Getting Started

This guide will walk you through setting up your RouteBot account and help you understand the basics of the platform.

Creating Your Account

Sign Up

  1. Visit the RouteBot website and click Book Demo or Sign Up
  2. Enter your information:
    • Name - Your full name
    • Email - A valid email address (this will be your login)
    • Password - Create a secure password
  3. Click Create Account

Verify Your Email

After signing up, you'll receive a verification email:

  1. Check your inbox for an email from RouteBot
  2. Click the verification link in the email
  3. Your email will be confirmed and you can start using all features

Note: Some features may be limited until you verify your email. You can resend the verification email from your dashboard if needed.

First Login

When you first log in to RouteBot, you'll see the Dashboard with helpful setup guidance.

Choosing Your Transport Type

On your first login, a modal will appear asking you to select your transport type:

  • School Transportation - For managing school bus services for students
  • Employee Transportation - For managing shuttle services for employees

This selection helps RouteBot:

  • Show you the most relevant features for your needs
  • Configure appropriate default settings
  • Display the right navigation options
  • Pre-populate helpful sample data

Note: You can work with both transportation types, but this initial selection determines which features are shown by default.

Demo Data

After selecting your transport type, you'll be asked if you want to start with demo data:

Accept Demo Data:

  • Your account will be populated with sample data
  • Explore features with realistic examples
  • Learn how the system works before adding real data
  • Demo data can be cleared later

Skip Demo Data:

  • Start with a completely clean account
  • Add your own data from scratch
  • Recommended if you're ready to enter real information

Demo Account Badge

If your account contains demo data, you'll see a "Demo Account" badge in the navigation bar. This reminds you that you're working with sample data.

Understanding the Dashboard

The Dashboard is your home screen in RouteBot. It provides:

Quick Status Overview

  • Number of Parents - Total parent accounts in your system
  • Number of Students - Total students being transported
  • Number of Routes - Active vehicle routes
  • Number of Schools - Schools or companies configured

Setup Progress

The dashboard shows your setup progress with helpful indicators:

  • Checkmarks for completed setup steps
  • Quick links to add missing data
  • Suggestions for next steps

Email Verification Warning

If your email isn't verified yet, you'll see a warning banner with:

  • Information about why verification is important
  • A button to resend the verification email

Navigation Overview

RouteBot's main navigation is located at the top of the screen. Depending on your permissions, you may see:

Menu Item Description
Directory Parents, students, employees, and drivers
Stops Pickup and drop-off stops
Routes Student routes, employee routes, bundled routes, and tours
Transfers Point-to-point transfers
Shifts Work shifts for employee transport
Shift Management Day-to-day assignment on shift routes
Track Vehicle Live position from the driver phone. Telemetry and Alert Center appear here when a vehicle device is connected
Accounting Contracts, receipts, and expenses
Analysis Missing data, and Bulk SMS when texting is enabled
Inventory Vehicles, driver documents, maintenance, fuel, and stock
My Clients Schools and companies
Requests Requests filed by school contacts. Hidden when the feature is off
Settings Profile, teammates, subscription, telemetry connection, school contacts

Tip: Not all menu items appear for all users. What you see depends on your account permissions and the features enabled for your organization.

Your First Steps

Here's the recommended order for setting up RouteBot:

For School Transportation

  1. Add your school(s) - Go to My Clients and create your school with its address
  2. Add parents - Go to Directory > Parents and add parent contact information
  3. Add students - Go to Directory > Students and add student details with addresses
  4. Link parents to students - Connect each student to their parent(s)
  5. Create routes - Go to Routes and create the first student route
  6. Add drivers - Go to Directory > Drivers and add your driver information
  7. Assign students to routes - Add students to the appropriate routes

For Employee Transportation

  1. Add your company - Go to My Clients and create your company with its address
  2. Add employees - Go to Directory > Employees and add employee information with addresses
  3. Create routes - Go to Routes and set up the employee shuttles
  4. Add drivers - Go to Directory > Drivers and add your driver information
  5. Assign employees to routes - Add employees to the appropriate routes
  6. (Optional) Set up shifts - Go to Shifts if you have shift-based transportation
  7. (Optional) Set up stops - Go to Stops if you use centralized pickup points

Importing a Spreadsheet

Directory > Students has an Import spreadsheet button. It opens the start page. You can also open that page from the dashboard when you are setting up.

The same flow is available at app.routebot.com/start. It accepts Excel (.xlsx, .xls) and CSV files up to 8 MB, including workbooks with several sheets. A fixed RouteBot column template is not required. This flow imports student rosters, parents, schools, and student route lists; transfer schedules use the separate process described in Transfers.

On the start page:

  1. Drop your file, or choose Skip to dashboard if you would rather type records yourself
  2. Spreadsheet shows what was read from the columns. Correct anything that landed in the wrong field
  3. Operation asks for the school and the vehicle capacity
  4. Routes shows the services before they are created. Nothing is written yet
  5. Apps shows what drivers and parents will receive
  6. Continue writes the roster

Try our sample is for a demo account or a visitor who is not inside a company yet. A signed-in company does not get that button. Use your own file.

If the company already has students, the last step says how many, and the button reads Yes, add this roster beside existing data. That adds the file next to the students you already have. It does not replace them. Saving can keep running after you leave the page. You can come back to it.

Import is a reviewed upload, not ongoing synchronization with the source spreadsheet. Address preparation, grouping passengers into routes, and optimizing the stop order of one route are separate operations. Review the imported addresses and proposed services; use Optimize inside an individual service when you want to recalculate its order and times. See Route Optimization.

Profile Settings

Before diving into data entry, you may want to set up your profile:

  1. Click the Settings icon in the navigation
  2. Update your profile information:
    • Name - Your display name
    • Phone Number - Your contact number
    • Timezone - Select your local timezone
    • Country - Your country
    • Address - Your business address

Getting Help

As you use RouteBot, you can always:

  • Refer to this help center for detailed guides
  • Contact our support team at support@routebot.com
  • Use the in-app tooltips and descriptions for quick help

Next Steps:

Last updated: October 9, 2026