End the morning phone rush, get into more stores and settle every route the same day.
Small food and beverage brands and distributors lose hours to orders phoned in at the worst time, invoices that chain stores won't take on paper, product that comes back stale and route days that take until evening to close out. RoutePortalHQ is the direct store delivery solution we tailor to your business: your stores order from their own app, and your drivers run every stop from their phones. And you shape what comes next.
- 24/7stores order from their own app, free for them
- 0orders re-typed: calls, texts and voicemails are typed up for you
- Same dayroute settlement, with any difference explained
- $0per extra driver, office user or store
Money leaks out between the store's order and the deposit
Small food and beverage brands and distributors running 1 to 10 routes tell us the same story: a morning phone rush of orders, chain stores that want electronic invoices, product that comes back stale and route days that take until evening to close out.
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The challenge
Orders arrive by phone, text and voicemail
Store managers call at the busiest hour, leave voicemails and text photos of handwritten lists. Someone re-types every order, mistakes slip in, and stores can't see what's in stock.
How we solve itStores order from their own app
Every store gets a free ordering app with your catalog, its own prices and live stock, any time of day. Calls, voicemails and texts still work: they land in one order desk, already typed up.
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The challenge
Chain grocery stores want electronic invoices
Many chains want invoices sent electronically, which usually means a quote-only vendor or a separate contract, and sometimes hardware at the back door.
How we solve itE-invoices sent for you, no hardware
Each chain gets the driver's final invoice in the electronic format it asks for, office to office. Everyone else signs on the driver's phone or a printed invoice.
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The challenge
Orders built on guesswork
For stores that don't order, drivers guess what's needed, so some shelves run empty while others fill up with product that goes stale.
How we solve itSuggested orders that say why
A starting order for every store that missed the cut-off, from what it sold, what was on the shelf and what came back stale.
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The challenge
Stales and shrink eat the margin
Out-of-date product gets written off, and nobody can see which stores and items keep coming back.
How we solve itStales tracked and acted on
Pulls are logged with a reason and a photo, credited on the invoice, and repeat stales lower the next order automatically.
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The challenge
Route days that never close
Cash, checks, paper tickets and truck counts get reconciled by hand, often late into the evening, and differences are hard to explain.
How we solve itSame-day settlement
Truck stock, cash and checks are checked against what the day should have produced, with any difference shown line by line.
Highly customizable, with you shaping the roadmap
No two distributors work the same way, so we don't ask you to change how you work. We tailor RoutePortalHQ to your operation, build what's missing, and as we go, you have a real say in what comes next.
Set up the way you work
Your workflows, templates, wording, brand and settings. We configure RoutePortalHQ around your operation instead of the other way around.
Built for your specific needs
Need something that isn't there yet, a custom report, a special workflow or a connection to a tool you rely on? We design and build it with you.
You influence the roadmap
A named contact, regular check-ins and a direct line into what we build next. Your priorities help decide what comes first.
Your stores order from an app, not the phone
Store managers don't want to call you at 10 AM any more than you want to take that call. With RoutePortalHQ, every store gets its own ordering app, free for them, with your catalog, its own prices and what you actually have in stock. Managers order at 10 PM or 5 AM in a minute, and you start the day with orders already in.
- Free for every store, with no password: they sign in with a one-time code.
- Their own prices and promotions, and only what you can ship.
- Cut-off times per delivery day, with a reminder to stores that haven't ordered yet.
- Swaps and short picks handled before the truck leaves, with a text to the store.
- Repeat, standing or suggested: stores can start from last week, a standing order or our suggestion.
- Delivery-day calendar, including holiday changes.
- Credit requests with photos, for short or damaged perishables.
- Invoices and online pay in the same app.
Stores that still call? That works too.
Nobody is forced to change overnight. Calls, voicemails, texts, emails, photos of handwritten lists and purchase orders from store systems all land in one order desk, typed up by AI and matched to the store and your products. Anything it isn't sure of is flagged for your office, and nothing is picked until you confirm.
- One list of every order, from the app, standing orders, calls, texts and emails, with who's still missing.
- Unusual quantities flagged, like a store ordering three times its normal amount.
- A link in every confirmation text, so stores discover they can order at 10 PM on their own.
- Your own order line and text number, or keep the number stores already use.
One order, from the store to the deposit
Follow a Thursday at Ridgeline Snack & Beverage, a sample distributor with six routes. Pre-sell, route sales or both: each store is set up the way you serve it.
The store
A free ordering app for store managers and buyers.
- Order any time, with their own prices
- Live stock, swaps and cut-offs
- Standing and repeat orders
- Invoices, payments and credits
The office
A web app for the owner, office and warehouse.
- The order desk and suggested orders
- Routes, pick lists and load sheets
- Settlement and chain e-invoices
- Sales, stales and profit
The truck
An iPhone and Android app for drivers, reps and merchandisers.
- Load by the sheet
- Invoices, signatures and payment at the door
- Stales, shelf photos and credits
- Works with no signal at all
At cut-off: fill the gaps and plan the route
When orders lock, stores that didn't order get a suggested order for your office to review in minutes, and the stops are put in the best order around each store's receiving hours.
- Every suggestion says why. Built from what the store sold, what the last shelf photo showed and what came back stale.
- One list. Store orders, standing orders and suggestions together, with unusual lines marked Check.
- Routes around receiving windows. Stops are ordered around each store's hours and traffic, and drivers navigate in their usual maps app.
5 AM: pick and load by the sheet
Locked orders become one pick list for the warehouse and one load sheet per route, grouped by aisle. The driver checks cases onto the truck, and the truck's stock starts counting from there.
Extra stock for route sales
Set how many extra cases ride each truck for stores that buy off the truck.
Shorts flagged before the truck leaves
If the warehouse is short, the app splits what's there, and the store gets a text with the swap or credit.
Lot and date codes
Kept for perishables, so stales and recalls trace back to the load.
Why it mattersSettlement can only be accurate if the day starts with an accurate truck.
At the store: deliver, check the shelf and get paid
At each stop the driver adjusts the order, pulls stales, snaps the shelf and takes payment, with each chain's or store's prices and promotions applied. The store signs on the phone or a printed invoice, and chains get their e-invoice. All of it works in a back room with no signal.
Back at the warehouse: settle the route the same day
The driver counts what's left and turns in cash and checks. RoutePortalHQ compares that with what the day should have produced, explains any difference and posts the day to your accounting software once the office signs off.
- One check-in. Truck count, returns and stales together, in minutes.
- Differences explained. Every case is tracked from load to sale, so a missing one points to the stop where it likely went.
- Posted to your books. Invoices, payments and credits go to your accounting software after the office approves.
Every week: see what sells, store by store
Every order, however it came in, lands in one sales history. You see sales, stales and profit by store, route and product, and get a heads-up on stores that are slipping or ordering less.
- Stores that stop ordering are flagged before they're gone.
- Stales rate by store and product, so you stop overshipping.
- Ask in plain English and get the numbers.
Ready for chain grocery stores, without extra hardware
Many chain grocery stores want direct deliveries invoiced electronically, and won't take a new supplier without it. RoutePortalHQ sends each chain the driver's final invoice in the electronic format it asks for, office to office, so there's nothing to plug in at the back door. Independent stores and co-ops simply sign on the driver's phone or a printed invoice.
- One invoice, every format: the same invoice feeds the printout, the PDF, the chain's e-invoice and your books.
- Store adjustments come back and update the invoice before settlement.
- Help with each chain's setup: we handle the e-invoicing side and work through each chain's vendor paperwork with you.
- Back-door DEX check-in is coming as an optional add-on for the few receivers who insist on it.
It suggests. You decide.
AI does the typing, reading, explaining and spotting, while plain, checkable math sets the numbers. Nothing is picked or shipped without your office's approval.
- Order capture: calls, voicemails, texts, emails and photos of handwritten lists turned into draft orders, with unsure lines flagged.
- Suggested orders from sales, shelf photos and stales, each with a one-line reason.
- Shelf photo check that finds low spots, wrong tags and missing items for the driver to confirm.
- Ask in plain English, like "which stores sold less this month than last?", plus a nightly note on stores that are slipping.
Ordering, delivery and invoicing in one place
Today a small distributor stitches together a phone line, an ordering portal, a route app and a separate invoicing contract. Ordering platforms hide their prices and are built for restaurant suppliers, route apps charge per user, and enterprise DSD systems take months to roll out. RoutePortalHQ is built for brands and distributors running 1 to 10 routes.
| Basic route apps | Enterprise DSD systems | RoutePortalHQ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Store ordering | A portal at extra cost, or none | A separate module | A free ordering app for every store |
| Phone and text orders | Typed in by hand | Typed in by hand | Typed up for you in the order desk |
| Chain invoices | Usually not offered | Yes, with hardware and certification | E-invoices office to office, no hardware |
| Price | Per user, plus setup fees | Quotes and licenses | One flat price by route count |
| Shelf photos | A separate product | A separate module | Included, with gaps and tags found for you |
| No signal | Sync problems are common | Varies | Every stop works offline |
| Getting started | Onboarding fees | Months of rollout | Free setup, first route in about a week |
| Your say | A feature request form | A feature request form | You help decide what we build next |
Your first route in about a week
We set RoutePortalHQ up around your stores, products and routes, and stay with you long after launch.
- Send us your listsYour product list, store list and price sheets, in whatever form you have them.
- We set it up for freeProducts, stores, price books, promotions, cut-offs, routes and receiving windows, imported and checked.
- Your stores get their appWe send every store its ordering link, and your order line starts typing up calls and texts.
- Run your first routeWe ride along on day one, then set up e-invoices with each chain you deliver to.
Why you can count on us
We've designed and built websites, client portals and custom applications for small businesses since 2006, and we stay with our clients long after launch. See our work.
- Month to month, with no contract
- Free setup and import
- Export all of your data any time
- A named contact who knows your routes
Your money, your stores and your routes, handled carefully
Your data stays yours
Every distributor's data is kept separate, and you can export all of it any time.
Stores see only their own
Each store signs in with a one-time code and sees only its own prices, orders and invoices.
Every change logged
Settlement approvals, credit overrides and price changes are recorded with who and when. Drivers can't edit prices.
No double-selling
Stock is reserved the moment a store orders, so two stores can never buy the last five cases.
Lost phone, no problem
Data on the phone is encrypted, and the office can sign a lost or retired device out remotely.
Backed up, in the US
It runs on Google Cloud in the US with backups, and the driver app keeps working even if the office is offline.
One flat price, every driver and store included
Your plan is set by how many routes you run, nothing else. Every driver, office user and store is included, the store ordering app is free for your stores, and there's no setup fee or year-long contract. Talk to us and we'll recommend the plan that fits.
Starter
$
For 1 to 3 routes.
- Every feature on this page
- Ordering app for every store, and the order desk
- E-invoices to up to 3 grocery chains
- Shelf photo checks each month
- Accounting software sync
Growth
$$
For 4 to 10 routes.
- Everything in Starter
- E-invoices to every chain you deliver
- More shelf photo checks
- Rugged handhelds as well as phones
- A named onboarding contact
More than 10 routes
Let's talk
For larger fleets.
- Everything in Growth
- Set up around how your operation runs
- A flat monthly price for your fleet
Contact us to talk through your routes. The value is significant, and the price is surprisingly low. Pocket printers are sold at cost.
What distributors ask first
Can RoutePortalHQ be customized for our operation?
Yes. It's highly customizable. We set it up around your stores, products, price books, cut-offs and routes, build the features your operation needs, and you have a real say in our roadmap, with a named contact and regular check-ins.
Our stores are used to calling in orders. Do they have to stop?
No. Calls still work, and so do voicemails, texts and emails. They land in the order desk already typed up, and anything the AI wasn't sure of is flagged for you to confirm. Each confirmation text includes the store's ordering link, so most stores switch on their own once they see they can order at 10 PM.
Do our stores pay for the ordering app?
No. The ordering app is free for your stores, with no password and nothing to install. Store managers sign in with a one-time code by text or email.
What happens when a store orders something we just ran out of?
Stock goes down as orders come in, so stores can't order more than you have, and out-of-stock items offer a swap. If something comes up short at picking, the store gets a text with the swap or a credit before the truck leaves.
Which grocery chains can we invoice electronically?
Chains that want electronic invoices get them in the format each one asks for, sent office to office from the same invoice the driver prints, with no hardware at the back door. Stores that take paper get a printed copy signed at the door, or sign on the driver's phone. A plug-in DEX check-in is coming as an optional add-on for the few receivers who insist on it.
Do my drivers need special handhelds?
No. The driver app runs on the iPhones and Android phones your drivers already carry, with a small Bluetooth printer for paper invoices. Rugged handhelds are supported too.
What if there's no signal in the store?
Every step of a stop works offline: orders, stales, signatures, payments and printing. The phone syncs when it reconnects, and the office sees the stop then.
Does it replace our accounting software?
No. RoutePortalHQ handles ordering and the route side, and posts invoices, payments and credits to your accounting software, which stays your books.
Can we do pre-sell and route sales together?
Yes. Each store is set to pre-sell, route sales or both. Pre-sold orders go on the load sheet, and extra cases ride the truck for route sales.
How long does it take to switch?
Send us your product list, store list and price sheets. We set them up for free, send every store its ordering link, and most distributors run their first route within about a week.
How much does it cost?
There are two plans set by how many routes you run, with every driver, office user and store included, and a custom plan for more than 10 routes. Contact us and we'll recommend the right one. The value is significant, and the price is surprisingly low.
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