> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.bodharouteplanner.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Multi-Day & Haul Planning

> Split large stop lists across multiple days, or plan overnight haul trips where drivers stay out on the road.

> [!NOTE]
>
> Multi-day planning and overnight haul planning are available on the **Pro** plan.

Bodha Route Planner offers two ways to plan work across multiple days:

1. **Multi-Day Route Planning** — Split a large list of stops across several days, with each day becoming its own optimized route. Best for local delivery operations with more stops than one day can handle.
2. **Overnight Haul Planning** — Plan a multi-day trip where a single driver stays out on the road, sleeping at stops along the way. Best for long-haul trucking, regional circuits, and multi-day service routes.

***

## Multi-Day Route Planning

### When to use it

Use multi-day planning when you have more stops than your drivers can complete in a single day. Instead of manually splitting the list and creating separate routes, the planner does it automatically — respecting driver availability, shift hours, due dates, and vehicle capacity.

**Examples:**

* You receive 200 orders on Monday that need to go out over the week
* A weekly batch of inspection sites needs to be distributed across 5 days
* You want to plan the entire week's deliveries for your fleet in one go

### Step-by-step: Planning across days

#### 1. Create a route and add all your stops

Create a new route and import your full workload — all stops for the entire period (week, fortnight, etc.).

You can add stops by:

* Importing a spreadsheet (CSV or Excel)
* Pasting addresses
* Adding from the Orders inbox
* Typing manually

> [!TIP]
>
> Give the route a descriptive name like "North Region — w/c 3 Nov" so you can easily identify the plan later.

#### 2. Assign your drivers

Select the drivers who will work on this batch. Each driver can have their own depot (home location) — the optimizer starts and ends each day's route from the correct location for each driver.

#### 3. Click "Plan across days"

Instead of clicking **Optimize** (which creates a single-day route), click **Plan across days**. This opens the planning wizard.

#### 4. Configure the day grid

The day grid is the heart of the multi-day planner. It shows a table with **dates as rows** and **drivers as columns**. Each cell represents one driver on one day.

| | Mon 3 Nov | Tue 4 Nov | Wed 5 Nov | Thu 6 Nov | Fri 7 Nov |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| **Driver A** | 30 stops | 30 stops | 25 stops | 30 stops | 30 stops |
| **Driver B** | 30 stops | 30 stops | 30 stops | OFF | 30 stops |

For each cell, you can set:

* **Max stops** — The maximum number of stops this driver should handle on this day. Leave blank for no limit — the planner decides based on shift hours and service time.
* **End time** — When this driver's day ends. Defaults to the shift end time from the depot or driver profile. Override it for specific days (e.g. half-day Wednesday).
* **Day off** — Mark a cell as off if a driver isn't available on a specific day. No stops are assigned to that driver on that day.

The wizard shows a **running total** at the bottom so you can see how many stops will be covered vs. your total.

#### 5. Choose your options

* **Start date** — The first day of the plan (defaults to today).
* **Number of days** — How many days to plan across.
* **Working days** — By default, the planner uses your working days from **Settings → Route Planning** (typically Monday–Friday). Toggle **Include non-working days** if you need to plan on weekends or other off-days.
* **Replace or Append**:
  * **Replace** — Creates a fresh plan from scratch. Use this when starting a new plan.
  * **Append** — Adds more days to an existing plan without changing days already planned. Use this when new stops come in mid-week.
* **Due dates** — If your stops have deliver-by dates, the planner respects them. A stop due on Wednesday won't be scheduled for Thursday. Stops with past due dates or dates beyond the plan range are held back and stay unscheduled.

#### 6. Click Plan

The engine distributes your stops across the days and drivers, creating a separate optimized route for each day.

### How the planner distributes stops

The multi-day planner considers several factors when deciding which stops go on which day:

| Factor | How it's used |
| - | - |
| **Geography** | Stops near each other are grouped onto the same day to minimize driving between them. |
| **Due dates** | Stops with earlier deadlines are scheduled on earlier days. A stop due Wednesday is scheduled by Wednesday. |
| **Driver shift hours** | Each day's route fits within the driver's working hours (including service time and driving time). |
| **Service time** | The average time spent at each stop counts toward the day's capacity. More time per stop = fewer stops per day. |
| **Vehicle capacity** | If capacity enforcement is on, the planner won't overload a vehicle on any day. |
| **Working days** | Only your designated working days are used unless you enable non-working days. |
| **Driver availability** | Cells marked as "off" are skipped. Drivers who aren't assigned don't receive stops. |
| **Stop caps** | The max stops you set per cell are respected. |

### After planning

* Each day becomes its own route, visible on your routes list:
  * "North Region — Day 1 (Mon 3 Nov)"
  * "North Region — Day 2 (Tue 4 Nov)"
  * etc.
* Each day route shows the number of stops, total distance, drive time, and estimated finish.
* Your original route becomes a **pool** (plan container) that holds the overall plan and any unassigned stops.
* Any stops that couldn't be assigned appear in the **Unassigned** list with a reason (shift too short, capacity exceeded, etc.).
* You can dispatch routes individually or all at once. Drivers see each day's route in their app.

### Re-planning

Need to adjust after planning?

1. Open the pool route.
2. Click **Re-plan**.
3. Adjust the day grid — add a day, change caps, mark a driver as off.
4. Click **Plan across days** again.

**Rules for re-planning:**

* Day routes that haven't been dispatched are replaced with new ones.
* Day routes that are **In Progress** or **Completed** are kept — only unstarted days are re-planned.
* Unassigned stops from re-planning stay on the pool.

> [!WARNING]
>
> You cannot re-plan day routes that are already In Progress or Completed. Complete or cancel those routes first if you need to change them.

***

## Overnight Haul Planning

### When to use it

Use overnight haul planning when a driver leaves the depot and stays out on the road for multiple days — sleeping at or near their stops — before returning. This is different from multi-day route planning, where drivers return to the depot each night.

**Examples:**

* A truck driver delivering across a region over 3–5 days, sleeping at truck stops
* A service technician covering a territory over a week, staying at hotels near job sites
* A long-haul delivery route that takes multiple days to complete

### How it works

Overnight haul planning is designed for a **single driver** on a **multi-day trip**. The planner accounts for driving hour limits, mandatory rest periods, and where the driver sleeps each night.

#### 1. Enable haul planning

Go to **Settings → Route Planning → Overnight haul planning** and toggle it on. This makes the haul option available in the multi-day planner.

#### 2. Open the haul wizard

From your route, click **Plan across days** and choose **Overnight haul** mode. The wizard opens with a trip-focused layout.

#### 3. Set the trip dates

* **Start date** — When the driver leaves the depot.
* **Number of driving days** — How many days the driver will be actively driving. Rest days (if any) are inserted between driving days.

#### 4. Choose driving hour rules

The driving hour rules determine how long a driver can be on the road each day. Select a preset that matches your regulations, or set custom limits:

**EU rules**

Based on European driving regulations:

| Rule | Limit |
| - | - |
| Max driving per day | 9 hours |
| Max on-duty per day | 13 hours |
| Break required after | 4.5 hours of continuous driving |
| Break length | 45 minutes |
| Minimum rest between days | 11 hours |

These limits are based on EU Regulation (EC) No 561/2006. The planner enforces them automatically — it won't schedule a stop that would push the driver past any limit.

**US HOS rules**

Based on US Hours of Service (HOS) regulations:

| Rule | Limit |
| - | - |
| Max driving per day | 11 hours |
| Max on-duty per day | 14 hours |
| Break required after | 8 hours of continuous driving |
| Break length | 30 minutes |
| Minimum rest between days | 10 hours |

These limits follow FMCSA Hours of Service rules. The planner schedules mandatory breaks and ensures adequate rest between driving days.

**Custom rules**

Set your own limits for each rule:

* **Driving per day** — Maximum hours behind the wheel each day.
* **On duty per day** — Maximum total working hours per day (driving + loading + service time at stops).
* **Break after driving** — How many hours of continuous driving before a mandatory break.
* **Break length** — How long each mandatory break lasts (in minutes).
* **Rest between days** — Minimum hours of rest between the end of one driving day and the start of the next.

> [!TIP]
>
> Custom rules are useful for operations that don't fall under standard trucking regulations — for example, a service van that follows company policy rather than federal HOS rules.

#### 5. Configure overnight stops

For each night of the trip, choose where the driver sleeps:

| Option | What it does |
| - | - |
| **Last stop** *(default)* | The driver sleeps wherever their last delivery of the day happens to be. The planner chooses the best stop to end the day based on driving limits and geography. |
| **Specific stop** | Pin the night to a particular stop — for example, a known truck stop, hotel, or customer site with overnight parking. The planner ensures the driver reaches that stop before the driving limit expires. |

> [!TIP]
>
> Use "Last stop" for most nights and only pin specific stops when there's a known overnight location. Too many pinned nights restrict the optimizer and may leave stops unassigned.

#### 6. Mark rest days (optional)

If the trip includes a non-driving day — for example, a mandatory weekly rest day, a day with no stops in the area, or a personal rest day — toggle the **Driving** checkbox off for that day. The driver rests at their previous night's location and resumes the next driving day.

#### 7. Click Plan

The engine plans the entire trip: splitting stops across driving days, fitting mandatory breaks into the schedule, placing rest periods between days, and respecting all driving hour limits.

### Firm days

The **firm days** setting (in **Settings → Route Planning → Overnight haul planning**) controls how many days at the start of a haul are locked in. When you re-plan a haul to add stops or adjust the schedule, firm days stay unchanged.

| Setting | What it means |
| - | - |
| **1 day** | Only the first day is locked. Days 2 onward can be reorganized on re-plan. |
| **2 days** *(recommended)* | The first two days are locked. Best balance between stability (drivers know their near-term plan) and flexibility (later days can adapt to changes). |
| **3 days** | The first three days are locked. Maximum stability, less room to adapt to changes. |

### Driver notification policy

Controls how drivers are informed when a haul plan changes (set in **Settings → Route Planning → Overnight haul planning**):

| Policy | What happens |
| - | - |
| **Auto** *(recommended)* | Drivers are notified immediately when any day in their trip is updated. Best for most operations — the driver always has the latest plan. |
| **Review date changes** | Date changes are queued for your review. You see a summary of what changed and approve before drivers are notified. Useful when you want to double-check before sending updates. |
| **Manual** | No automatic notifications. You must dispatch each day's changes manually. Full control, but requires more work from the dispatcher. |

***

## Use cases

| Industry | Scenario | Best mode |
| - | - | - |
| **Local delivery** | 200 parcels for the week, 4 drivers | Multi-day |
| **Inspections** | 150 sites for the week, 3 inspectors | Multi-day |
| **Meter reading** | A month of addresses, 20 working days | Multi-day |
| **Regional trucking** | Cross-country deliveries, 5 driving days | Overnight haul |
| **Field service** | Territory coverage over a week, driver sleeps at hotels | Overnight haul |
| **Merchandising** | Retail store visits across a large area, 3-day trip | Overnight haul |

***

## FAQ

> **How many stops can one day hold?**
>
> It depends on shift hours, service time per stop, and driving distances. As a rough guide: with an 8-hour shift and 5-minute service time, a driver can typically handle 40–80 stops in a dense urban area, or 20–40 stops in a spread-out suburban area. The planner estimates capacity per day automatically based on your settings.

> **Can I edit individual days after planning?**
>
> Yes. Each day becomes its own route. You can open any day's route, add or remove stops, reorder them, or re-optimize that single day without affecting the others.

> **What happens to stops with no due date?**
>
> Stops without a due date are considered flexible — the planner can schedule them on any day. They're distributed based on geography and driver availability.

> **Can I plan across days for multiple drivers?**
>
> Yes — multi-day route planning supports multiple drivers. Each driver gets their own route for each day. Overnight haul planning is currently for a single driver per trip.

> **What if I need to add more stops after planning?**
>
> Use **Append** mode in the multi-day planner. It adds new days to the plan without changing days that are already scheduled. Or, open a specific day's route and add stops to it directly.

> **Can I mix multi-day and haul planning?**
>
> They serve different purposes. Multi-day planning is for daily routes where drivers return to the depot each night. Haul planning is for trips where a driver stays out on the road. Choose the one that matches your operation for each route.

> **What if a driver gets sick mid-haul?**
>
> You can re-plan the haul from the current day forward. Firm days protect the completed days, and remaining stops are redistributed across the adjusted schedule. You may need to extend the trip or reduce the scope.

> **How are mandatory breaks scheduled during a haul?**
>
> The planner inserts breaks automatically based on your chosen driving hour rules (EU, US, or custom). For example, with EU rules, a 45-minute break is scheduled after every 4.5 hours of driving. You don't need to manually plan break times — the optimizer fits them in at the best points in the route.


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