These features are available on your Test site as of the evening of December 5th and on your Production features will be rolled out in two waves; The list below will be deployed during the 2nd wave week of January 6th, 2025 while the rest of this release will deployed on the evening of December 10th.
WAVE 2 roll-outs 1. Orders Search Tab replaced by new Orders Tab 2. New Account List columns activated 3. Account Credit Card Setup: available upon request for eligible subscribers 4. Invoice After Delivery Billing Cycle: available upon request for eligible subscribers 5. Dispatch Board Grid Search: new changes enabled 6. Navigate to Dispatch Board Grid enabled 7. New Dispatch Board enabled. 8. Route Pins hidden by default.
New Features in This Release
- New & Improved Dispatch Boards
- Enhanced credit card processing improvements
- Multiple navigation and user interface improvements
- Billing automations
- Route Optimization and Performance enhancements
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Driver App
- User Interface Modification
- BackOffice
- Dispatch Board
- Self-Serve
- Administration
- Scripts
- Tenant API
Definitions
The release notes refer to different sections of the application:
Back Office: Where Customer Service Representatives (CSR) create and edit orders, create accounts, review drivers, etc.
Dispatch Board: Where Dispatchers assign orders to drivers, get notifications for invalid orders, etc.
Auto-Dispatch: This section refers to the automated order assignment setup and its process.
Administration: This section is in the Back Office but refers to sections only an administrator will use like Settings and Pricing.
Customer Portal: Where account users log in to create orders, view their order history, enter a credit card, etc.
Tracking site: Where customers enter a tracking number like the order ID or a reference number to view the status of their order.
OData: Data fields and variables saved in OData
Account API: API provided to your accounts to create, update and get orders. For documentation, please follow this link: https://api.dispatchscience.com/
Tenant API: API provided to you to create orders for your accounts, retrieve invoices and change invoice status. For documentation, please follow this link: https://api.dispatchscience.com/
Scripting: Custom script building abilities and functions within Dispatch Science
Driver App
There are no Driver App enhancements with this release.
User Interface Modification
Left Hand Side Menu Modification
Support Icon
The Support icon 
has moved from the Top right position to the Left hand side menu bar in Back Office and in
Dispatch Board:
Dispatch Board Icon
The Dispatch Board icon 
will now bring you directly to the Dispatch Board Grid and Map Boards rather than landing on the Dispatch Board. This saves time to navigate directly to your default Grid Board from the Back Office.
This feature will be activated for all sites during the week of January 6th 2025.Environment Indicator
The colored bar indicating your location (Back Office, Self-Serve, or Dispatch Board) has been removed to streamline the user interface. Navigation is now clear from the left-hand side menu.
A new indicator in the upper left corner of Dispatch Science will show if you are viewing the Test site. If no indicator is displayed, you are on the Production site.
Previous versions:
| Back Office | Dispatch Board | Self-Serve |
 |  |  |
New Version Production:
| Back Office | Dispatch Board | Self-Serve |
 |  |  |
New Version Test:
| Back Office | Dispatch Board | Self-Serve |
 |  |  |
BackOffice
Orders
Orders List
In the Orders list, the Ready At column is now available and can be added. It will be added to the complete right but you can move it to the position you want:
Order Details
A link is now available on the Order Details to open the Account User on the Order. Clicking on this link will open the Account User details:
Clicking on the name will open, in a new tab, the user details:
Order Templates
Order Profile Update on Order Templates
In previous releases, when a different Order Profile was selected on the Account, Order Templates would still show the previous profile information. Orders created using these Order Templates used the current Order Profile selected on the Account.
In this release, you will be able to open the Order Templates, once a different Order Profile was selected on the Account, and update the different reference fields and select/unselect workflow steps.
Route Plans
On the Route Plan, a new option has been added to allow adding Orders once Routes are dispatched.
Set a Route to Allow Adding Orders Once Dispatched
1) Open Orders 
from the left hand side menu then click on Route Plans in the top menu:
2) Click to open a Route Plan then click on Edit button:
3) At the bottom of the window, check the Allow Adding Orders to Dispatched Route option then click Save:
This option is also available when creating a new Route Plan.Once the option is activated, you will be able to move orders to the dispatched Route. For more information, please see Dispatch Board Routes below.
Accounts
Account List
The Company field is now a linked field, enabling you to easily navigate to the Company section under Settings.
We’ve added new columns to the Account List to enhance visibility and simplify searches. Many of these columns are sortable and filterable, and links have been added to open the various schedules associated with the accounts.
New columns:
| Column Name | Visible by Default | Link | Sortable | Filterable |
| Service Level Schedule | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Price List | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Extra Fee Schedule | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Fuel Surcharge Schedule Configuration | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Driver Pay Rate Price List | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Driver Pay Rate Fuel Surcharge Configuration | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Driver Pay Rate Extra Fee Schedule | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Credit Limit | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Billing Method | No | No | No | Yes |
| Billing Cycle | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Debit Note Template | No | No | No | Yes |
| Credit Note Template | No | No | No | Yes |
| Invoice Template | No | No | No | Yes |
| Self Serve Order Profile | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Order Profile (default only) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Notification Template (default only) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Parcel Type Schedules | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Holiday Calendar | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Exception Code Schedule | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Package Validation | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Address | No | No | No | No |
| Contact Name (main contact on Account) | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Show/Hide Additional Columns
1) Click on Accounts 
in left-hand side menu.
2) In Accounts list, click on the setting icon 
then click on Columns to view the list of columns:
2) Check the columns to view and uncheck the columns to hide.
3) Navigate outside of the menu column list to view the change.
Reset Columns
1) Click on Accounts in left-hand side menu.
2) In Accounts list, click on the setting icon and click on Reset Grid Layout:
Filters on Columns
The filters on the new columns will change depending on the information showing in the column:
- For text fields: Default is contains.
The following operators are also available: Does not contain, is equal to, is not equal to, starts with, ends with, is not empty, is empty. - For boolean fields: Yes or No
- For drop-down fields: list of values that can be selected with checkboxes
- For Credit Limit which is numeric: Is equal to, is not equal to, is greater than, is greater than or equal to, is less than, is less then or equal to, is unlimited.
Account Details
After Delivery Billing Cycle
In the Billing Options, there is a new system-defined billing cycle called After Delivery. When you select this cycle, the Invoice Separated By option will automatically be set to Order. An invoice will be generated for each order as soon as it is marked as delivered, either by the driver or manually by the dispatcher.
If you wish to have this feature enabled for your site, please contact Support and let them know that you would like to get the new Billing Cycle After Delivery activated.
This feature will be enabled for all sites subscribed to the Starter Plan with Finance add-on, as well as for subscribers on the Growth and Enterprise Plans in version 1.70.
Setup Credit Card by Users
In the Billing Options, you can setup a credit card per user. Selecting the By User in the Credit Card Setup option will automatically set the Invoice Separated By option to Order.
If you wish to have this feature enabled for your site, please contact Support and let them know that you would like to get the new Account Credit Card Setup Feature activated.
This feature will be turned on for every tenant on the Basic Plan with Finance and for tenant on Growth and Enterprise Plan in version 1.70.
One invoice per Order will be generated and when paying the invoice through credit card, the User credit card will be used.
Credit Limit is always calculated for the overall Account regardless of the Credit Card setup.
When credit card setup is By User, Account users should be given access to Credit Card Edit as part of their role so they can enter their own credit card.
Once this is setup, an Account credit card can still be associated by an internal user to the Account to pay for manual invoices, debit note and credit notes.
When the Account's Billing Options is set to Billing Method By Credit Card:
- Credit Card Setup By Account: When creating manual Orders, importing Orders, creating Orders through the API or creating Orders through Recurrences or Recurring Routes if no credit card is associated to the Account, Orders will not be created and an error message will be returned.
- Credit Card Setup By User: When creating manual Orders, importing Orders, creating Orders through the API or creating Orders through Recurrences or Recurring Routes with an Account user without an associated credit card, Orders will not be created and an error message will be returned.
Credit Card Payment Available Depending on Billing Options Selection
Billing Method By Account
When Billing Method is By Account, there is no automatic payment by credit card once the Invoice is generated or created manually.
Credit Card Setup By Account: A credit card can be entered on the Account by an internal user or by an Account user who has the permission to do so through their role (Edit access of Credit Card). The credit card can be used to manually pay for invoices (manual or generated) and debit notes by the internal user and the Account user who has the permission to do so through the combination of Self-Serve Profile (Show Transactions) and their role (Transactions- View and Transactions Pay by Credit Card Action).
Although an internal user could add a credit card on an Account user, this credit card would never be used to pay for invoices or debit notes. Billing Cycle Setup After Delivery: When this option is selected, the Invoice Separated By is setup as Order and is locked. Invoices will be generated as soon as they are delivered by a Driver or Dispatcher. Those invoices can then be paid by receiving a payment or through the credit card associated to the Account.
Credit Card Setup By User:
A credit card can be entered on the account by an internal user only and can be used to pay for manually created invoices and debit notes.
Invoices generated for a single order will be paid using the order’s account user’s credit card. This payment can be processed by either an internal user or an account user with the appropriate permissions, which include the combination of the Self-Serve Profile (Show Transactions) and their role (Transactions - View and Transactions - Pay by Credit Card Action).
The invoice will then be sent only to the account’s main contact, all emails listed in the CCs in the Billing Options, and the invoice order’s user. It will not be sent to other account users set to receive invoices as part of the account user’s options.
When paying an invoice manually with the Credit Card Setup By User, if the invoice includes more than one Order, the invoice can only be paid by the Account's credit card.
Only invoices with one Order can be paid by the Invoice Order's Account user and only when the Credit Card Setup is By User,
Allowing an Account user to pay transactions may result in them paying invoices intended for other users (of the same Account) with those users’ credit cards. Therefore, it is not advisable to grant account users access when using the Credit Card Setup By User option. The best practice is to set the Billing Method to Credit Card to ensure invoices are paid automatically once generated.Billing Cycle After Delivery: When this option is selected, the Invoice Separated By is setup as Order and is locked. Invoices will be generated as soon as they are delivered by a Driver or Dispatcher. These invoices can then be paid by receiving a payment or through the credit card associated to the Invoice's Order Account User.
Billing Method By Credit Card
When Billing Method is By Credit Card, a payment is automatically generated through Stripe once an Invoice is generated or created manually and the payment is then applied to the Invoice. To create Orders, a credit card must be associated to the Account/Account User (depending on the Credit Card Setup selection).
Credit Card Setup By Account: When this option is selected, the Invoice Delivery Method is set to Email. A credit card must be entered on the Account to create Orders. This can be done by an internal user or by an Account user who has the permission to do so through their role (Edit access of Credit Card) before an Order can be created. The credit card payment is processed as soon as the invoice is generated or a manual invoice is created and is then applied to the invoice. The credit card can be used to manually pay debit notes and invoices (manual or generated where a payment has failed) by the internal user and/or the Account user who has the permission to do so through the combination of Self-Serve Profile (Show Transactions) and their role (Transactions- View and Transactions Pay by Credit Card Action).
Billing Cycle Setup After Delivery: When this option is selected, the Invoice Separated By is setup as Order and is locked. Invoices will be generated as soon as they are delivered by a Driver or Dispatcher. Those invoices are paid automatically upon generation by the Account credit card and the payment is applied to the invoice..
Credit Card Setup By User:
When this option is selected, the Invoice Delivery Method is set to Email, and the Order Separated By is set to Order and locked. This ensures that the Account User’s credit card will be used only for orders created by or for that user.
A credit card must be entered for the Account User by either an internal user or the Account User themselves, provided they have the necessary permissions (Edit access of Credit Card). The credit card must be entered before an order is created by or on behalf of the Account User. The credit card payment is processed using the Account User’s credit card as soon as the invoice is generated. The invoice is then sent only to the Account’s main contact, all emails in the CCs in the Billing Options, and the Invoice Order’s User. It will not be sent to other Account Users set to receive invoices as part of the Account User’s options.
To pay manual invoices automatically and/or to pay debit notes through a credit card, an Account credit card must be set up on the Account by an internal user. Debit notes and manual invoices can then be paid by the internal user and/or the Account User who has the necessary permissions through the combination of Self-Serve Profile (Show Transactions) and their role (Transactions - View and Transactions - Pay by Credit Card Action).
Granting an Account User access to pay transactions may result in them inadvertently paying invoices meant for other users with those users’ credit cards. Therefore, it is not advisable to give Account Users this access when using the Credit Card Setup By User option. The best practice is to set the Billing Method to Credit Card, ensuring invoices are paid automatically once generated.Billing Cycle After Delivery: When this option is selected, the Invoice Separated By is setup as Order and is locked. Invoices will be generated as soon as they are delivered by a Driver or Dispatcher and the credit card payment is processed using the Account user credit card as soon as the invoice is generated.
Account User
Credit Card Setup and Update by Internal Users
An internal user with edit access to the Account users can setup/update/edit the user's credit cards.
Adding a Credit Card in Back Office
An internal user can add a credit on an Account user once the Account user is created.
1) Edit the Account user.
2) Navigate to the bottom of the screen and click on Add button:
3) The card owner name will be displayed but can be changed.
Enter the card number, the expiry month and year, and the CVC code then click on Save.
The user credit card is not saved in the database, only last four digits are saved for visualization purpose and a token is received from Stripe which will be used to request payments. Update a User Credit Card
An internal user can update a credit on an Account user.
1) Edit the Account user then navigate to the bottom of the screen and click on the Update button:
3) The card owner name will be displayed but can be changed.
Enter the card number, the expiry month and year and the CVC code then click on Save.
Delete a User Credit Card
An internal user can delete a credit on an Account user.
1) Edit the Account user then navigate to the bottom of the screen and click on the Delete button:
3) The credit card owner name will be deleted:
If the Account's Billing Method is setup by Credit Card and the Credit Card Setup is By User, Orders will no longer be able to be created by or on behalf of this Account user.Transactions
The Company column was added in the Transactions list.
The Company column can be filtered and sorted:
The Account Number is now a link to open the Account:
Batch Payments
When creating or updating batches for payments, you now have the ability to add default values that will be used when adding Batch entries. These default values can be modified on each new Batch entry. These new fields are also available to search for unposted Batches.
The 3 new optional fields added are:
- Default Reference Number
- Default Payment Method
- Default Date
Create a New Batch
1) In Transactions, in the New Transactions menu, select Create a Batch:
2) Enter an optional Default Reference Number, Default Payment Method, Default Date and the Reference Total and an optional note:
3) Click on Add New Batch Entry. When a value is entered, it will be used as a default value when adding a new batch entry:
Any of the values can be edited if needed.
Continue a Batch
1) In Transactions, in the New Transactions menu, select Continue a Batch:
2) Click in the Drop-down to open the list:
3) You can search by any of the fields:
- Default Reference Field
- Default Payment Method
- Reference Total
- Note
Simply type your criteria in the search field :
And the list will filter down to the entered criteria.
4) Click on the batch to continue.
Dispatch Board
Dispatch Grid Board
Dispatch Board Search Feature
Returned Number of Orders and Drivers
The number of Orders and Drivers returned is displayed at the bottom of all Grid Boards:
This feature will be enabled during the week of January 6th 2025.Column Filters
The text and numeric filters have been modified to make it easier to select the correct operators:
- Text Column: Defaults to Contains.
Additional operators: Does not contain, is equal to, is not equal to, starts with, ends with, is empty, is not empty - Numeric Column: is equal to, is greater than, is greater than or equal to, is less than, is less than or equal to
Show Suggested Driver Name when Dispatching in Grid Board
The suggested Driver name will now show when using the Order menu Auto-Dispatch from the Grid Board:
Routes
Stop Pins Visibility on the Map
On the Routes, the stop pins are loaded automatically when a Route Container is opened. This behavior is changed to have the pins hidden by default which will then improve the load performance.
The Show/Hide Orders menu icon 
will be turned off by default. The on/off status will be used for all Route Containers.
You can turn on the pins on a Route within a Container or a Container and the status will be saved for that Container/Route when you return to view it.
This feature will be turned on in January. Synchronization of Routes and Drivers After Dispatching
Routes that are optimized after being dispatched to a Driver will automatically trigger a Driver optimization.
- A Route that was dispatched to a driver prior to having its optimization completed will trigger the Driver optimization once completed.
- A Route that was reoptimized after it was dispatched to a Driver will trigger the Driver optimization once completed.
Move Orders to Dispatched Routes
If the Route Plan has the option to move Orders to Dispatched Routes checked (see Set a Route to Allow Adding Orders Once Dispatched), Orders can be moved to a Route Container's dispatched Route.
It is no longer necessary to optimize the Driver once a dispatched Route has been reoptimized. This is now done automatically.Move Orders from an Undispatched Route to a Dispatched Route in the Same Undispatched Container
1) Open the undispatched Route Container.
2) 3 ways to move an Order:
- Drag and drop the order from the undispatched Route to the dispatched Route
- Use the Lasso tool on the map
- Use the menu Move to Route either from the Route, from the grouped Orders, from the Order
Move Orders from a Dispatched Route to a Dispatched Route in the Same Undispatched Container
1) Open the undispatched Route Container.
2) To move an Order:
- Use the Lasso tool on the map
- Use the menu Move to Route either from the Route, from the grouped Orders, or from the Order
Move Orders from a Dispatched Route to a Dispatched Route from a Dispatched Container
1) Open the dispatched Route Container.
2) To move an Order :
- Use the menu Move to Route either from the Route, from the grouped Orders, or from the Order
Remove Orders from a Dispatched Route
1) Open the dispatched Route Container.
2) To move the Order:
- Use the menu Move to Route either from the Route, from the grouped Orders, from the Order
Move Orders to a Dispatched Route
1) Open the Order in the Dispatch Board or Dispatch Board Grid
2) Use the Move to Route from the menu
Self-Serve
Enter a Credit Card
If given access through their role (Edit access for the Credit Card), an Account user can enter their own credit card.
If the Credit Card Setup is set to By Account, Account users will have access to enter the Account credit card.
If the Credit Card Setup is set to By User, Account users will enter their own credit card.
If the Billing Options is set By Credit Card, Orders cannot be created by the Account users unless a credit card is first entered. Administration
Service Level Schedules
Found under Pricing
Order Priority Option for Optimization
A new Order Priority option has been added to the Service Level details in the Service Level Schedules. This Order Priority will be used when optimizing or auto-dispatching Orders with suggestions to Drivers to minimize the Orders' ETA when using this Service Level.
If you wish to use this feature, please send an email to Support to let them know to enable the feature for your site. If the feature is not enabled, even if you set the priority on the Service Level, it will not be used in the Optimization or Auto-dispatch suggestions.Set a Priority Option on a Service Level
1) Open Pricing 
then click on Service Levels.
2) In the Service Level Schedules, click on the Schedule to edit.
3) Click on the Service Level to edit.
4) At the bottom of the Configuration options, a new Order Priority field is available with the following values:
- None
- Low
- Standard
- High
- Very High
Select the priority for the Service Level and click Save.
Scripts
Extra Fee Scripts
OrderEventDates
The Order Event Dates are now available to be read for the Extra Fee scripts as well as when using Order Update
public class OrderEventDates
{
public DateTimeOffset? Created { get; set; }
public DateTimeOffset? Dispatched { get; set; }
public DateTimeOffset? Accepted { get; set; }
public DateTimeOffset? ArrivedAtPickup { get; set; }
public DateTimeOffset? PickedUp { get; set; }
public DateTimeOffset? ArrivedAtDelivery { get; set; }
public DateTimeOffset? Delivered { get; set; }
public DateTimeOffset? Cancelled { get; set; }
}
Tenant API
Create a Batch in Transactions section
In the Create a Batch endpoint under Transactions section, you can now enter the default fields that have been added to the batches.
The 3 new optional fields added are:
- Default Reference Number
- Default Payment Method
- Default Date
API endpoint:
POST /api/v1/transactions/batches
Body:
{
"BatchId": "The Batch Id",
"ReferenceTotal": 0,
"DefaultReferenceNumber": "The Reference Number",
"DefaultPaymentMethod": "The Payment Method",
"DefaultDate": "2024-12-01T19:12:35.4965494+00:00",
"Note": "The Note"
}
Get the Accounting Codes from an Accounting Profile
A new endpoint is available under the new Accounting Section. It retrieves a distinct list of all accounting codes from all Accounting Profiles and returns the list in an array of strings.
API endpoint:
GET /api/v1/accounting/accounting-codes
Emulate Checkpoint Scan from Driver App
A new set of endpoints were added to the Checkpoints section to start a scan, set a list of barcodes as scanned, complete or abandon the checkpoint scan. When sending the list of barcodes, metadata can also be added as well as the damaged flag on barcodes.
POST /api/v1/checkpoints/{checkpointId}/start
This endpoint will start the scan session and return a scan session id that can be used in the other endpoints.
POST /api/v1/checkpoints/{checkpointId}/scan
Send through this endpoint the session id and all the barcodes with damaged flag set to true or false as well as a list of metadata for each barcode.
Body:
{
"SessionId": "session-id-01",
"Barcodes": [
{
"barcode": "TheBarCode1",
"damaged": false,
"metadata": {
"metadataKey1": "MetadataValue",
"metadataKey2": "MetadataValue"
}
},
{
"barcode": "TheBarCode2",
"damaged": true,
"metadata": {
"metadataKey1": "MetadataValue",
"metadataKey2": "MetadataValue"
}
}
]
}
POST /api/v1/checkpoints/{checkpointId}/complete
This endpoint will complete the session for the checkpoint with a list of item exception codes and order exception codes.
Body:
{
"SessionId": "session-id-01",
"ItemExceptionCodeIds": {
"TheOrderId1;TheItemId1": [
"ItemExceptionCodeID1",
"ItemExceptionCodeID2"
],
"TheOrderId1;TheItemId2": [
"ItemExceptionCodeID1",
"ItemExceptionCodeID2"
],
"TheOrderId2;TheItemId1": [
"ItemExceptionCodeID1",
"ItemExceptionCodeID2"
]
},
"OrderExceptionCodeIds": {
"TheOrderId1": [
"OrderExceptionCodeID1",
"OrderExceptionCodeID2"
],
"TheOrderId2": [
"OrderExceptionCodeID1",
"OrderExceptionCodeID2"
]
}
}
POST /api/v1/checkpoints/{checkpointId}/abandon/{sessionId}
This endpoint is used to cancel the checkpoint scan.
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