Every minute you spend driving between cleaning jobs is a minute you're not earning. ShineBook's route optimization feature calculates the most efficient order to visit your job sites each day, cutting unnecessary miles and getting you home sooner. This guide walks through everything the route screen offers.
Opening the Route Screen
Tap the Routes tab at the bottom of the app. You'll see today's scheduled cleaning jobs listed in their default order — usually the order they were created. The total estimated drive time and distance appear at the top of the list, giving you an immediate sense of what your day looks like before you touch anything.
Tip: Routes are built from jobs scheduled for the current day. If a job doesn't appear, check that it's scheduled for today in the Schedule tab and that the client has a valid address saved.
How the Nearest-Neighbor Algorithm Works
ShineBook uses a nearest-neighbor algorithm to sequence your stops. Starting from your home base (or the first job if no base is set), the algorithm always selects the closest unvisited job next. This runs entirely on your device — no network connection needed.
While not always the mathematically perfect solution for very large route sets, nearest-neighbor produces routes that are typically 15–25% shorter than an unoptimized list and calculates in under a second regardless of how many stops you have.
Running the Optimizer
- Open the Routes tab with today's jobs loaded
- Tap Optimize Route at the top of the list
- Review the reordered stop sequence and the updated total distance
- If the new order works for your day, confirm it to lock the sequence
You can also manually drag stops to reorder them if you have specific reasons to visit a client at a particular time — for example, a client who needs you there at 10 am sharp, or a property with access restrictions.
Setting Your Starting Location
By default, the optimizer treats your first job as the starting point. To set a home base or supply storage location that the route always begins from, go to Settings → Business Info → Home Base Address. Once set, the optimizer will route from that location to the most efficient first stop.
Tip: If you store cleaning equipment and supplies at a different location than your home, use that address as your home base. The optimizer will sequence the route to minimize drive time from wherever you actually start your day.
Opening Directions in Maps Apps
Once your route is confirmed, tap any stop to open turn-by-turn navigation. ShineBook lets you choose which maps app to use:
- Apple Maps — Default on iPhone and iPad, integrates with CarPlay
- Google Maps — Preferred by many for real-time traffic data
- Waze — Community-based traffic alerts and road hazard reporting
Your preferred maps app is remembered after the first selection. You can change it anytime in Settings → Navigation App.
Tracking Stops Through the Day
As you complete each cleaning job, mark it done directly from the route screen by tapping the checkmark next to the stop. The app tracks:
- Which stops are complete, in-progress, or pending
- Actual arrival and departure times when you tap in and out
- Running count of stops completed vs. remaining
Completed stops collapse to keep the screen clean, so you always see what's left at a glance.
Total Distance and Drive Time
The route summary at the top shows total estimated drive distance (in miles) and drive time (in minutes) for the full day's route. These figures update in real time as you mark stops complete, so you always know how much driving is left. Use this to plan fuel stops and estimate your finishing time.
Tip: At the end of the month, your total business miles driven are automatically available in the Tax Center for IRS mileage deduction purposes. Every mile logged through the route screen counts.
Multi-Day Route Planning
You can view and optimize routes for any future date. Tap the date picker at the top of the Routes tab to switch between days. This is useful for planning a week's worth of cleaning stops on Sunday evening, checking that your Tuesday and Thursday schedules are balanced, and avoiding days where you're criss-crossing town needlessly.
Route History
Past routes are saved automatically. Tap the calendar icon to browse previous days and see the sequence you ran, drive time, and completion timestamps. This history is useful for spotting patterns — for example, noticing that you consistently spend too long getting to a certain area or that one client is always last and far from everything else.