How to assign guides, drivers and vehicles to your tours
Each activity on the operations calendar lists its jobs, such as Guide and Vehicle. Give each job a provider and a cost, then send the provider their schedule.
Assign a provider
- 1
Open the job's menu
On the operations calendar, click the job's UNSET, or its provider's name, and choose Assign provider.
- 2
Search
Under New provider, type at least two letters of a name in Search provider.
- 3
Pick the provider
Pick a person for a guide, driver or outsourced job, or a vehicle for a vehicle job.
- 4
Save
Click Save.
The search lists only users with the Provider role, which you give under Users → Manage, and their vehicles. The jobs of an activity come from its tour's components.
Remove a provider
Open Assign provider on the job, leave Search provider empty and click Remove provider. The job reads UNSET again.
Set the cost
Each job shows its cost in brackets, or Cost unset. Click it to open Edit cost, type the amount and click Save. Remove cost clears it.
The cost is what you pay that provider for that job on that day: it is what you settle under Economy → Pay → Tours. To keep costs off the screen, choose Hide → Costs in the calendar's menu.
A provider set as not paid per activity, such as a salaried guide or your own vehicle, shows Not paid per activity instead of a cost. To pay them for this one activity, click it and switch on Paid for this activity. Switch it off to not pay a provider for one activity. The job keeps that choice; another provider brings their own setting.
Overlapping jobs
TourTask warns you when a provider would work two jobs at the same time, but never stops you.
- In the search, a busy provider has a line under their name, such as Busy 10:00 – 13:00 · City tour.
- Once you pick one, a warning lists their other jobs. Save still works, for someone who can do both.
- On the calendar, an orange calendar icon after a provider's name marks a job that overlaps another. Filter → Overlapping jobs shows only those activities.
- Outsourced jobs are never checked, nor jobs whose component has Can do several jobs at the same time switched on, such as box lunches.
Send the provider their schedule
- 1
Open the menu
Click the provider's name on the calendar and choose Notify provider.
- 2
Choose how
Tick Notify by e-mail, Notify by SMS or both. SMS messages are added to your monthly invoice.
- 3
Choose the days
In Days to notify, choose how many days to cover, from the activity's date. Under Activities to notify, untick any activity to leave out.
- 4
Send
Check the Message preview and click Send notification.
The message lists each activity: its time, tour, booking and passengers, where to meet the customers, and the other jobs with their providers. What each job's staff see is set under staff reminders, which can also send these messages for you every day.
Questions we get asked
Only users with the Provider role are listed. Give them the role under Users → Manage: see Guides and drivers. A vehicle is listed when its owner is a provider.
A payment is recorded for that job, even part of it, so its provider is locked: the dialog shows a padlock. Void the payment first. The cost can still be changed.
Yes. Disable SMS and Disable email stop only the automatic staff reminders: Notify provider is sent because you asked for it.