See where every job stands without making a single phone call.
Real-time status from owned drivers and subcontractors flows directly to the dispatch board. Mobile GPS from the driver's existing smartphone. Clients see their job status updating live in their portal. No proprietary hardware required.
Status flows from the driver's phone to the dispatch board automatically.
When a driver picks up a job on their mobile app and updates their status — en route, on site, loaded, delivered — that status flows to the dispatch board without any phone call, text message or radio exchange. The mechanism is Socket.io, which maintains a persistent real-time connection between the driver app and the dispatch board. Status changes appear on the board within seconds of the driver tapping their phone.
What the driver does
- Opens the driver app on their iOS or Android phone
- Sees their assigned jobs for the day
- Taps to update status at each stage: En Route, On Site, Loaded, Delivered
- App captures GPS position alongside each status update
- At delivery, captures POD: photos, docket, customer signature
- No phone call required at any stage
What dispatch sees
- Dispatch board updates live as each driver moves through their job
- Job cards show current status in real time: colour-coded by stage
- Driver GPS position visible on the map panel
- Status timestamps recorded on the job record automatically
- No need to call drivers to ask where they are
- Subcontractor jobs update via their portal — same board, same view
The dispatch board — updating live as jobs progress.
Split-view dispatch board. Left panel: job list with status columns (Assigned, En Route, On Site, Delivered). Each job card shows driver name, origin → destination, material and a coloured status badge. Right panel: map view showing driver location pins with truck icons, labelled with driver initials and job reference. One pin is mid-route (blue), one is at site (orange), two are delivered (green). Last status update timestamp shown on each card. Subcontractor job shown with different icon style.
No proprietary hardware. Uses the driver's existing smartphone.
HaulageOps tracks driver location using the GPS in the driver's existing iOS or Android smartphone. There is no proprietary tracking hardware to purchase, install or maintain. The driver installs the HaulageOps driver app, and their phone's GPS becomes the tracking device.
This is a deliberate design choice for operators in the 15–80 vehicle range. Proprietary in-cab telematics hardware is expensive per unit, requires installation across your fleet, and becomes a maintenance and replacement overhead. For many operators, that cost and complexity is not justified by the tracking benefit alone — particularly when most drivers already carry a smartphone capable of providing location data.
How GPS works in the app
When a driver opens their assigned job and begins work, the app requests location permission from the phone's OS. With permission granted, the app periodically captures and transmits the phone's GPS coordinates to the dispatch board. Position updates are visible to dispatch alongside the job status. The driver does not need to do anything additional — location updates automatically while the app is in use.
Keep your existing GPS hardware
Many fleet operators already have in-cab telematics units installed for insurance purposes, compliance requirements or fleet safety programmes. HaulageOps does not replace those units and does not require you to remove them. Your telematics hardware continues doing its safety and compliance role. HaulageOps is the operations layer above it — handling job assignment, status tracking, POD, billing and subcontractor coordination. Keep what you have. Add what you need.
Offline capability
The driver app is offline-capable. If a driver loses mobile signal mid-route — in a tunnel, at a remote site, in a low-coverage area — the app continues functioning. Status updates and GPS data are queued locally and synchronised to the dispatch board when connectivity returns. The driver's last known position and most recent status remain visible to dispatch during the offline period.
Subcontractor jobs and client visibility — all on the same board.
Subcontractor job tracking
When you delegate a job to a subcontractor through HaulageOps, they manage that job through their own portal. They update job status from their side — accepted, en route, completed — and those updates flow back to your dispatch board in real time. You do not need to call the subcontractor to find out where the job stands. Their portal updates appear on your board alongside your own driver updates.
This is particularly useful for operators who mix owned fleet with subcontractor capacity. The dispatch board shows all active jobs — whether being run by your drivers or your subs — with the same status visibility. There is no separate tracking interface for subcontracted work.
- Subcontractor status updates visible on your dispatch board
- Subcontractors use their own dedicated portal — no additional seat required
- Status updates timestamped and recorded on the job record
- Subcontractor GPS visible if they are using the portal's map view
- No phone calls required to check subcontractor progress
Client visibility in the client portal
Clients who access their HaulageOps client portal can see the live status of their jobs without contacting your office. When a job moves from Assigned to En Route to Delivered, the client portal reflects that change. For clients running active construction sites who need to know when materials will arrive, this eliminates the inbound phone calls your dispatch team currently handles.
Client access is controlled by the operating company. You choose which clients have portal access and what level of job detail they can see. Clients cannot see rates set for other clients, cannot access internal operations, and cannot create or edit jobs. Their view is read-only for the jobs relevant to their account.
- Clients see live job status in their portal — no calls to your office
- Status updates: Assigned, En Route, On Site, Delivered
- POD accessible to clients once job is completed
- Client view is read-only — they cannot modify jobs
- Access controlled per client by your admin team
Managing status by phone versus a live dispatch board.
| Situation | Calling drivers | HaulageOps live board |
|---|---|---|
| Client asks where their delivery is | Call the driver, call you back, relay to client | Client checks their portal — no call needed |
| Dispatcher checks status of 10 active jobs | 10 phone calls, some unanswered | Dispatch board shows all 10 in real time |
| Subcontractor job status | Call the sub's driver or office | Sub updates their portal — your board updates |
| When did that load deliver? | Ask the driver, check a WhatsApp message | Delivery timestamp on the job record |
| Driver in low-signal area | Unreachable — no status update possible | Last known status retained; syncs when signal returns |
| Evidence of delivery time for invoice dispute | No reliable record exists | Timestamped status + POD stored on job record |
Live tracking connects to every part of the operation.
Driver App
The iOS and Android driver app is where status updates originate. Offline-capable, push notification-driven, with POD capture built in. Everything the driver does in the app flows to the dispatch board and job record.
Dispatch Management
The dispatch board is where live tracking is most visible. All active jobs, all drivers, all subcontractors — one view, updating in real time. Assign new jobs, see ETAs, manage reassignments without leaving the board.
Subcontractor Portal
Subcontractors manage their assigned jobs through a dedicated portal. Status updates they make in their portal feed directly to your dispatch board. No phone calls. No WhatsApp chains. A clear record of what happened and when.
Also see: Client Portal | Haulage Dispatch solution | Subcontractor Coordination
Live Job Tracking — frequently asked questions
How accurate is the mobile GPS tracking?
GPS accuracy depends on the quality of the driver's smartphone and the availability of satellite signals in their area. In open areas with a modern smartphone, position accuracy is typically within 5–10 metres. In urban areas with tall buildings or indoor environments, accuracy may reduce. The position data is sufficient to show which job site a driver is at and their general route — it is not intended for metre-precision asset tracking. If your operation requires that level of precision, you likely need dedicated telematics hardware for that purpose, which HaulageOps does not replace or replicate.
What happens if a driver has no mobile signal on site?
The driver app is offline-capable. If the driver loses signal, the app continues to function locally on their phone. They can still update their job status — the update is queued in the app. When the driver regains connectivity, the queued updates synchronise automatically to the dispatch board. The last known position and status remain visible to dispatch during the offline period. This means a driver working at a remote quarry or low-coverage site does not need to find a signal before updating their status.
Can clients see the live GPS position of the driver, or just the job status?
By default, clients see job status updates in their portal — Assigned, En Route, On Site, Delivered — rather than a live GPS pin of the driver's exact location. The level of visibility available to clients is controlled by the operating company's portal settings. If you want clients to see more or less detail, discuss your requirements during implementation. For most bulk haulage and construction logistics clients, job status visibility is sufficient — they want to know when the material is arriving, not to watch a truck icon move on a map.
Does the driver need to keep the app open for GPS to work?
The driver should have the app active during their working day for GPS and status updates to function as intended. Background location tracking depends on the permissions the driver grants on their phone's operating system and the platform policies (iOS and Android handle background app permissions differently). During setup and driver onboarding, we walk through the recommended app and permission settings to ensure consistent tracking behaviour. Drivers who close the app entirely between updates will not have continuous GPS tracks, but their manual status updates remain fully functional.
Do we need to buy or install any hardware to use live tracking?
No. Live job tracking in HaulageOps uses the GPS in the driver's existing iOS or Android smartphone via the driver app. There is no proprietary hardware to purchase, install, or maintain. If you already have in-cab GPS units installed for insurance, safety, or compliance purposes, keep them — HaulageOps does not conflict with those devices and does not require their removal. We are the operations management layer above your existing hardware.
How do subcontractor job updates reach my dispatch board?
When you delegate a job to a subcontractor through HaulageOps, the job appears in the subcontractor's dedicated portal. When the subcontractor updates the job status in their portal — accepted, en route, completed — that update is immediately reflected on your dispatch board via the same Socket.io real-time connection that handles your own driver updates. You see all active jobs — owned fleet and subcontracted — in one board, with status updates flowing in from both sources without any calls or messages between your team and the subcontractor.