Hundreds of visits to book and no idea where to begin? 2025 is your year to take control. Imagine a business where every visit is perfectly planned, every route is optimised, and your schedule runs like clockwork.
It’s not just a dream—it’s the reality waiting for you with the right systems. This year, let’s leave behind the stress and step into a future where your business is organized, efficient, and thriving. Whether you’re running a solo trade business or managing a team, the right systems can turn chaos into clarity.
The Manual Way: Organization is Key
If you’re planning manually, here’s a proven approach:
1️⃣ Create a detailed list of customers, their addresses, and service requirements.
2️⃣ Estimate the time and cost for each visit—knowing your numbers is half the battle.
3️⃣ Contact your Customers to ensure they are happy with their pricing and number of visits you are planning
4️⃣ Optimize routes using tools like Google Maps or RouteXL (which can suggest multi-day routes to minimize travel time and fuel costs).
Google Maps
From Google Maps, use Directions. By adding new Destinations, a route can be built. By dragging the stops around, it will help to minimise the total travel time. This strategy works (especially when planning a small number of visits), but it’s time-intensive.
Route XL
If you have more than one day's worth of visits, then a more sophisticated tool like RouteXL can help. RouteXL is a powerful tool that can optimize schedules across multiple days or for multiple staff members working the same day. By converting your visits into a structured format, including details such as the time required for each stop, you can ensure a balanced and efficient schedule. This approach helps avoid ending the day too early—or, worse, running far too late—while maximizing productivity and minimizing travel time.
SW1A 2AA @Start@
SW1P 3EE @John Smith@ (90)
NW1 2EF @Jacob Jones@ (180)
SW1A 2AA @End@
The format is: [POSTCODE] @[Customer Name]@ ([time in minutes]).
In the example above, John Smith is at SW1P 3EE and you are planning 90 minutes on site.
Up to 20 addresses can be planned for free, or upgrade for up to 200 addresses. By splitting your customers into groups of 20 addresses, this can be a great free resource for planning.
The Smarter Way: Leverage Software
Why spend hours wrestling with schedules when you can automate the heavy lifting? Tools like Business Liferaft are game-changers for trade businesses:
✅ Offer customized visit schedules based on client needs (no more fixed plans that don’t fit). ✅ Automatically price up consumables and visit costs, saving you from manual calculations. ✅ Provide route planning and timings, ensuring efficiency with every visit.
With drag-and-drop re-ordering of visits, automated email invites and site reports you can share with your customers, these types of software can ensure you run your whole business smoothly, right from planning to getting paid.
Why It Matters
Your time is valuable. By moving to smarter systems, you’re not just optimizing your processes—you’re scaling your business potential while delivering a better customer experience.
Your Next Step
Ready to leave behind the endless spreadsheets and manual juggling? Drop a comment if you’re exploring scheduling software in 2025 or want tips on route optimization.
Let’s make maintenance planning effortless this year. 🌟
