Free tool
Vending route planner
List your machines, how often each needs a visit and when you last went. Get a weekly visit sheet grouped by day, print it for the truck or export a CSV. It runs in your browser and stores the list only on your device.
How the planner decides the day
Each machine has a visit interval in days and a last visit date. The planner adds the interval to the last visit to get the next due date. Anything due before the week you are planning is overdue and goes on your first working day. Anything due within the week goes on its due date, moved to the next working day if that date is one you do not work. Machines with short intervals can appear more than once. Machines not due this week are listed separately with their dates, so you can pull one forward if you will be nearby anyway.
| You enter | The planner does |
|---|---|
| Machine name and address text | Prints them on the sheet; there is no map lookup |
| Days between visits | Sets how often the machine appears |
| Last visit date | Fixes the next due date |
| Working days and a week start | Decides which days get stops |
| Max stops per day (optional) | Pushes extra stops to the next working day |
Why intervals and not fixed weekdays
Fixed weekdays feel tidy but drift from reality: a gym empties its drink rows in four days in July and nine in January. An interval you adjust from what you find on each visit keeps the sheet honest. Write the new interval on the printed sheet when a machine was fuller or emptier than you expected, and update the planner when you get home.
Tip
Start with intervals that are slightly too short. Running out of a top seller costs you the sale and the location's goodwill; an extra visit costs you an hour and some fuel. Lengthen the interval once you have seen the machine full three visits in a row.
Heads up
The planner knows nothing about distance, traffic or opening hours, and it does not check that two machines are near each other. Group stops by neighborhood yourself when you enter them (a short prefix in the name such as "North" or "Downtown" sorts them together), and respect each location's access hours on the sheet.
The CSV export
The export has one row per stop: day, date, machine, address, due date, last visit, interval, status and notes. Open it in any spreadsheet to add cash counts and restock quantities, or paste it into whatever you already use. When the VendRoute app ships, this sheet becomes your visit log.
Questions
How often should I restock a vending machine?
Often enough that the fast sellers never sit empty and rarely enough that you are not wasting trips. Most small operators land between weekly and every two to three weeks per machine, and the right interval comes from what you find in the machine on each visit, not from a rule.
How many vending machines can one person service in a day?
It depends on how far apart they are, how long each takes to stock and count, and how much product your vehicle carries. Plan a day, time it, and set the max stops per day in the planner from what you actually managed.
Does the route planner use a map or optimize driving order?
No. It groups machines by the day they are due and prints them as a list. Order the stops yourself by neighborhood, which you can do by giving nearby machines the same prefix in their names.
Where is my machine list stored?
In your browser's local storage on the device you are using. Nothing is sent to VendRoute's servers. Clearing your browser data clears the list, so export a CSV if you want a copy.
Can I use the sheet for cash counts and restock quantities?
Yes. Print it and write counts in the margin, or export the CSV and add columns in your spreadsheet. The VendRoute app, when it ships, will record all of that per visit.
