What You'll Learn:
How to set up geographic zones for efficient resource allocation
How to assign zones to staff and contractors
How to use zones in scheduling and task management
Overview
Zones organise work by geographic location. Use zones to:
Create custom geographic regions using a map editor
Automatically assign properties to zones based on their address
Match technicians and contractors to work in their designated areas
Streamline scheduling by filtering tasks and staff by location
Note: The Zones extension must be enabled to use this feature. If Zones is missing from the Control Panel, contact [email protected].
Setting Up Zones
Option 1: Create Custom Zones
Go to Control Panel > Zones
Click Create Zone
Double-click the zone name field and enter your zone name (e.g., "North Region," "Metro Area")
Repeat for each zone you need
Click on a zone to select it
Use the polygon map tool to draw the geographic boundary:
Click around the corners of your desired region
Double-click to complete the polygon
Click Save Changes
What happens next: All properties with validated addresses will automatically be assigned to the appropriate zone. When tasks are created for those properties, the zone field will be automatically populated.
Important: By default, a property's zone is set automatically from the zone boundaries and the property's location (worked out from its address). To change it, edit the zone boundaries or correct the property's address. If your account has manual zone assignment turned on, you can instead choose the zone yourself using the Zone field when you edit or create a property. In that case, zones are no longer updated automatically when addresses or zone boundaries change.
Option 2: Use Pre-Built Zones
Uptick offers pre-configured zones for certain regions:
Australia: Statistical Area 4 (SA4) and Local Government Areas (LGAs)
UK: Postcodes and Districts
To enable pre-built zones, contact the Support Team with your request. All properties with validated addresses will automatically update to the correct zone.
Assigning Zones to Staff
Go to People > Users
Click Edit on any desk or field staff member
In the Zones field, add all zones this person services
Click Save
Bulk option: Use the data importer to set zones for multiple staff members at once.
Assigning Zones to Contractors
Go to People > Contractors
Click Edit on a contractor
In the Zones field, add all zones this contractor services
Click Save
Bulk option: Use the data importer to set zones for multiple contractors at once.
Using Zones for Task Allocation
In the Scheduler
Filter tasks and staff by zone to quickly match the right person to the right job:
Open the Scheduler
In the task list (left side), filter by the zone you want to schedule
In the staff list (right side), filter by staff assigned to that zone
Drag tasks to the appropriate technician's calendar
In the Geo-Allocator
Go to Tasks > Geo-Allocator
Use the zone filter to display tasks in specific areas
Select multiple zones at once if needed
Create polygons to group tasks and assign them to technicians
In the Default Technician Allocator
Go to Tasks > Programme Maintenance > Default Technician Allocator
Filter properties by zone
Assign default technicians for routine maintenance based on their zones
For Reactive Work
When assigning reactive tasks, use the zone filter to find contractors or technicians who service that area.
Manually Assigning Zones to Tasks
If you need to assign or update zones on existing tasks:
Go to Tasks
Click Add Filter > Zone
To find tasks without a zone, set the filter to is and select no zone
Select the tasks you want to update
Click Edit (x) tasks
In the Zone field, select the appropriate zone
Click Apply Changes
Tips for Success
Name zones clearly: Use names that make sense to your team (e.g., "CBD," "Western Suburbs," "Zone 1")
Toggle zones on/off: If you need to temporarily disable a zone, use the active/inactive toggle instead of deleting it
Review regularly: As your service area grows, update your zone boundaries to reflect changes
Combine with service groups: Use zones alongside service groups for even more precise resource allocation
FAQs
Why haven't my properties updated after I redrew a zone?
Reshaping and saving a zone automatically recalculates which properties fall inside it. This runs as a background job, so it can take a short time to complete — it isn't instant.
If it's been a while and properties still haven't moved to the new boundary, use the zone recoder to manually re-run the recalculation:
Go to Control Panel > Zones.
Click zone recoder in the info note at the top of the Zones page.
Tick Recode all properties.
Click Recode zones. A message confirms that properties will be recoded shortly. Refresh the page to see the changes.
Can two zones overlap?
Zones aren't designed to overlap. If two zone boundaries do overlap, which zone a property in the overlapping area is assigned to is random. Draw your zone boundaries so they don't overlap to keep property-to-zone assignment reliable.
Can I import zones or a zone layout?
Zones with map boundaries are created by drawing polygons in the map editor.