Creating and Configuring Zones

This guide walks you through the process of creating a new zone and configuring its core properties. Proper zone configuration is the foundation for accurate pricing, scheduling, and service delivery.

Before You Begin

Before creating a zone, make sure you have a clear understanding of the geographic area you want to cover, the industries you want to offer in that area, and how this zone relates to your existing zones. Consider whether this zone overlaps with existing zones and what priority it should have relative to them.

Creating a New Zone

Navigate to the Zones section in the dashboard sidebar. Click the "Add Zone" button in the toolbar. The zone creation form will open in a drawer on the right side of the screen.

Required Fields

Name — A descriptive name for the zone, up to 100 characters. Use clear, recognizable names like "Eugene Metro," "Downtown Portland," or "Rural Lane County." The name appears throughout the system in dropdowns, reports, and the booking flow.

Color — A hex color code used for map display and UI identification. Choose distinct colors for zones that share geographic areas to make overlap visualization clear. The default is blue (#3B82F6).

Optional Fields

Description — A free-text field (up to 500 characters) for documenting the zone's purpose, business rules, or special considerations. This is internal-facing and does not appear to customers.

Priority Rating — A number from 0 to 100 that determines which zone wins when multiple zones cover the same address. Defaults to 50. Set higher for premium or express service zones.

Parent Zone — Select a parent zone to create a hierarchical relationship. This is for organizational purposes only and does not create any automatic rule inheritance.

Timezone — The default timezone for this zone. Important for scheduling and operating hours. If not set, the system uses the company's default timezone.

Zone Type — A categorization type for grouping zones. Examples include "Metro," "Suburban," "Rural," and "Premium."

Configuring Zone Properties

After creating the zone, you need to configure several aspects before it becomes operational.

Step 1: Add Boundaries

A zone without boundaries cannot match any customer addresses. Navigate to the Coverage tab and either draw a new boundary on the map or link an existing boundary. You can add multiple boundaries to create non-contiguous coverage areas.

Step 2: Assign Industries

A zone without industries cannot offer any services. Navigate to the Industries tab and link the industries you want to offer in this zone. You can control which industries are active with toggle switches.

Step 3: Configure Pricing (Optional)

If this zone needs different pricing from your default product prices, navigate to the Pricing tab to set zone-specific price overrides. Every overridable field uses an override flag pattern — the zone value only applies when its flag is enabled.

Step 4: Set Up Schedules

Navigate to the Scheduling tab to define the zone's operating hours. You can create seasonal schedules with effective date ranges, add holiday exceptions, and set up conditional override rules.

Step 5: Assign Staff

Navigate to the Labor tab to assign staff members and teams to this zone. Each staff assignment includes a primary zone flag and a priority number for dispatch ordering.

Zone Activation

New zones are active by default. If you want to configure a zone before making it live, set it to inactive during setup and activate it once all configuration is complete. An inactive zone will not appear in the booking flow or zone resolution.

Testing Your Zone

After configuration, test the zone by entering a customer address that falls within its boundaries in the booking flow. Verify that the correct industries appear, pricing reflects your overrides, available time slots match your schedule, and staff assignments are correct.