How to plan a route with multiple stops.
Whether it's 8 errands or 45 customers, a good multi-stop driving route comes from the same six steps. Here they are, with the shortcuts that save the most time.
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The short answer
Updated
To plan a route with multiple stops, gather every address in one list, decide where the day starts and ends, put the stops in the shortest order, check the day's total including time at each stop, then send the route to the phone that will drive it. Ordering by hand gets hard fast, because 10 stops can be visited in 3,628,800 different orders. Lite Route Planner is a driving route planner that does the ordering in one click, free for up to 50 addresses.
Plan a multi-stop route in six steps
- 1
Gather every address in one list
Pull the day's stops into one place: a spreadsheet, an export from your booking software, or a typed list. Use full addresses with street, city and ZIP code. A note like "the Hendersons' place" won't land on a map.
- 2
Clean up the list
Remove duplicates, fill in missing ZIP codes and add unit or suite numbers. A planner that flags addresses it can't place saves you finding out at the curb.
- 3
Decide where the day starts and ends
Out from the shop and back, from home to the last stop, or a loop from the warehouse. The end point changes which order is shortest, so pick it before you optimize.
- 4
Put the stops in order
With five or six stops you can order by eye. Past that, use a route optimizer: it compares orders you'd never try by hand and picks a short one.
- 5
Check the day's total
Add the time at each stop to the drive time. Fourteen stops at 30 minutes each is 7 hours on site before you've driven a mile.
- 6
Send it to the phone that drives it
Share a link, open it in your navigation app, or assign it in a driver app, so whoever drives has the stops in order.
What a good stop list looks like
A window cleaning company's list for Thursday. One row per stop, the address split into columns, and everything else the crew needs alongside it.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | |
| 1 | Customer | Street | City | ZIP | Job | Minutes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Linden Court HOA clubhouse | 1450 Linden Ct | Naperville | 60563 | Exterior, 2 stories | 90 | Key in lockbox |
| 3 | Grace Mbeki | 27 W Sycamore Ave | Naperville | 60540 | Inside and out | 120 | |
| 4 | Harmon Chiropractic | 818 Ogden Ave Ste 4 | Lisle | 60532 | Storefront | 30 | Park in back |
| 5 | Daniel and Joy Ferraro | 3305 Bluestem Way | Aurora | 60504 | Screens and tracks | 45 | Gate code 2280 |
| 6 | Oakhurst Pediatrics | 2100 Weston Ridge Dr | Naperville | 60563 | Storefront | 40 |
Lite reads a list like this as it is: it finds the address columns, maps every row, and keeps Job, Minutes and Notes as custom fields. More on mapping addresses from Excel.
How to find the best route for multiple stops
The roads between two stops are the easy part; every map app gets those right. The hard part is the order. With 5 stops there are 120 possible orders. With 10 there are 3,628,800. With 15 there are more than a trillion.
By hand, two habits get you close. Sweep across the area in one direction, and never let the route cross itself: if two legs cross on the map, reversing the stops between them makes the drive shorter.
A route optimizer does this faster and better. Lite Route Planner reorders stops for the shortest distance in one click, respecting where you start and end, and then shows drive time and distance for every leg from real road directions. It doesn't plan around live traffic or appointment windows. If customers must be seen at set times, a delivery tool with time windows, such as Routific or OptimoRoute, is the better fit.
Three ways to end the day
Where the route ends changes which order is shortest. Pick one before you press Optimize.
Round trip
A lawn crew leaves the yard with the trailer and brings it back. The route is a loop, so the last stop should be near where you started. See how to plan a round trip.
Finish at the last stop
A real estate agent ending at the final showing, or a rep heading home from wherever the day ends. The optimizer ignores the drive afterward.
End at a saved base
A courier who finishes at the depot, or a tech who starts at home and ends at the shop. Saved bases come with the Personal and Business plans.
What does the work in Lite
Every step above, in one place. Saved bases start with the Personal plan; the rest is on every plan.
Import a spreadsheet
Excel, CSV or cells pasted from Google Sheets. Lite finds the address columns, flags anything it's unsure of, and keeps your other columns as custom fields.
Monday Route
1h 56m · 26m driving · 1h 30m at stops · 9.0 mi
- 4m · 1.4 mi1Riverside Library740 Park Boulevard
- 6m · 2.1 mi2Bluebird Café305 Cedar Avenue
- 4m · 1.3 mi3Northside Gym61 Market Street
Drive time for every leg
See the day's total, time driving, time at stops and miles before anyone leaves.
Start and end where you work
Save your shop, warehouse or home as a base. Start there, end there, or make it a round trip.
Anyone with the link can view
www.literouteplanner.com/s/k7Qm2xR
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Anyone can follow the route in their browser. No account, no app.
Undo, always
Deleted the wrong stop? Optimized too soon? One click puts it back.
Monday Route
6 stops · 9.0 mi · 1h 56m
Export and print
Download a printable PDF, Excel or CSV, or open the route in Google Maps.