--- title: "Stops & Arrival Tracking" description: "How each stop records its planned window, arrival and departure, what Orbit Cockpit shows the driver at a stop and on the tour map, and the proof of delivery captured at the stop." url: "https://support.pr-9.orbit.do/en/core-features/stops-arrival-tracking" locale: "en" apps: ["cockpit", "mission", "connect"] lastReviewed: "2026-10-22" --- # Stops & Arrival Tracking How each stop records its planned window, arrival and departure, what Orbit Cockpit shows the driver at a stop and on the tour map, and the proof of delivery captured at the stop. > **Note:** A `Stop` is a single pickup or dropoff on a `Tour`. Each stop carries its planned arrival and departure times, the actual times recorded in Orbit Cockpit, and any proof of delivery captured at the stop. ## Overview A `Tour` is an ordered list of places a driver visits, and each place on that list is a `Stop`. A stop is either a **pickup**, where cargo is collected, or a **dropoff**, where it is delivered. Only a `Tour` has stops: an `Order` or a `Shipment` on its own does not. When you route a `Shipment` onto a `Tour`, its pickup and its dropoff take their places in that tour's sequence of stops. Every stop tells you when the driver was meant to be there and what happened during the visit. As the driver works through the `Tour` in Orbit Cockpit, each stop fills in with its arrival, departure, and any proof of delivery required at that location. In Orbit MissionControl you can read the plan, the actual times, and the proof. **Key highlights:** * **A position on the tour:** each `Stop` is one pickup or dropoff in the `Tour`'s ordered sequence of visits. * **Planned versus actual:** a stop shows its planned time window and its recorded arrival and departure. * **Everything for the visit at the top:** the stop screen in Orbit Cockpit starts with the address, the opening hours, the contacts and the buttons to navigate, call, copy the address and open the map. * **The tour on a map:** Orbit Cockpit shows every stop of the `Tour` on a map, with the route still to drive. * **Proof of delivery at the stop:** photos and signatures are captured in Orbit Cockpit at the moment the driver visits, then appear against the stop in Orbit MissionControl. * **Missing proofs at a glance:** a stop the driver left without all its required proofs says so in the tour details in Orbit MissionControl, without reloading the page. * **Filled in by execution:** times and proofs are recorded as the driver works; you read them rather than enter them. * **One visit can serve several shipments:** when several shipments share the same address, they are combined into a single stop. ## What a stop is Think of a `Tour` as a route with a running order of places to visit. Each place in that order is a `Stop`. A pickup stop is where the driver collects the `Load`; a dropoff stop is where they hand it over. A simple tour that moves one `Shipment` from Berlin to Lisbon has two stops, the Berlin pickup and the Lisbon dropoff, in that order. When more than one `Shipment` collects from or delivers to the same address, Orbit combines them into a single stop, so the driver makes one visit rather than several to the same place. Each shipment keeps its own contact, company, and documents under that shared stop, so nothing is lost by grouping them. ## The stop in Orbit Cockpit When the driver opens a stop in Orbit Cockpit, the top of the stop screen shows who and where: the company or the name of the combined stop, the loading point if there is one, the address and the stop's time window. ### Address, opening hours and arrival hints The country appears after the city only when the stop lies in another country than the carrier's, so a stop abroad stands out at a glance. Below the time window, one line shows the site's opening hours for the day of the stop. When a stop has a loading point with its own hours, those hours apply. The line reads: * **Open today** and the hours, when the stop is today * **Open** with the weekday and the hours, when the stop is on another day * **Closed on the stop day**, when the site has no opening hours that day If the plan expects the driver to wait at the stop, the same line adds the waiting time, for example "approx. 15 min waiting time". A stop without opening hours and without waiting time has no such line. See [Opening Hours for Locations](https://support.pr-9.orbit.do/en/core-features/operating-hours-for-locations) for how opening hours are set. Below the contacts, a box collects the arrival hints of the stop's shipments, such as which gate to use. The same hint given on several shipments appears once. ### The buttons Four round buttons sit under the address: | Button | What it does | | ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Navigate** | Opens the stop in the navigation app the driver chose. Without a chosen app, Orbit Cockpit lists the navigation apps on the phone, with **Copy Address or Coordinates** as the last option. | | **Call** | Calls the stop's contact. With more than one phone number at the stop, the button shows how many and opens **Who do you want to call?** | | **Copy** | Opens **What would you like to copy?** with **Copy Address** and **Copy Coordinates**, for a navigation app the driver types into by hand. | | **Map** | Opens the tour map on this stop. See [The tour map](#the-tour-map). | **Call** appears only when the stop has a contact with a phone number. In **Who do you want to call?**, each row shows the contact's name, the company or **Site**, and the number. A tap on a row starts the call; **Cancel** closes the list. The first navigation app the driver picks from the list is remembered for the next stops. The driver changes it, or sets **Always ask**, under **More** > **Navigation app**. A long press on the address opens the same choice as **Copy**. ### Contacts Under the buttons, Orbit Cockpit shows whom the driver can reach at the stop: * **One contact:** a single line with the name and the phone number. * **Several contacts:** the **Contacts** box. At a stop with several shipments, it lists the contacts by company, so the driver knows whom to ask for. A company without a contact still shows its name. When the shipments at the stop come from or go to different companies, each contact carries a line such as **For Load to** or **For Load from** and the other company's name. The contact of the site itself comes last, under **Site**. The driver calls with **Call**. A contact with only a name is shown but cannot be called. ## The tour map The tour map shows all stops of a `Tour` on a map, together with the route between them. ### The preview in the tour details The tour details in Orbit Cockpit show a small map of the route at the top of the **Route** section, with **Open Map** in the corner. It appears in every tour status. Without a connection, **Map not available offline** covers the preview, but a tap still opens the map. When no stop has coordinates, the grey box still opens the map. A tap on the preview opens the map on the next stop of the `Tour`, or on stop 1 when no stop is next, such as on a finished tour. **Map** on a stop opens it on that stop. ### Stops and route Every stop has a numbered marker: * **Done:** grey, with a check mark * **Next:** filled with your highlight colour, with a light halo * **Coming:** white, with a border in your highlight colour Stops at the same place share one marker. A depot at the start and at the end of a seven-stop tour shows as "1 · 7". The route still to drive is drawn in your highlight colour, the part already driven in grey. Where the roads cannot be loaded, the map draws straight dashed lines between the stops. Without a connection, it also shows **Offline: straight lines instead of roads** at the top, and loads the roads once the phone is back online. A stop without coordinates gets no marker, the line runs from the stop before it to the stop after it, and a hint such as **1 stop without coordinates** says how many are missing. Its card stays in the list below. The highlight colour is set in the [whitelabel settings](https://support.pr-9.orbit.do/en/advanced-features/whitelabel-customisation). ### Stop cards Below the map, one card per stop shows its number, the company, the address and the time window. While the tour runs, each card shows its distance from the stop before. While the tour is not running, each card says instead whether the stop is a **Pickup**, a **Delivery** or both. Cards of stops already done are grey. A swipe moves to the next card and the map to its stop. A tap on a marker brings its card to the front. Each card has two buttons: * **Navigate** opens the stop in the navigation app, as on the stop screen. * **Open Stop** opens the stop screen. While the tour runs, the button reads **Go to Stop** and shows that stop in the stop screen. When the tour has drive times, a line at the bottom sums up the tour like the tour details. While the tour runs, it shows how many stops are left, with their distance and driving time. ### Controls * **Show All Stops**, the round button at the top right, fits every stop into view. * **My Location**, below it, centres the map on the driver's position. The position and the button appear only while the `Tour` is `Running` and only when Orbit Cockpit is already allowed to use the location. The map never asks for location access itself. * The **×** at the top left, or the back gesture on Android, closes the map. The map shows the tour and does not change it. The stop order is not changed on the map. Where the driver may change the order of the stops, they use the skip button at the top right of the stop screen, which asks **Where Should This Stop Go?** ## Planned times versus actual times Every stop holds two kinds of time, and it helps to keep them apart. * **Planned times:** the time window the stop is scheduled for, shown as **Planned Arrival** and **Planned Departure**. This is the plan, worked out before the driver sets off. * **Actual times:** the **Arrival** and **Departure** recorded when the driver reaches and leaves the stop. These appear only once the visit has happened. The two are read together to judge how a `Tour` is running: an arrival later than the planned window tells you a stop ran behind, while a stop with no arrival yet has not been reached. A planned window is never an arrival time; it is the intention, not the event. ### Arrival and departure in Orbit Cockpit When automatic stop detection is enabled and Orbit Cockpit has background location permission, it records arrival when the driver reaches a stop. The arrival appears in the stop view, with an **Undo** option for one minute. The driver can still use the stop controls in Orbit Cockpit. Orbit Cockpit records departure automatically when the driver leaves a stop and all required loads and proofs are complete. If something is missing, Orbit Cockpit sends a notification and shows what remains on the stop. After the driver completes the missing work, they can select **Ready to depart** to record the departure. If background location is not allowed, the tour can still start, but automatic stop detection is unavailable. Orbit Cockpit shows **Automatic stop detection off: background location not allowed** under **Start Tour**. The driver can continue using the stop controls to record arrival and departure. The driver checks the access in Orbit Cockpit under **More** > **Location**. The page shows whether Orbit Cockpit may read the location always and whether the location is precise. A row that is not in order has an arrow: a tap on it asks for the access or opens the system settings. There is also a third, forward-looking time while a `Tour` is on the road: the **Expected Arrival**, a live estimate of when the driver will reach an upcoming stop. That estimate is covered in its own article, **Live Tracking & Expected Arrival**, because it behaves differently from the planned window and the logged fact. In short: the planned window is the intention, the **Expected Arrival** is the live estimate, and the logged **Arrival** is what actually happened. ## Proof of delivery Proof of delivery is captured at the stop, at the moment of the visit, by the driver in Orbit Cockpit. It is the evidence that a pickup or dropoff really took place: a photograph of the goods in position, a recipient's signature, a signature with the signer's name, or a scanned document. ### Capturing proof in Orbit Cockpit A stop can carry **proof requirements**, for example one signature and one photo before the delivery counts as complete. As the driver works the stop in Orbit Cockpit, the app prompts them for anything still outstanding and offers **Record Proofs Now**. To capture each piece the driver can **Record with Camera** for a fresh photo or signature, or select an existing file from the device. Once captured, the proof is stamped with the time it was taken. At a stop with several shipments, Orbit Cockpit shows a header for each `Shipment`. At a dropoff, the header names the sender below its references and units, for example **From Orion Industries**. The sender is the company the shipment's goods were picked up from, as the `Tour` records it. The header leaves the sender out when the line above the list already names it, and when the tour names no sender for the shipment. At such a stop, the driver first chooses which shipment a photo or document belongs to. A tap on the photo or document button asks **Which shipment is this photo for?** or **Which shipment is this document for?** The list shows one row per shipment with its sender at a dropoff, its references and units, and a tick when that shipment already has a proof of that kind. The last option is **Whole stop (all shipments)**. A proof requested for one recipient's shipment is already assigned, so Orbit Cockpit does not ask for it. Where the proof appears depends on that choice: * **One shipment**: The proof appears on that `Shipment` and on its `Order` only. * **Whole stop (all shipments)**: The proof appears on every `Shipment` at the stop and on their orders. Orbit Cockpit asks for every outstanding proof before the driver can complete the stop. Where nobody can sign a documented signature, the driver records why instead (see **Documented Signatures & Delivery Receipts**). Orbit Connect asks too: a carrier who completes the stop there uploads the missing photos, documents and signatures first, and may continue only without the proofs Orbit Connect cannot capture, such as a documented signature or a proof for one company at a stop with several shipments. The server does not refuse a departure without its proofs: a stop completed without them keeps the gap on record. An operator sees the missing proofs on the stop in Orbit MissionControl as soon as the driver has left it, and again when reviewing the tour. ### Reading proof in Orbit MissionControl Back in Orbit MissionControl, the proofs captured at a stop appear against that stop, grouped by kind: **Photo Proofs**, **Signature Proofs**, **Signature with Name Proofs**, and **Document Proofs**, each showing when it was taken. This is where an operator confirms that a delivery was completed and reviews the evidence behind it. ### Missing proofs on a departed stop In the tour details in Orbit MissionControl, a stop the driver has left without all its required proofs shows an orange warning icon right after its proof icons. Point at the icon, or move to it with the keyboard, to open **Mandatory Proofs Missing**. It explains that the stop has been departed and lists each missing proof on its own line: the proof type, such as **Photo**, or at a stop with several recipients the proof type and the recipient, such as **Signature for Orion Industries**. The icon follows the tour as it runs, without reloading the page. It appears when the driver leaves the stop and disappears once the missing proofs have arrived. It counts the proofs the way the review does: per recipient at a delivery to several recipients, once per proof type at a pickup. A proof that is still uploading counts as missing until its upload has finished. See [Reviewing a Tour](https://support.pr-9.orbit.do/en/core-features/tour-review) for how proofs are counted. A stop the driver has not left shows no warning icon, and neither does a stop with all its proofs or without required proofs. While the tour's documents are still loading, no stop shows the icon. An empty proof list on a stop the driver has not reached yet is completely normal. It is not a missing document or a gap to chase. Proofs appear only after the visit happens, so a stop still ahead on the route simply has nothing to show yet. The proof captured at a stop is also stored as a file you can view, download, and share, alongside other paperwork such as delivery notes and invoices. That file side (how documents are versioned, linked across an `Order`, `Shipment`, and `Tour`, and who is allowed to see each one) is covered in the **Documents** article. ## Example A driver, Mohammad, is running a `Tour` for Spaceport Shipping Co. with a delivery to ACME Ltd in Lisbon. Before he sets off, he opens the map from the tour details and sees the depot marked "1 · 6", because the tour starts and ends there. The Lisbon stop was planned for a window between 13:00 and 15:00, and its stop screen reads **Open today** 08:00 – 17:00. On the way he taps **Call**, picks the warehouse supervisor in **Who do you want to call?** and announces his arrival. Mohammad arrives at 14:41, and Orbit Cockpit prompts him for the delivery's proof requirements: a photo of the pallets on the loading bay and a signature from the warehouse supervisor. He taps **Record Proofs Now**, uses **Record with Camera** for the photo, and captures the signature. Later, Julia, an operator watching the run in Orbit MissionControl, opens the Lisbon stop and sees a logged **Arrival** of 14:41 against a **Planned Arrival** window that opened at 13:00, together with the photo and signature timestamped to the visit. She confirms the delivery is complete without having entered a single value herself. ## Technical details Stops, their planned and logged times, and the proofs captured at them are all available programmatically through the `Tour` they belong to. For endpoints and schema details, see the [API Reference](https://orbit-api.readme.io/). ## FAQ **Q: Why does a stop have no arrival time yet?** Because the driver hasn't reached it. A logged **Arrival** appears only once the visit happens. Until then the stop shows just its planned window, which is the plan, not a missing time. **Q: What is the difference between the planned window and the Expected Arrival?** The planned window (**Planned Arrival** and **Planned Departure**) is the schedule worked out before the tour moves. The **Expected Arrival** is a live estimate that updates while the `Tour` is running. The logged **Arrival** is what actually happened. See **Live Tracking & Expected Arrival** for how the estimate is calculated. **Q: A stop shows no proof of delivery. Is something wrong?** Not if the driver hasn't been there yet. An empty proof list on an unvisited stop is normal; proofs are captured at the moment of the visit. Once the driver reaches the stop in Orbit Cockpit and records the required proofs, they appear against the stop in Orbit MissionControl. **Q: Can a delivery go ahead if the driver can't capture every proof on the spot?** Not in Orbit Cockpit: the driver captures the outstanding proofs before completing the stop, or records why nobody signed a documented signature. Orbit Connect asks for the missing proofs as well, and lets the carrier continue only without those it cannot capture. A stop completed without its proofs is not refused, and an operator sees the missing proofs on the stop in the tour details and when reviewing the tour. **Q: What does the orange warning icon next to a stop's proof icons mean?** The driver has left the stop, and some of its required proofs are not there. Point at the icon to see which proofs are missing and, at a stop with several recipients, for which recipient. The icon disappears by itself once the proofs arrive, or once you add them when reviewing the tour. **Q: Can a driver attach a photo to one shipment at a stop with several shipments?** Yes. At a stop with several shipments, Orbit Cockpit asks which shipment a photo or document belongs to before capturing it. A proof for one shipment appears on that `Shipment` and its `Order` only. **Whole stop (all shipments)** puts the proof on every `Shipment` at the stop and on their orders. **Q: Why do several shipments share one stop?** When more than one `Shipment` collects from or delivers to the same address, Orbit combines them into a single stop so the driver makes one visit. Each shipment keeps its own contact, company, and documents under that shared stop. **Q: Can Orbit Cockpit record arrival and departure automatically?** Yes. When automatic stop detection and background location are available, Orbit Cockpit records arrival and records departure when all required loads and proofs are complete. If work is missing, it notifies the driver and shows what remains. Without background location permission, the driver can still start the `Tour` and use the stop controls to record arrival and departure. **Q: Why is there no Call button on a stop?** **Call** appears only when one of the stop's contacts has a phone number. A contact with only a name is shown under the buttons but cannot be called. **Q: Why does the stop screen show no country?** The country is shown only for a stop outside the carrier's country. A carrier without a country of its own counts as based in Germany. **Q: Why does the map show straight dashed lines?** Orbit Cockpit could not load the roads, usually because the phone has no connection. Then the hint **Offline: straight lines instead of roads** says so, and the roads load once the phone is back online. Once the roads have loaded, the map keeps them while the app stays open, also without a connection. **Q: Why is My Location not shown on the map?** The own position appears only while the `Tour` is `Running` and only when Orbit Cockpit is already allowed to use the location. The map never asks for the access. The driver checks it under **More** > **Location**. **Q: Can the driver change the stop order on the map?** No. The map only shows the tour. Where the driver may change the order, they use the skip button at the top right of the stop screen. **Q: Can I edit a stop's arrival or proof myself in Orbit MissionControl?** Yes, while you review the finished `Tour`. In the review, **Edit Times** corrects a stop's arrival and departure, and **Upload Proof** adds a proof the driver could not capture. Corrected times are saved when you complete the review. See [Reviewing a Tour](https://support.pr-9.orbit.do/en/core-features/tour-review). **Q: Where do the proof files themselves live?** Each proof is also stored as a file, alongside delivery notes, invoices, and other paperwork. How those files are versioned, linked across the `Order`, `Shipment`, and `Tour`, and made visible to different parties is covered in the **Documents** article.