Five jobs, two towns, not five towns.
A handyman's week fills up one small job at a time, and by Thursday you're driving across the county for a 45-minute shelf. Redline books each job next to work you already have in that town, and when the week gets messy, proposes the moves that put it back together.
Keeping a handyman week tight
Find slots that fit each job
A TV mount is an hour, a storm door is three. In the calendar's Add event, set the visit length and Redline offers the 3 best open slots that fit it, favoring days you're already in that town.
Ask by chat for the quick ones
"Find a time for the Diaz shelf in Arlington next week." Redline offers up to 3 slots, each with a reason, like a same-town job right before it.
Put deadlines on the calendar
Realtor punch lists before a listing photo shoot, a move-out repair before the walkthrough: book them first, then fill around them.
Tighten the week
Say "tighten up my week" or tap Optimize. Redline proposes moves for the next 7 days that fix overlaps and group jobs by town. Nothing moves until you apply it.
Leave room for the parts run
Suggested slots leave a 30-minute buffer between visits. If a job needs a hardware store stop, pick a longer visit length when you find its slot.
Sunday night, planning the week
3 moves would save you two cross-town trips:
Diaz shelf (Arlington) Thursday 2:00 to Tuesday 11:00, after the Lowell Ave job in Arlington
Brightwater PM, 42 Lake St (Belmont) Wednesday 9:00 to Monday 1:30, after the Belmont faucet
Kerr storm door (Medford) Friday 8:00 to Thursday 9:00, next to the Medford drywall patch
Apply all, or one at a time?
Diaz and Brightwater moved. Kerr stays Friday at 8:00.
Optimize only proposes moves. Nothing changes until you apply it. Grouping is by town name, not drive time.
A handyman's job lengths
Examples. Pick the length when you look for a slot, or save it in a preset.
| Job | Typical length you'd book | Booking tip |
|---|---|---|
| TV mount, shelf, curtain rods | 1 hour | Pair with another job in the same town |
| Faucet or fixture swap | 1 to 2 hours | Note who's supplying the part |
| Storm door, drywall patch with a return trip | 2 to 3 hours | Book the return visit for the second coat |
| Realtor punch list | Half day to a day | Book first, it has a deadline |
| Property manager unit turn | 1 to 2 days | One visit per day, so each can move |
Driving is the job nobody pays for
A handyman who bills five hours a day and drives three is working an eight-hour day for five hours of pay. The jobs are small, so the drive between them is a big share of the day. Booking each job next to another one in the same town is the cheapest raise you'll ever get.
Redline does that by town name, not by map. For a handyman working a handful of neighboring towns, that's the right level. The Optimize pass on Sunday night catches the jobs that got booked in a hurry during the week and puts them back next to their neighbors.
Straight answers on handyman scheduling
Redline does
- Suggest slots next to jobs in the same town
- Find slots that fit the length you pick
- Propose a tighter week you apply in one tap
- Move a job by chat when a customer reschedules
- Keep job notes and photos with each visit
Redline doesn't
- Plan routes by drive time or on a map
- Let customers book themselves online
- Sync with Google, Apple or Outlook calendars
- Remind customers before you arrive
- Suggest weekend times (you set those)
Questions contractors ask
Is scheduling on the free plan?
Yes. The calendar, suggested times, Optimize and scheduling by chat are all free. Invoicing starts on Solo at $29 a month.
Can I block off time for supply runs?
Add a Personal event on the calendar. Suggested times work around it.
I sometimes bring a helper. Can they see the schedule?
On Team and up, a helper gets the tech app with their day and the job notes. Team is $129 a month with 3 seats, counting you.
More for handymen
Keep reading
- Handyman softwareBill the extras added on site, keep your minimum and markup, and pack short jobs into a day.
- Handyman invoice appHours, minimum, trip charge, materials and add-on tasks, billed before you leave.
- Handyman estimate appThe customer's list and photos into a priced, scoped quote before you drive over.
- Scheduling and calendarAsk for a time, get the 3 best open slots. Optimize tightens the week.
Run your business by chat.
Redline is free to start. Tell it about the job and it handles the quote, the schedule, the invoice and the follow-up.