and vehicle registers, and OneDrive or SharePoint for proof of delivery.
- Google Workspace: Gmail for incoming orders and customer confirmations, Google Sheets for job lists, run sheets and vehicle registers, and Google Drive for proof of delivery.
If you deliver for online retailers, we work from the order emails or spreadsheets they already send you.
Our guide on connecting your business apps explains how jobs can move between these without retyping.
Digital tools that help
- A driver portal on each phone: today's run, job details, photo and signature capture, and receipts.
- A customer portal where regular customers book deliveries, track status and download proof of delivery themselves.
- A live dashboard showing jobs done, jobs outstanding, revenue and cost per vehicle. Our guide to your business numbers every week suggests what to include.
- A website that explains your services and areas and takes booking enquiries properly.
See websites, portals and dashboards for how we build these. If you also do installation or on-site work, our page on automation for trades and building covers quotes and invoicing.
What working with us looks like
- We watch the work. A free session with your dispatcher and, ideally, a driver. You keep the written plan and hours estimate even if you do not hire us.
- We build one automation first. Usually one to two weeks, run on real jobs and real drivers before it goes live.
- You own it. Built in your own accounts with your logins, so you keep everything if we stop working together. Drivers trained in English, Hindi or Punjabi, whichever they prefer. Fixes and tweaks are free for the first 30 days after launch; after that, support is a monthly plan or pay as you go, whichever suits you. A named contact stays reachable in New Zealand hours.
Getting started checklist
- A sample of a typical day's orders and how they arrive.
- A current run sheet, however it is made today.
- How proof of delivery is captured now and where it ends up.
- A list of vehicles and drivers, and how fuel is paid for.
- Access details for your accounting software.
When you are ready, book a free session and we will start with the task that costs your dispatcher the most time.
Common questions
Do my drivers need a special app?
Not usually. Most setups work through a simple web link on the phones drivers already carry. If you already use a delivery or fleet app, we do not connect to it directly, but where it can export to Excel or Google Sheets, or sends you emails, we work from what it already produces.
Can it plan the best route for each driver?
We focus on getting the right jobs to the right driver with the right details, and on removing the retyping. Where you already use a routing tool, we can prepare the job list in Excel or Google Sheets for you to bring into it. Route planning itself still benefits from someone who knows the roads and the customers.
What if a driver is somewhere with no mobile coverage?
Photos and signatures can be captured offline in many setups and sent once the phone is back in coverage. We check how your drivers work, including rural runs, before choosing the approach.
Will this help at tax time?
It can make fuel and mileage records far tidier and easier to hand to your accountant. How those records are used for tax and expense claims is a question for your accountant.