A question often asked about OnTime is whether it can do zone-to-zone pricing. In other words, “can we just type in two zip codes and get a quote?” While there are pros and cons to this method, the short answer is: absolutely yes!

Why not the most accurate method?

Most agree that simply using zip codes is not the most accurate method, especially for couriers servicing a limited area. One reason is because zip codes can be large, irregular areas and most of the time distance is measured from the center of the zip code. In rural areas this is especially a problem because the center of those zip codes will generally be some distance from the city central. Also, since zip codes can be large areas, the actual address you are shipping to could be several miles off. When multiplying this by two zip codes, the discrepancy can double.

Another big problem with this type of measurement is that it is generally measured in a straight line, not along the roads and streets your drivers will use. As a result, the distance will almost always be shorter than in reality. These issues generally cause zip code to zip code measurements to be 5% to 30% off from actual distance.

Due to this, OnTime includes a much more sophisticated mapping and routing web service that will actually find the distance by road between two locations down to the 10th of a mile.

Why we still use it

So why do we still need zip code to zip code pricing? Two reasons:

• Speed
• Simplicity

Speed is an important factor when you need to offer a customer a quick quote. If you don’t have time to type in the full addresses, then just getting the zip codes involved will be the next best thing. This is also important to couriers just starting out who have yet to invest a lot of time and effort in developing a more comprehensive pricing structure. Using tools in OnTime to automatically download hundreds of zones in just seconds, a new courier can quickly assign some pricing to those zones and then use this feature in OnTime to do quick zip-to-zip pricing:

Quick Zip Code Lookup

From within OnTime Dispatch, start a new order and you will see a ribbon across the top that looks like this:

Notice the Postal Code Lookup button. Clicking on that will cause a window appear like this:

In the example above, we entered a couple of zip codes from the Texas area. Notice that we might also want to specify the locations by name and state instead of by zip code. Once we entered in the zip codes, we can click OK to have OnTime calculate the distance between the two. This distance will be copied into the order as well as any appropriate zone information as shown below:

Notice that we have the zone names (based on each zip code), the calculated distance (30.88 miles), and because we set up some zone based and mileage based pricing we have prices for both methods of charging a customer. Once set up, this whole process of getting a price for the customer takes the dispatcher less than 15 seconds.

This feature is available in OnTime software versions 2.3.1002 or higher. While you may have paid for a feature like this in other software, OnTime includes it for free with any Standard or higher subscription plan.