Delivery windows are the time slots your customers can choose for a pickup or a return when they place a pickup and delivery order. Setting them up tells Cents when your drivers are out, how many stops fit in each slot, and which areas you cover. This guide walks you through creating regular delivery windows for your own drivers, plus private windows, which are slots only your team can see and use for routing.

A regular delivery window is shown to customers on your online ordering link. When a customer schedules a pickup or return, they pick from these slots.

A private window is not shown to customers online. You create it for your own use, then assign orders to it yourself when you build routes. Private windows are handy for things like commercial accounts, dedicated routes, or grouping stops you want to handle separately, without opening that time slot to everyone ordering online.

Use a regular delivery window when you want customers to be able to book that time slot themselves online.

Use a private window when you want a slot reserved for internal routing only. Common examples:

You'll need admin access to the Cents Business Manager, and you should know which days, times, and zip codes you want to deliver to. If you use your own drivers, you'll be setting these windows under Own Driver delivery. For an overview of own driver setup, see How to Set Up Delivery for Own Drivers and How to Enable Own Driver Functionality at a Location.

Your window is now live, and customers in your service area can choose it when they order online.

A private window is created the same way as a regular window, with one change: you set its route type to Private.

The window will not appear to customers on your online ordering link. To use it, go to your routing tools and assign the orders or stops you want into that window when you build a route. For help building and managing routes, see Create a Route in Business Manager Dispatch.

You can change a window's days, times, route type, fees, or zip codes at any time from the same Delivery Settings page. A few things to know:

Customers don't see any delivery windows online. Start with the most common cause: the customer's zip code isn't in your service area. Confirm the zip code is added to your Delivery Settings. Also check that the window covers the day they're trying to book and that your store isn't closed for that date (see How to Add Store Closures for Pickup and Delivery).

A window is full or shows "this delivery window is no longer available." This usually means the window hit its Max Stops limit, or the store is closed for that date. Raise the Max Stops number or set the route type to Unlimited if you want more orders in that slot.

A delivery slot is too soon or too far out. Delivery times follow your turnaround time settings. A customer can't pick a return that lands sooner than their pickup time plus your turnaround. If returns are showing days later than expected, check your turnaround time for that service.

Your private window isn't showing to customers. That's expected. Private windows are never shown on the online ordering link. If you actually want customers to book it, change the route type from Private to Unlimited or a Max Stops number.

You changed a window but old orders didn't update. Also expected. Existing active and recurring orders keep their original settings until you move them. Use the conflicts screen or open the order to update it.

Will customers ever see my private windows?
No. Private windows are only visible to your team. Customers booking online will only see your regular windows.

Can I limit how many orders go into a window?
Yes. Set the route type to Max Stops and enter a number. Use Unlimited if you don't want a cap.

Can I have different windows for pickups and returns?
Yes. Each window has a service type, so you can make a window for Pickup only, Delivery only, or both.

Can I change a window after customers have already booked it?
Yes. New orders use the updated settings. Orders already booked keep their original settings until you move them, and Cents will flag any conflicts so you can handle them.

How do I get orders into a private window?
Assign them yourself when building a route in Dispatch. The window won't fill on its own from online orders, since customers can't see it.

I use a delivery partner instead of my own drivers. Is setup different?
The window concept is the same, but the setup lives under your delivery partner option. See How to Enable Cents On-Demand Pickup and Delivery Partner at a Location.

Do private windows work with recurring orders?
Yes. You can assign recurring or commercial orders into a private window when you route them, keeping those stops off your public booking slots.