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Quick Start

This guide walks you through the essential steps to go from a fresh account to your first scheduled service route.

Onboarding checklist​

When you first log in as an admin, you'll see an onboarding checklist on your dashboard. This checklist guides you through the essential setup steps and tracks your progress. It disappears automatically once all steps are complete, or you can dismiss it at any time.

1. Create your account​

Sign up at Plantrunner and verify your email address. You'll be prompted to create your service company during signup.

2. Configure your schedule cycle​

Your company name, contact information, and business address are collected during signup. Next, configure your scheduling settings:

  1. Go to Company Settings -> Scheduling
  2. Set your Service Cycle Length (2, 3, or 4 weeks). Most companies use 2 weeks (bi-weekly).
  3. Set your Cycle Start Date -- choose the Monday your scheduling cycle begins. This determines which week (Week 1, Week 2, etc.) you're currently in.

See Company Setup for details.

3. Configure service tasks​

Go to Company Settings -> Tasks and configure the tasks your technicians complete during service visits. These appear as checkboxes on the service visit form (e.g., "Water plants", "Dust leaves", "Check for pests").

4. Add employees​

Navigate to Employees and invite your team. Each person receives an email invitation to create their account. Assign roles to control what each person can access.

5. Add your first customer​

Go to Customers and click Add Customer. Enter:

  • Customer name and contact details
  • Mailing address (auto-completed via address search)
  • At least one service location
  • Service days and week pattern for each location
Important

Make sure to assign a service day (e.g., Monday) and week pattern (e.g., Week 1) to each customer location. The route builder uses this information to automatically suggest which locations belong on each route. By adding these details, you'll be able to quickly generate all your routes easily.

See Adding Customers for details.

6. Create a route​

Navigate to Routes and click Add Route:

  1. Give the route a name (e.g., "Monday Downtown")
  2. Select customer locations as waypoints
  3. Assign an employee
  4. Set the schedule (days of week and week pattern)
  5. Click Optimize to calculate the best driving order

See Creating Routes for the full walkthrough.

7. Service your route​

Your field technicians can now see their assigned routes. At each location they:

  1. Check in to start the visit timer
  2. Complete service tasks and log notes
  3. Check out to finish the visit

What's next?​