Efficient management of driver and vehicle allocations is essential for optimising delivery, pickup, and service operations within HirePOS. This document serves as a comprehensive guide on how to assign drivers and vehicles to specific jobs within the Delivery/Pickup schedule.

To allocate a driver to a job, the driver must first be set up as a supplier in the system. Follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Setup > Suppliers and either edit an existing supplier or create a new one.

2. In the Other tab, check the box labeled "Is Driver or Transport Company?" and save the supplier record.

3. Next, go to Sales/Hire > Delivery/Pickup Schedule and click on the Vehicle/Driver Allocations button. The screen will default to 'Drivers' mode, displaying jobs within the selected date range.

4. You can assign jobs to drivers by clicking the + cell in the respective columns. Note that each job can only be assigned to one driver. The total number of jobs for each driver is tallied at the bottom of the grid.

It is important to note that Pickup details inherit Delivery details and that Pickup is always the same as Delivery unless specified otherwise. If you assign a driver to a Delivery job, then the Pickup job will inherit the same driver unless you assign a different driver for the Pickup job.

In the Driver/Vehicle Allocations screen, you cannot "unassign" drivers. Every job is assumed to require a driver, so you must choose one driver or the other. You may have Pickup jobs assigned to a driver in the Driver/Vehicle Allocations screen; however, when you view and edit the Invoice, there is no driver assigned in the Pickup details section. This is because the Pickup details will use the same details as Delivery if none are specified.

If you want to explicitly flag a job as being unassigned, then it is recommended to set up a new driver called "Unassigned", and you can choose this as the driver for the job as needed.

You can also default all new jobs to this "Unassigned" driver by going to Setup > Preferences > Miscellaneous, then select the Unassigned driver in the Delivery/Pickup Via dropdown, and make sure you click the Save Changes button at the bottom-right. From here on, all new jobs, both delivery and pickup, will be assigned to this special "Unassigned" driver.

Assigning vehicles to jobs follows a similar process. Here’s how to allocate a vehicle to a job:

1. Set up the vehicle as an item in Setup > Items. It is recommended to create a new Item Type called Vehicles to distinguish them from other items.

2. In the Other tab of the item setup, check the "Is Delivery Vehicle" box and save the item record.

3. Proceed to Sales/Hire > Delivery/Pickup Schedule and click on the Vehicle/Driver Allocations button. Switch to 'Vehicles' mode by clicking the corresponding button.

4. You can assign jobs to vehicles by clicking the + cell in the columns. Each job can only be assigned to one vehicle. The total number of jobs for each vehicle is calculated at the bottom of the grid. If a driver is assigned to a vehicle, their initials will be displayed next to the vehicle icon.

Efficient driver and vehicle allocations in HirePOS streamline your delivery and pickup processes, ensuring timely and organized job assignments. By following the outlined steps, you can effectively manage your resources and optimise your operations.