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Creating orders

There are two ways to get orders into Zendera from the buttons at the top of the sidebar:

  • Create new order — manual entry, one order at a time.
  • Import CSV — bulk import from a spreadsheet template.

Most orders, in production setups, actually arrive automatically through an ERP integration — typically Dynamics or Visma. ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning — the finance/operations system your team books orders in. Those don’t need manual creation. This article covers the human-driven paths.

Once an order is in Zendera, it shows up in Order Control. If an import row was incomplete, it lands in Draft Orders instead.

What an order is

An order is a transport job — typically one pickup and one delivery, with a list of products (or a single weight/volume) to move between them. An order with one pickup and one delivery has two stops.

How to create an order manually

  1. Click + Create new order at the top of the left sidebar.
  2. Choose the Customer (or Department, if your customer has them). If the customer isn’t in Zendera yet, click Create customer in the dropdown.
  3. Pick the Order type — your org’s templates (e.g. “Standard delivery”, “Same-day”, “Pallet”).
  4. Pick the Vehicle type required (e.g. “Van”, “Truck > 3.5t”, “Refrigerated”). The optimizer will only assign drivers with a matching vehicle.
  5. Fill in the Pickup:
    • Choose a Location (or click Create location to add a new one).
    • Set the Earliest and Latest time window.
  6. Fill in the Delivery the same way.
  7. Add Products (optional, but recommended for billing): name, quantity, unit, weight, volume.
  8. Optionally fill in:
    • Reference — your customer’s PO number.
    • Internal order number — your unique tracking ID (must be unique within your organization).
  9. Click Save.

The order appears in Order Control, and the optimizer assigns it to a driver automatically.

Gotcha — duplicate internal order numbers. If another order in your organization already uses the same internal order number, the save fails with a “duplicate” message. Either pick a different number or open the existing order and update it.

How to import orders from a CSV

Permission: Any signed-in user. Imports go through the same validation as manual creation.

Import orders using a simple CSV file. Think of it like creating a spreadsheet with your delivery information.

  1. Click Import CSV at the top of the left sidebar.
  2. Download the template (button at the top of the import dialog) if you haven’t already.
  3. Fill in the template in Excel or Google Sheets — one row per order (or one row per stop, depending on the template version).
  4. Drag the file into the upload area, or click Choose file.
  5. Zendera shows a preview with rows colour-coded:
    • Green = ready to import.
    • Yellow = will be created as a draft (needs your attention later — see Draft Orders).
    • Red = will be skipped (fix and re-upload, or accept as drafts).
  6. Click Import.

A summary tells you how many were imported, how many became drafts, and how many were skipped.

Tip: For high-volume integration, ask your IT team to use the API import instead — it’s faster and gives per-row validation. See the Developer Guide → Importing and recurring orders.

What you need (minimum required fields)

Your CSV file must have these two columns:

  • PickupLocationName — where to pick up from (like “My Warehouse” or “Store Downtown”).
  • DestinationLocationName — where to deliver to (like “Customer ABC” or “Main Office”).

That’s it. Everything else is optional and can help you add more details.

Download and prepare the template

The template includes sample data with common fields you might use:

PickupLocationName,DestinationLocationName,InternalOrderNumber,CustomerName,Product,PickupContactFirstName,PickupContactEmailAddress,DestinationContactFirstName,DestinationContactEmailAddress,Date
My Warehouse,Customer Store,ORDER-001,ACME Company,5 boxes,John,john@warehouse.com,Sarah,sarah@store.com,2026-01-15
Distribution Center,Office Building,ORDER-002,Tech Corp,computer equipment,Mike,mike@distribution.com,Lisa,lisa@office.com,2026-01-16

Steps to prepare:

  1. Download the template.
  2. Replace the sample data with your own.
  3. Save as CSV format (not Excel .xlsx).

Optional fields

You can add any of these columns to include more details.

Basic order info

  • InternalOrderNumber — your order number (like “ORDER-001”).
  • CustomerName — customer name (like “ACME Company”).
  • OrderReference — customer’s reference number.
  • Date — when the order should happen (format: 2026-01-15).

Contact information

  • PickupContactFirstName / PickupContactLastName — person at pickup.
  • PickupContactEmailAddress / PickupContactPhoneNumber — pickup contact info.
  • DestinationContactFirstName / DestinationContactLastName — person at delivery.
  • DestinationContactEmailAddress / DestinationContactPhoneNumber — delivery contact info.

Specific addresses (if needed)

  • PickupAddressName — street name (like “Main Street”).
  • PickupAddressNumber — house number (like “123”).
  • PickupAddressRegion — city / PickupAddressPostalCode — ZIP code.
  • Same fields available for Destination addresses.

Timing windows

  • PickupEarliest / PickupLatest — pickup time window.
  • DestinationEarliest / DestinationLatest — delivery time window.
  • Format: “2026-01-15 09:00:00”.

What you’re delivering

  • Product — description (e.g. “3 boxes”, “furniture”, “2 boxes;3 pallets” for multiple).
  • Weight — total weight (like “50.5” for 50.5 kg).
  • Parcels — number of packages (like “3”).

Complete example

Here’s what a complete CSV file might look like:

PickupLocationName,DestinationLocationName,InternalOrderNumber,CustomerName,Product,PickupContactFirstName,PickupContactEmailAddress,DestinationContactFirstName,DestinationContactEmailAddress,PickupEarliest,DestinationLatest
Central Warehouse,Downtown Store,ORDER-001,Fashion Retailer,5 boxes,John,john@warehouse.com,Sarah,sarah@store.com,2026-01-15 08:00:00,2026-01-15 17:00:00
Main Distribution,Customer Office,ORDER-002,Tech Company,computer equipment,Mike,mike@distribution.com,Lisa,lisa@techcompany.com,2026-01-16 09:00:00,2026-01-16 16:00:00
Storage Facility,Retail Location,ORDER-003,Book Store,3 pallets;fragile books,Anna,anna@storage.com,David,david@bookstore.com,2026-01-17 10:00:00,2026-01-17 15:00:00

Important tips

File format

  • Save your file as CSV (not Excel .xlsx).
  • You can use Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet program.
  • No index column needed — just start with your column headers.

Column names

  • Use the exact column names shown above (copy and paste to be safe).
  • Column names are case-sensitive.
  • You don’t need all columns — only the ones you want to use.

Data format

  • Dates: use format 2026-01-15 or 2026-01-15 14:30:00 for specific times.
  • Yes/No fields: use “yes” or “no”, “true” or “false”, or “1” or “0”.
  • Multiple products: separate with semicolon like “3 boxes;2 pallets;equipment”.
  • Phone numbers: any format works (“555-1234” or “555.1234” or “5551234”).

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Don’t include row numbers or index columns.
  • Make sure pickup and destination names are filled in for every row.
  • Check that email addresses look correct (contain @ symbol).
  • Dates should be in YYYY-MM-DD format.

What happens if something goes wrong?

The preview tells you exactly which row has a problem and what’s wrong. For example:

  • “Row 3: Missing pickup location name”
  • “Row 5: Invalid date format”

Rows that can’t be imported are marked red (skipped) or yellow (created as a draft). Fix the problem in your CSV file and try uploading again, or finish the yellow rows in Draft Orders.

Need help?

If you’re having trouble:

  1. Start with just the two required columns (pickup and destination names).
  2. Add one more column at a time.
  3. Test with a small file (2-3 rows) first.
  4. Make sure you save as CSV format, not Excel.

Remember: you only need pickup and destination location names to get started. Everything else can be added later.

Repeat orders to the same customer

If you find yourself manually creating the same order over and over (e.g. a weekly delivery to the same shop), don’t. Set up a recurring-order template instead, so Zendera generates them for you on a schedule. See Recurring Orders.

What’s next

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