How do I…

One task at a time, each in small steps, using the words on the route page. For the daily routine, see Every day. Everything here happens on the route page unless a step says “in the spreadsheet”. Nothing here changes Time To Pet: when a change needs making there, the Time To Pet list on the route page tells you.

Two places you will use a lot.

Settings: the cog ⚙️ at the top of the route page, or More › Settings. It opens with Essentials; the rest are folded under Staff, Drive times, Time blocks and Advanced. Tap a heading to open it. The box Search settings… at the top finds any setting by name. Save is at the bottom.

Set up: More › Set up. The steps you did when you started, kept there for whenever your team or clients change.

  1. Mark someone out, or in, for a day
  2. Call someone in
  3. Give a visit to a different sitter
  4. Pin a visit, a sitter’s day, or everything
  5. Compare before rerouting
  6. Reroute several days at once
  7. Set a client’s time window, or “any time”
  8. Change a visit’s time, or take it off the day
  9. Get medication times right
  10. Set the hours between visits
  11. Keys: pickup points and handoffs
  12. Group walks
  13. Trainees riding along
  14. Who gets visits first: High, Medium, Low and Last resort
  15. Days booked to a dummy account (“Route”)
  16. Plan a day ahead that nobody is assigned to yet
  17. Overnights
  18. Add a new sitter or client
  19. Change business hours, or a sitter’s own hours
  20. Breaks
  21. See where a client’s request would fit
  22. The password, and signing out other phones
  23. Put the page on a phone’s home screen
  24. Make it yours: name, logo, colors
  25. Install an update
  26. Report a problem
  27. Suggest a feature, or vote on one

Mark someone out, or in, for a day 1 minute

1

Go to the day, with the date arrows at the top.

You’ll see: under the date, Staff available today and a chip per person. Green: working. Grey with a reason: “(out)”, “(not on the Daily Summary)” or “(on-call)”.
More: a team of more than twelve

You see one line instead, like “9 working today, 2 out”. Tap Mark somebody out or in ▸ to show the chips, and Hide ▴ to fold them again.

2

To mark someone out, tap their green chip.

You’ll see: with no visits yet, “Mark Jo out for this day? The day is rerouted without them.” With visits, a panel “Mark Jo out for today” listing each one with a tick box.
3

In the panel, tick anything they already finished, then tap Mark out & reroute.

Ticked visits stay theirs. Unticked ones go to whoever else is working.

You’ll see: “Jo is marked out. The day was rerouted around it; the Time To Pet list shows what to change.”
4

To mark someone in, tap their grey chip.

You’ll see: “In for the whole day? OK for all day, or type hours like 9-2 / 9:00-14:00:”
5

Tap OK for the whole day, or type hours like 9-2 first.

You’ll see: “Priya is marked in. Their booked visits are back on their card and nothing else moved. Reroute to give them more.” To hand them more of the day, tap Reroute.
6

Work the Time To Pet list: make each change there, tap ✓ Done.

More: another day, or the whole week

Tap Shifts on the bottom bar. In the grid Who’s working this week, tap a grey day to mark someone in, or a green day: OK marks them out, Cancel lets you type their hours. Marking out today from the grid asks which visits are done, the same as the chip.

“This day is locked and your team may have it already”

You locked this day in Looking ahead. Changing who works reroutes it. OK carries on; make sure your team sees the new day in Time To Pet.

Back to the list ▴

Call someone in 1 minute

1

Open the line ⚠ 2 visits couldn’t be scheduled under the staff chips.

You’ll see: the box Could not be scheduled. If someone off today could take these, its first line reads “Off today but could be called in:” with a button per person.
2

Phone or text them first, and ask.

3

They said yes: tap Call Priya in.

You’ll see: the button says “Tagging in…”, then the day redraws with Priya working and the waiting visits on her card.
4

Work the Time To Pet list for the visits now on her day.

More: other ways in

Somebody not on the list can still be called in from their grey chip (see Mark someone out, or in). If Time To Pet still has a visit booked with a sitter marked off, Could not be scheduled shows Jo is working today on that visit; the yellow banner shows Working today next to a name under “Not working now”. Either marks them in and puts their visits back.

Back to the list ▴

Give a visit to a different sitter 1 minute

By dragging

1

Press and hold the visit on its sitter’s card for about half a second.

You’ll see: a small label with the client’s name follow your finger (or mouse).
2

Drag it onto the other sitter’s card and let go.

Let go on one of their visits instead to swap the two. Near the top or bottom edge, the page scrolls for you.

You’ll see: while dragging, “Move to Sam” (or “Swap with …”). On letting go: “Move Ada Pell (Fido, Rex) · Drop-in to Sam? It is pinned to them. Change it in Time To Pet too.”
3

Tap OK, then make the same change in Time To Pet.

You’ll see: the visit on Sam’s card, pinned, and a line for it on the Time To Pet list.

By pinning

1

Tap the visit you want to move. On the sheet that opens, check who it is with.

Pin keeps a visit with the sitter whose card it is on now. To pin it to someone else, drag it there (above), or use Change on the list (below).

From the Time To Pet list

1

Open the Time To Pet list and find the visit’s line.

2

Open Change… on that line and pick the sitter.

You’ll see: “Give Ada Pell (Fido, Rex) to Sam instead? It is pinned to Sam, like Pin on the visit.” Tap OK.

A visit nobody could take

1

In Could not be scheduled, tap Give to Sam (+12 min driving), or pick a name in Give to a sitter anyway….

You’ll see: the visit on that sitter’s card and “Change it in Time To Pet too.” “Give to a sitter anyway” may first ask you to confirm what it sets aside (the window, spacing, Max Visits or shift end).
“That visit can’t be swapped”

Group walks, ride-alongs and finished visits cannot be swapped. Drop on the sitter’s card instead of on the visit.

The visit went back after a reroute

It did not, if it was pinned: a reroute never moves a pinned visit. If you used Skip on the list, Skip pins it back to Time To Pet’s sitter. Tap the visit to see Pinned to.

Back to the list ▴

Pin a visit, a sitter’s day, or everything 30 seconds

A pinned visit stays with its sitter today and after every reroute. Pin before you reroute; the reroute then works around it.

One visit

1

Tap the visit on its card (or its pin on the map).

You’ll see: a sheet with the visit’s details: Planned, Window, Timing, Booked with, and buttons underneath.
2

Tap Pin to this sitter.

You’ll see: the visit shows “pinned”. Open it again and the button says Unpin.

One sitter’s whole day

1

Tap the 📌 on the coloured heading of their card.

You’ll see: “Pin all 8 of Maria’s visits to them? A Reroute then leaves their day as it is.”
2

Tap OK.

You’ll see: 📌 ✓ on the heading. Tap it again to unpin them all.

Everything, as it is now

1

Scroll below the cards to the bar Keep or move a few?.

You’ll see: Pin all (41), Pick visits, and Unpin all once anything is pinned.
2

Tap Pin all, then OK.

You’ll see: “Pin all 41 visits to the sitter they are with now? A Reroute then works only around them.”, then a note saying how many were pinned.

A handful of visits

1

On the same bar, tap Pick visits.

You’ll see: a tick box on each visit and “Tick visits, then pin them where they are or move them.”
2

Tick the visits, then tap Pin ticked (keep them where they are) or Move ticked (find them a better place, nothing else moving).

Cancel leaves without changing anything.

Back to the list ▴

Compare before rerouting 1 minute

1

Tap Reroute (top right on a laptop, Reroute… on a phone’s bottom bar).

2

Tap Compare first.

Or tap the link Compare before rerouting under the yellow banner or under the cards.

You’ll see: “Comparing. This can take a minute on a busy day.”
3

Read the card Compare before rerouting.

You’ll see: a row each for Keep as it is, Reroute: fewest changes, Fewest changes, plus the 3 moves that save the most and Reroute: best routes, each with its changes in Time To Pet and the driving it saves.
More

Tap Which visits on the middle row to see the moves. Nothing is written and no drive times are bought while comparing. If every choice comes out the same, the card says “Nothing to gain today: the plan is already as short as it gets.”

4

Tap the button on the row you want: Reroute, or Make them on the middle row.

You’ll see: the reroute run, then the before-and-after card and the Time To Pet list.

Back to the list ▴

Reroute several days at once 2 minutes

1

Tap More › Reroute several days.

Also in the yellow banner: Several days… or Reroute several days….

You’ll see: a calendar of the next three weeks. Each day says “no visits”, “planned”, “not planned” or how many changes it has; 🔒 marks a locked day.
2

Tap each day to reroute, or Pick days with changes, or Pick all.

Clear unpicks them all.

3

Tap Reroute 3 days.

You’ll see: “Rerouting Wed, Oct 7 (1 of 3)…”, then “Rerouted 3 of 3 days. Check the Time To Pet list on each one.”
4

Open each day and work its Time To Pet list.

Back to the list ▴

Set a client’s time window, or “any time” 1 minute

Normally a visit’s window is the block the client asked for on the Daily Summary, or its booked time give or take your Manual Visit Flex. The Timing choice overrides that, for one visit or for every visit of that client.
1

Tap the visit to open it.

You’ll see: Timing on the sheet, saying what decided the window now, and a Timing: dropdown with a ☆ beside it near the bottom.
2

Open the Timing: dropdown and pick one.

Automatic (normal rules); one of your time blocks (like “Midday (12:00–15:00)”); Anytime today; Exactly as booked; or Type a window…, then type something like 8:00-15:00 or 8am-3pm.

You’ll see: “Your plan is kept; the yellow box shows what this changes. Press Reroute when you want the day replanned around it.”
3

For every visit of this client, not just this one, tap the ☆ so it turns ★.

★ means “standing choice for every one of this client’s visits”. Tap it again to remove the standing choice.

4

Reroute when you want the day planned with it.

More: a fixed time on certain visits (Special times)

For a real, tight time (“elderly client, only home at noon”): More › Special times, tap the client, under Add a rule set the start and end times, type why, tap Add rule. A client can have several rules; each applies to whichever visit it is closest to. Tap Remove on a rule to take it off.

“Couldn’t read … as a time window”

Type a start and an end with a dash: 8:00-15:00, 8am-3pm or 8-3. Windows longer than 16 hours are refused as a likely typo.

Back to the list ▴

Change a visit’s time, or take it off the day 1 minute

1

Tap the visit to open it.

2

New time: tap Move…, type the time (like 15:30 or 3:30 pm), OK.

You’ll see: the plan kept, and the yellow box showing what changed.
3

Cancelled: tap Cancel visit, then OK.

You’ll see: “Remove Ada Pell (Fido, Rex)’s Drop-in from today? Cancel it in Time To Pet too, or tonight’s import puts it back.”
More

The same two are on the bar Changed in Time To Pet? under the cards: Moved and Cancelled let you pick the visit from a list.

Back to the list ▴

Get medication times right 5 minutes, once

Tell Route Companion which fields to read

1

In Time To Pet, check the custom fields on a pet’s profile: a Yes/No field that means “needs medication”, and a text field with the times (like 8:00-10:00).

If they are called Needs medication? and Medication times, there is nothing to change.

2

If yours have other names, open Settings and search for Medication.

You’ll see: Medication Field Name, Medication Details Field Name and Every Sitter Gives Medication.
3

Type your two field names exactly as Time To Pet spells them, then Save.

4

Set Every Sitter Gives Medication: Yes if anyone may give pills and drops; No if only sitters with a medication skill.

Injections always go only to sitters with an injection skill, once anybody has one.

A medication note with no time set

1

Open the notes line under the staff chips (“⚠ … other notes”).

You’ll see: a card Medication in a note, not yet set as a medication visit, with the client and the note.
2

Tap the button that matches the note.

Set 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM (or both doses, “Set 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM”); AM or PM when the note does not say; Medication, any time in the window when there is no set time; Not medication when the note is about something else.

You’ll see: the card gone and “Your plan is kept… Press Reroute when you want the day replanned around it.” The window then holds on every reroute.
“Nothing is booked near 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM yet”

One dose had no visit booked near it. The other was set. Tap the button again once that visit is in.

Back to the list ▴

Set the hours between visits 3 minutes

These rules keep a client’s visits apart (two feeds not an hour apart), not too far apart (a dog not left eight hours), and the overnight gap. They are checked within a day and from one day to the next. What the plan cannot keep is listed in the bell and in the morning brief under “Hours between visits”.

For everyone

1

Open Settings, tap Advanced, then Visit spacing.

You’ll see: Cat: Minimum Hours Between Visits, Dog: Minimum Hours Between Visits, Dog: Maximum Hours Between Visits, Everyone Else: Minimum and Maximum Hours Between Visits, Maximum overnight hours and Once a day: keep within hours of the usual time.
2

Type the hours you want in each, for example 8 for cats, 4 for dogs, 7 for a dog’s maximum.

The cat and dog rules win for clients known to have a cat or a dog. The “Everyone Else” rules cover the rest. Blank means no rule.

3

Tap Save, then reroute.

For one client

1

In the spreadsheet, open the Clients tab and find the client’s row.

2

Fill MinHoursBetweenVisits, MaxHoursBetweenVisits or MaxOvernightHours.

A number there wins over every setting. 0 exempts that client.

More: “Cat or dog?”

A client with two or more visits today whose pets nothing identifies appears in a Cat or dog? box under the chips. Tap Cat, Dog, Both or Neither; it is remembered. Until then the cat and dog rules cannot apply to them. A visit badged “booked close together” means the client booked them closer than the rule, so the rule is set aside for them that day.

Back to the list ▴

Keys: pickup points and handoffs 5 minutes, once

Who has each key

1

In Time To Pet, keep each client’s Key Holder up to date: a sitter’s name, “Office”, the name of one of your pickup points, or the client.

With the nightly backup connected, it comes in every night. Without it: paste Time To Pet’s key export into the Key Import (raw) tab, then in the spreadsheet Route Planner › Keys › Bring in Key Holders….

Without the backup, from the route page: More › Set up, open Key holders (optional, without Dropbox). In Time To Pet, open your keys list, select all, copy, paste it into the box, then tap Bring in key holders. The reply says how many clients were updated, and names any client it could not match so you can fix the spelling or bring that client in first.

Where keys are kept

1

Open Settings, tap Advanced, then Keys.

You’ll see: Key Pickup Points and Key Handoff.
2

In Key Pickup Points, type one place per line as Name: address.

For example Office: 100 Main St and North lockbox: 12 Oak St.

3

Tap Save.

You’ll see: each address looked up on the map once and written back with its map position after a |.

When one sitter needs another’s key

1

In the same section, pick a Key Handoff choice, then Save.

Meet where routes cross: a quick meet at one of the holder’s stops (or their home if they are off); when no meeting fits, the holder leaves it at a pickup point instead. Drop at a key point first: the holder leaves it at the office or a lockbox on their way and the other sitter collects it before the visit; a meeting only when no drop fits. Owner decides: only flags it on the card and in Needs a look, and you arrange it.

What each stop says

On the sitter cards and the visit
  • A key at the office or a point: a stop 🏢 Office Pickup · arrive 9:40 AM (at a named point such as a lockbox: 🔑 Key pickup at North lockbox), placed wherever suits the day before the visit (after the 3rd visit if the office is beside it and the key is needed at the 7th). The visit says “Key available at North lockbox. Pick it up before this visit”.
  • A meeting: 🔑 Get the Ada Pell key from Maria on the collecting sitter’s card; the visit says “Key: collect it from Maria at the stop above (1:05 PM)”; Maria’s stop says “Jo meets you here around 1:05 PM for the Ada Pell key”.
  • Drop and collect: Maria gets 🔑 Leave the Ada Pell key at Office (“Leave it for Jo, who picks it up around 1:10 PM”); Jo gets 🔑 Pick up the Ada Pell key at Office; the visit says “Key: pick it up at Office (stop above, 1:10 PM). Maria leaves it there by 12:50 PM”.
  • The last visit before a gap: “Last visit before a break. The key goes back to the office”.
  • Badges on a visit: “🔑 key exchange” or “💼 key at office”.
The bell says “Key holder data has never been imported”

Bring the key holders in once (first part above). If it says the data is old, export keys from Time To Pet again and bring them in.

“the key is still with the client”

Arrange the handover, then record the new holder in Time To Pet so this stops showing.

Back to the list ▴

Group walks 5 minutes, once

Each family books its own visit in Time To Pet. Route Companion turns them into one outing: the sitter picks each family up in booked-time order, does the walk, and drops off in reverse.
1

Open Settings, tap Advanced, then Group walks.

You’ll see: Group Walk Services, Group Walks: Who Goes Together and Group Walk Max Dogs.
2

In Group Walk Services, type your group services exactly as Time To Pet names them, separated by commas.

For example Group Walk, Pack Walk, Adventure Hike. Blank means no group walks.

3

Pick how dogs go together.

Packs you set: only families with the same pack go out together; a family with no pack goes alone. Closest dogs: packs still go only with their pack; everyone else is put with the nearest dogs, with arrival windows that overlap, the same Area when both have one, within 5 miles, up to the max.

4

Type Group Walk Max Dogs (blank means 6), then Save.

Dogs are counted from the pet names after the client’s name, like Ada Pell (Fido, Rex).

5

Give families that always walk together a pack: More › Set up › Group walk packs (optional).

You’ll see: every client with a group walk in the last 30 days or coming up, with a Pack box each.
6

Type the same pack name for families who go together, leave the rest blank, and tap Save packs.

7

Reroute.

You’ll see: one stop with a GROUP badge, “Pickups: 9:00 AM Ada Pell → 9:10 AM Bo Quinn”, the drop-off order and “Pickup driving … · walk … · drop-off driving …”.
More: how the Time To Pet list shows them

One line per family, each with the outing’s sitter and that family’s own pickup time, so Done, Skip and Change… work family by family. Pinning any family pins the whole outing. One family alone stays an ordinary visit.

“No group walk services yet” in the packs step

Fill in Group Walk Services first (step 2), save, then open the packs step again.

Back to the list ▴

Trainees riding along 2 minutes

1

Open Settings, tap Staff, and find the trainee’s row.

2

In Shadowing, type their usual mentor’s name as it appears on the Staff tab, then tap Save on that row.

A trainee needs no address. They get a copy of the mentor’s day and are never sent anywhere on their own.

3

A different mentor today? Tap Shifts on the bottom bar and find Training today.

You’ll see: each trainee with “rides with” and a list of the people working that day, plus “(nobody today)”.
4

Pick today’s mentor.

You’ll see: the choice saved under the list. On the routes, the trainee’s card reads “shadowing Maria” and lists “👣 Rides along with Maria” for each visit.
5

When they start on their own, clear Shadowing on their Staff row and Save.

More

However Time To Pet has the training booked (under the trainer, under the trainee, or both) it is planned the same way. A trainee with no mentor today and no address shows a note on the page, and in the bell under No one to shadow.

Back to the list ▴

Who gets visits first: High, Medium, Low and Last resort 3 minutes

1

Open Settings and tap Staff.

You’ll see: a row per person, with Priority and Last resort near the start.
2

On each row, pick High, Medium or Low under Priority.

High fills first, then Medium, then Low. For example High for sitters, Medium for team leads, Low for managers. Blank counts as High, so your usual sitters can stay as they are.

3

Tick Last resort for anyone who should only get visits nobody else can take.

Last resort is separate from Priority and comes after Low.

4

Tap Save on each row you changed (or Save at the bottom of Settings).

5

Optional: decide how strictly the order holds. In Settings, tap Advanced › Sitters & priority and set Priority: spread after this many visits.

Blank means 6: once the High people each have about 6 visits, Medium starts taking visits too, then Low, so the day spreads. 0 or Strict: High people fill to their max before Medium gets any.

More: just for today

On Shifts, open Who gets first pick today, drag the names into order and tap Save order. Tomorrow everyone is back to their usual standing; Back to usual undoes it today. If Time To Pet books visits to a last-resort sitter (often the owner) only as placeholders, search Settings for Last-Resort Sitter Bookings and choose Placeholder.

Back to the list ▴

Days booked to a dummy account (“Route”) 2 minutes

Some businesses book far-off visits to a placeholder or dummy account in Time To Pet, and give them to real sitters later. Route Companion treats a visit booked to that account as booked to nobody.
1

In the spreadsheet, open the Staff tab and find the dummy account’s row.

2

Tick Placeholder on that row.

It is then never shown as a sitter, never planned for, and never called “not on the Staff tab”.

3

On the route page, go to a day booked mostly to that account and paste its Daily Summary.

You’ll see: the yellow banner “Your day as booked in Time To Pet. Most visits have no sitter yet.”, and the buttons say Route instead of Reroute.
4

Tap Route Mon, Oct 19: fewest changes.

It keeps the visits Time To Pet already has on a real sitter, and plans the rest for the least driving.

You’ll see: “Routing…”, then the day with every visit on a real sitter, and the Time To Pet list of who to assign. After that the buttons say Reroute again.

Back to the list ▴

Plan a day ahead that nobody is assigned to yet 3 minutes

1

In Time To Pet, open the Daily Summary for that day (or a range of days) and copy all of it, down to the end of the staff list at the bottom.

2

On the route page, move to that date with the arrows or the date box, paste into Start here, and tap Bring it in.

The page only takes a summary for a date it covers, so be on one of its days.

3

Tap Route (or Reroute), then fewest changes.

For several days, use More › Reroute several days instead.

4

Work its Time To Pet list.

5

Optional: tap Ahead, open that day, and tap Lock this in.

You’ll see: “✓ Locked. Now update Time To Pet” with the changes to make. A locked day still warns you if Time To Pet changes it.
More: how far ahead the booked sitter is kept

Search Settings for Keep Time To Pet’s Sitter For (days). 0 is today only, 7 the whole week. Days beyond that are planned as a fair spread, since nobody has settled them yet.

Back to the list ▴

Overnights 3 minutes, once

1

Open More › Set up › Your services and your team and tap Change them (or Go through them).

2

Next to each overnight service, choose An overnight at the client’s home.

You’ll see: two more questions: how long arriving takes, and leaving in the morning.
3

Pick the minutes for each, then tap Save the services.

You’ll see: “Overnight times saved.”
4

Reroute a day with an overnight.

You’ll see: on the sitter’s card, “🏠 Overnight arrival. Ada Pell (Fido, Rex) · arrive 7:00 PM” in the evening and “🚪 Overnight departure.” in the morning, with the drive to each.
More

If the evening runs too late to reach the overnight on time, or a morning visit is booked before the sitter can leave, the page says so. The arrival and departure minutes are also in Settings (search Overnight). Maximum overnight hours under Visit spacing is a different thing: the gap between a client’s last visit of the day and first the next morning.

Back to the list ▴

Add a new sitter or client 3 minutes

Add them in Time To Pet first. With the nightly backup connected, new clients and pets come in by themselves overnight. A new sitter, or a client you need today, comes in from an export.

A new sitter

1

In Time To Pet: Staff, scroll to the bottom of the list, and click Export.

2

On the route page: More › Set up › Your team, tap Choose the staff export and pick the file.

If the file picker will not open it, tap or paste it, paste the whole export, and tap Bring it in.

You’ll see: what came in, and how many are now on the Staff tab.
3

Tap Look up addresses on the map in the step Put everyone on the map.

You’ll see: how many got a map pin. A sitter with no pin is never routed.
4

Set their hours, priority and services in Settings › Staff, then Save on their row.

A new client

1

In Time To Pet: Clients (the active list), scroll to the bottom, and click Export.

2

On the page: More › Set up › Your clients, tap Choose the client export and pick the file.

You’ll see: how many clients are new and how many matched. A pet added or a house move never makes a second row.
3

Tap Look up addresses on the map again.

4

Tap Check my data in the step Check your data.

You’ll see: a list. Zero errors is the goal.
A sitter shows “(no address yet)”

Add their address in Time To Pet, bring the staff export in again, then look up addresses on the map. A trainee does not need one: set Shadowing instead (see Trainees).

Back to the list ▴

Change business hours, or a sitter’s own hours 2 minutes

Your business hours

1

Open Settings. Under Essentials, find Business Operating Hours.

2

Type your hours.

One range for every day, like 06:00-22:00; 24 hours; or by day, like Sun closed; Mon-Fri 07:00-19:00; Sat 08:00-17:00.

3

Tap Save.

You’ll see: a saved message under the button. A day already planned lists “Settings changed” in the yellow banner until you reroute.

A sitter’s usual hours

1

Open Settings and tap Staff.

2

On their row, type Start and End, like 7:00 and 18:00, then Save on that row.

One day only

1

Tap Shifts, then the person’s green day in the grid.

You’ll see: “mark them out for the day? OK marks them out. Cancel goes on to set their hours instead.”
2

Tap Cancel, type the hours (like 9-2), then OK.

You’ll see: the hours in that day’s cell, and that day rerouted around them.
More

Usual week at the end of a row saves that week as their standing pattern. End of the day means (search Settings) decides whether a shift end is “Finish by” or “Arrival by”.

Back to the list ▴

Breaks 1 minute

1

Open Settings, tap Staff, and find the sitter’s row.

2

Either fill Break after (hrs / min), like 4 / 30, or Or fixed break, like 12:00 to 12:30.

“After 4 hours” follows the shift wherever it starts. Use the fixed pair only when the break really is tied to the clock.

3

Tap Save on that row, then reroute.

You’ll see: “☕ Break” on their card, with no visit inside it.
More

Time off in the middle of a shift, pasted from Time To Pet on the Shifts screen, becomes a break for that day by itself. It shows as “🚫 Time off in Time To Pet” on the card.

Back to the list ▴

See where a client’s request would fit 1 minute

1

Copy the request email Time To Pet sent you (“… placed a service order request that needs approval”), the whole email.

2

On the route page, under the cards, tap Paste changes (keeps your plan).

3

Paste the email and tap Bring it in.

You’ll see: the client’s name, then each visit asked for with ✅ (it fits, and where) or ⚠️ (why nobody has room). Nothing is booked.
4

Approve or decline in Time To Pet as usual.

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The password, and signing out other phones 1 minute

1

Open More › Set up. The first card is Who can open this page?.

2

To add one, type a password (6 or more characters) and tap Use a password.

To change it, type the new one in New password and tap Change it.

You’ll see: “A password is set. Each phone asks for it once, then remembers it.” This phone stays signed in.
3

Lost a phone, or someone left? Tap Sign out every other phone.

You’ll see: “Every other phone is signed out and will be asked for the password again. This one stays signed in.”
More

Each phone stays signed in for about four months, then asks again. Changing the password also signs out every other phone. The page can set or change a password but never remove one: to switch it off, in the spreadsheet use Route Planner › Set up › Workbook › Set a Password for the Route Page, leave the box empty and confirm.

A blank page right after unlocking

Refresh once. It opens normally from then on.

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Put the page on a phone’s home screen 1 minute

1

Open your route page link on the phone.

2

iPhone: tap the share button, then Add to Home Screen. Android: tap the three dots, then Add to Home screen.

3

Tap Add.

You’ll see: an icon on the home screen that opens straight to the route page. To use your own icon, set Web App Icon URL (see Make it yours) before adding it.
“Sorry, unable to open the file”

The phone is signed in to more than one Google account. Open the link in a private tab once, without signing in (the route page needs no Google sign-in). If it keeps happening, sign that browser out of the extra Google account.

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Make it yours: name, logo, colors 3 minutes

1

Open More › Set up, find Make it yours (optional), and tap Open Settings.

You’ll see: Settings opened at Business Name, under Advanced › Make it yours.
2

Type your Business Name.

It shows at the top of the page and in the browser tab, like “Lakeside Pet Care routes”.

3

Optional: paste a Logo URL.

A public link to a PNG, JPG, GIF, WEBP or SVG starting with https://, for example one uploaded to your website. A Google Drive or Photos share link does not work.

4

Optional: type an Accent Color, like #6B3FA0.

It colours the main buttons, tabs and links. A light colour is darkened just enough to keep white text readable.

5

Optional: under Sitter Colors, tap the colour box next to a sitter and pick their colour.

6

Tap Save.

You’ll see: “Your name, logo and color are on this page now. Plans are not changed.”

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Install an update 2 minutes

You never paste code again. Installing needs the Turn on updates part of the Maps key guide done once, and it has to be done by the workbook’s owner, signed in to their own Google account.

From the route page

1

When a new version is out, a green box appears above the sitter cards.

You’ll see: “A new version of Route Companion is ready (…; you have …).”, what is new, and Update now and Not now.
2

Tap Update now and keep the page open.

You’ll see: “This takes up to a minute.”, then a confirmation and a link Open the updated route page. Tap it.

From the spreadsheet

1

In the spreadsheet, open Route Planner › Set up › Updates › Check for Updates….

You’ll see: that you are up to date, or the new version and what is new, with “Update now?”
2

Tap Yes.

You’ll see: it updated. Your data is not touched and the page keeps the same link.
More

Route Planner › Set up › Updates › Undo the Last Update… puts the previous version back. Signed in to another account, the green box only says where the owner installs it.

It asks to turn on the Apps Script API

Tap Open the Apps Script settings, switch the Google Apps Script API on, come back and tap I’ve turned it on: update now. Once per Google account.

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Report a problem 1 minute

From a red message

1

Tap Report this on the red message.

You’ll see: the Report a problem box, already filled in with “The page said: …” and “What I was doing:”.
2

After “What I was doing:”, type what you had just tapped.

3

Tap Send.

You’ll see: “Thanks. Sent, with the details attached. Everjade replies within two working days; a problem that stops planning comes first.”

Anything else

1

Tap More › Report a problem.

2

Say what went wrong and what you were doing, like “Tapped Reroute and Sam’s 2pm visit disappeared”. Add your name if you like.

The date on screen, the page’s recent errors and your last few taps go with it, so you do not have to copy them.

3

Tap Send.

You’ll see: the same thank-you. It goes to the owner’s Issue Log and email, and to Everjade.

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Suggest a feature, or vote on one 1 minute

1

Tap More › Suggest a feature.

You’ll see: “What would make this better?” and a box.
2

Say what you are trying to get done, not how it should work.

For example “I want to see which sitters are near a new client before I say yes to them”.

3

Tap Send.

You’ll see: “Thanks. Sent to Everjade.”
4

If you see Vote on features in the More menu, tap it to see what other businesses asked for and what is being built, and vote.

The same link, “See what others asked for, and vote”, is in the Suggest a feature box when the board is set up.

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Route Companion guide · updated 2026-10-06