Field force tracking

The problem it solves

Every owner with a field team has had this conversation: "I visited all twelve shops yesterday", followed by a dealer saying nobody has come for two weeks. Without a record, the owner has to choose between trusting blindly and checking constantly, and neither is good for the team. A visit record settles the question quietly. The salesperson who works hard gets credit for it, and the owner stops spending evenings on the phone verifying routes. Our guide to managing a field sales team covers the people side; this page covers the tool.

What the module records

• Dealer locations, so each customer is a place on the ground and not just a name in Tally.
• Visit check-in with location: when a salesperson checks in, the visit records where they were.
• Visit notes and photos: stock on the shelf, a display, a damaged carton, a competitor's scheme poster, a signed order slip.
• Leave: salespeople apply for leave in the app, so absences are on record.
• Performance view for the owner across the team.

It sits alongside areas, route plans and recommended visits; see route planning for that side.

Location at check-in, not all-day tracking

It is worth being precise about what is recorded. The location is captured when a salesperson checks in at a visit. That is enough to answer the owner's real question, "did the visit happen at the dealer's place?", without following someone through their whole day. Many salespeople accept check-in records far more easily than continuous tracking, and it keeps the conversation about work done rather than about surveillance. Tell the team clearly, before you start, that the location is recorded at check-in and why.

It also helps to agree what counts as a visit. A check-in from the dealer's counter, a note on what was discussed and, where relevant, a photo of the shelf is a visit. A phone call from the road is not, even if it ends in an order. Agreeing this upfront avoids arguments later when you read the performance view together, and it means the numbers mean the same thing for every person on the team.

A worked example: reading a week of visits

Each line tells a different story. Rakesh is disciplined and steady. Imran skips visits but converts well; perhaps he is calling ahead and only going where an order is likely, which may be fine, or may mean smaller dealers are being ignored. Sunita visits faithfully but books little; her notes and photos will show whether the problem is her area, her pitch or stock availability. None of this is visible from sales figures in Tally alone. The guide on measuring salesperson performance suggests fair ways to use such numbers.

Who uses it

• Distributors and dealers with salespeople covering retailers or sub-dealers.
• Manufacturers whose sales team visits dealers and distributors.
• Service businesses with technicians going out on calls.
• Owners who manage a team spread across towns and cannot ride along.

Salespeople use it through the staff app, whose Today screen shows customers to attend, visits, orders and collections.

Tips for a smooth rollout

• Mark dealer locations first, for the customers who matter most, before asking the team to check in.
• Make notes useful. Agree three or four things every note should cover: stock seen, order or no order, payment status, next step.
• Use photos as evidence, not decoration: shelf, display, complaint, signed document.
• Review weekly, in person. Go through the numbers with each salesperson; it builds trust in the record.
• Keep the salesperson role. It shows items and their own customers, not your accounts.

What it does not do

• It does not track salespeople continuously through the day; location is recorded at visit check-in.
• It does not calculate incentives or salaries.
• It does not replace a conversation: the record shows what happened, and the owner still has to manage the team.
• It is a module switched on per company, not part of the basic reading of Tally books.