The Zones module adds powerful geospatial features, allowing you to create your zones through a map editor. Your technicians and contractors can be allocated to these zones, and these restrictions will flow through to the scheduler to ensure you’re allocating the right resources as quickly as possible.
How Zones are geolocated and labelled is entirely up to you - it can be a suburb cluster, municipality or any other kind of region grouping. You can also choose to use our pre-built zones; Statistical Area 4 (SA4) and Local Government Areas (LGAs). Make a request with the Support Team to get these zones applied. This will automatically update all your property zones that have a validated address.
Setting up your own zones
Note: You must have the Zones extension enabled to use this feature
Once one or more Zones are mapped, edited and saved, your properties that have a validated address will automatically be assigned the appropriate zone. When a task is generated for that property, the zone field on the task will automatically be filled. This will only happen for tasks created after the zone has been assigned to the property. Zones can be edited on an individual task given task's don't require a property.
Go to Control panel > Zones
You will now be on the zones page. From here click Create Zone, then double click the zone name field to type in the name of your zone. Repeat this step for as many zones as you require. Each zone can be toggle active or inactive if required.
For each Zone that is created, click the Zone you wish to add a geographical region to, then use the polygon map tool to create your region. Double click to finish the polygon.
Note: This is the primary method by which properties are assigned to Zones. You cannot change the Zone by updating an individual property.
Click save changes to save your newly created zones. On saving, all your properties will calculate and set their allocated Zone depending on your changes.
Assigning zones to staff
Go to People > Users
Edit any DESK or FIELD licensed staff.
Add all the Zones in which this staff member services.
Save.
Alternatively, you can use our importers to set Zones on staff in bulk.
Assigning zones to Contractors
Go to People > Contractors
Edit a contractor
Add all the Zones in which this contractor services.
Save.
Alternatively, you can use our importers to set Zones on contractors in bulk.
NOTE: Services Areas for contractors will soon be removed and Zones will be supported going forward.
Using Zones to allocate tasks
Appointment Scheduler
Simply filter for the Zone you wish to schedule for in the Task list on the left, while also filtering for the field staff's Zone on the right, to find the right person for the job.
Uptick wishes to make assigning the correct field staff even more robust in future, helping you to know who is accredited and right for the job before you drop your task into the calendar.
Reactive Task Assignment:
A Zones filter is available when finding the right contractor or technician for reactive works.
Geoallocator and Default Technician Allocator
On these scheduling tools, tasks and properties can simply be filtered for by Zone before choosing which field staff will be assigned. Multiple zones can be selected at once.
Assigning zones to tasks
Go to Tasks
Click Add filter > Zone
To see all properties that have no zone attached to them, set the zone filter to is, then select no zone from the drop-down list
Tick all the tasks you want to assign to the same zone, then click Edit (x) tasks
In the popup window, find the Zone field, select the zone you want to apply to the selected properties and click Apply Changes.
