Skip to content
ProDispatch.
ProductFor ownersPricingResourcesAbout
Book a call

Free download / Field operations guide

The offline-first field app guide.

The plain-English guide to what offline-first really means, why offline-tolerant is not the same thing, and the five-minute airplane-mode test to run on any app before you trust it.

8 sections, printable8 bulleted points5 test steps1,595 words, start to finishFree with your email

Before the gate

What this is.

Most field apps only really work when there is signal. Out where your trucks run, the counties, the new builds, the back lots, the far edge of a metro, that assumption breaks a dozen times a day. Your drivers pay for it in phantom calls, lost proof photos, and paper sheets re-keyed at 6 p.m.

This is the plain-English guide to what offline-first actually means, why "works offline" on a brochure usually means something weaker, and the five-minute airplane-mode test you can run on any app before you trust it with a route. It is written for operators, not engineers. Print it, hand it to a partner or a driver lead, and take it into your next vendor call.

Drop your email below and the full guide unlocks, including the sync-conflict questions that separate real offline-first from a marketing checkbox.

What is inside

The whole guide, section by section.

8 sections, listed below with what each one holds. Every count on this page is read out of the document itself, so what you see here is what lands when you unlock it.

Contents8 sections / 8 bulleted points / 5 test steps / 1,595 words
01Your driver just lost an hour of work and it was not his faultPicture a Tuesday.
02What "offline-first" actually meansPlenty of apps say they "work offline." Most of them mean: it does not crash when the signal drops, and you can look at stuff you already loaded.
03Why this is a daily problem, not an edge case5 bulleted points. A city dispatcher hears "no signal" and thinks subway tunnel.
04What you actually lose when the app needs signalThe cost is not abstract.
05The hard part nobody mentions: sync conflicts3 bulleted points. Here is where offline-first stops being a marketing word and starts being real engineering.
06How to tell offline-tolerant from offline-first5 test steps. You do not need the source code.
07What good offline-first feels like on the truckWhen it is built right, the driver mostly forgets it exists.
08So do you actually need it?If your trucks only run a tight urban core with solid coverage everywhere, you can probably get by on offline-tolerant.

Sample

Read a section before you decide.

This is section 6 of 8, reproduced from the guide exactly as it appears in the document. Nothing in the box was rewritten for this page.

The rest is the same shape: 8 sections and about 1,595 words in total. If the box below is not worth an email address to you, the other sections will not change that, and that is a fair answer.

Section 6 of 8

How to tell offline-tolerant from offline-first

You do not need the source code. You need a phone and airplane mode.

  • 1Open the app cold, with airplane mode already on. Does today's job list load, or do you get a spinner?
  • 2Mark a stop complete. Does it confirm right away, or wait for a connection?
  • 3Take and attach a photo. Saved, or stuck?
  • 4Capture a signature. Same test.
  • 5Now turn airplane mode off. Does the held-up work sync on its own, or did some of it just disappear?

Reproduced from the guide. The other 7 sections follow the same format.

You get the distinction

Offline-tolerant lets you look, offline-first lets you work. In plain language, with what each one costs you on a Tuesday.

You get the five-minute test

What to try with airplane mode on before you trust any app with a route, and what a pass actually looks like.

You get the sync questions

The conflict questions that separate a real offline-first build from a checkbox on a slide.

Get the guide.

Free, printable, yours to keep. The email is the whole ask: no truck count, no company name, nothing else is collected here.

Your address goes on the founding-operator list, which is how the founder reaches operators directly. Reply to any message to come off it. The guide stays yours either way.

More free downloads

Five more, same deal.

Each one is a landing page like this: contents shown up front, one email, document unlocked. Take what applies to your yard.

The dead-zone auditMap every spot on your routes where the field app fails, in one afternoon, using nothing but your drivers and airplane mode.Read the page
The multi-asset operator workflow auditA one-page self-audit for operators running two or more asset types out of one business. See whether your dispatch setup is quietly costing you jobs, hours, and drivers.Read the page
Before you switch dispatch tools: the checklistMost operators get burned by the same mistakes when they change dispatch software. Here is how you avoid them.Read the page
What to charge: a pricing framework for multi-asset operatorsStop pricing off gut and the cheapest shop in the county. Build your number from your own costs, in an afternoon.Read the page
The customer-comms swipe fileThe texts and emails that stop the "where is my driver" calls. Copy, fill in the blanks, send.Read the page

No email required

Rather have a number now?

The tools run in the browser and show the result first, with no gate in front of it. Bring your truck count and ten honest minutes.

Cost calculatorRevenue leakIdle-asset utilizationWindshield timeOverlap checkerOperation scorecard
ProDispatch.Built in Texas.
hello@prodispatchapp.comLegal