In this article, you will learn how to manage multiple service areas (formerly known as metro areas) in Workiz.

Service areas help your team stay organized, improve scheduling efficiency, and control where jobs can be booked.

In Workiz, you can define your service areas in a few different ways:

• Setting a ZIP code radius
• Choosing a specific city or county
• Manually adding custom boundary points to outline your exact coverage area

This add-on makes booking new jobs easy for dispatchers, never letting them wonder whether your company should take the job, or if anybody on your team is capable of completing the job based on where they're located.

Enabling Service Areas add-on

In order to start using service areas, you will need to enable the add-on from the Feature Center first.

1. From the navigation bar, select the Feature Center
   

   Not seeing the Feature Center icon in the navigation bar? You may not have the correct permissions set for your user.

   Please contact your account admin and ask them to turn on the Account Settings permission for your user type from the Roles & Permissions settings page.

2. Select Service Areas
   
3. Select Get started to enable the add-on

Creating a new service area

1. From the sidebar menu, select the Service Areas

   Not seeing this in your sidebar menu? You can always pin new items in the Feature Center.

2. Select Add Service area
3. Continue to the section that matches the type of service area you want to create — ZIP code, city/county, or custom

Creating a new service area around a ZIP code

When creating a ZIP code-based service area, you'll just need to enter some basic details, like the zip code and the mile radius you'd like the area to cover. 

1. Create your service area:
   
   
   1. Name: Enter a name for your service area
   2. Zip code: Enter the zip code for your service are
   3. Radius: Enter the mile radius you want to apply to the zip code entered in the previous step
   4. Color: Choose a color for your service area
   5. Default tax: Choose the tax rate that should automatically be applied to jobs booked in this service area
   6. Select Save

How service area radiuses work

When you set a ZIP code–based service area with a specific mile radius, Workiz uses the center point of that ZIP code to calculate distances. For example, if you set your service area as ZIP code 92101 with a 5-mile radius, and a customer enters 92123, Workiz will measure the distance between the center of 92101 and the center of 92123. If that distance is within your chosen radius, the job will be considered inside your service area.

Creating a service area around a city or county

Workiz also gives you the option of creating an advanced service area that automatically creates an exact boundary around specific cities or counties.

When setting a service area based on city or county, Workiz will ignore any zip code or mile radius settings you may have applied previously. 

1. Create your service area:
   1. Name: Enter a name for your service area
   2. Color: Choose a color for your service area
   3. Default tax: Choose the tax rate that should automatically be applied to jobs booked in this service area
   4. Under Advance area select, turn the toggle switch on
   5. Above the map on the right side of the page, enter the name of the city or county you want to create a service area for
   6. Select the city or county you want to create a service area for
      
      

      Please be aware that:

      • Counties and cities can share the same name — like San Diego or Los Angeles. Workiz will list both, with counties clearly labeled. If “County” isn’t shown, the option refers to the city.
      • The default tax rate applies to all jobs booked in this service area. If your service area is set to a county, remember that some cities within that county may have different tax rates.
   7. Select Save
      
      

Creating a service area with boundary points

If you have a unique boundary that doesn't fit in a standard city or county, you also have the option of creating a custom area on the map. Simply drop boundary points on the map to outline your exact coverage area and adjust them as needed to fine tune your zone. 

When setting a service area based on custom points, Workiz will ignore any zip code or mile radius settings you may have applied previously. 

1. Create your service area:
   1. Name: Enter a name for your service area
   2. Color: Choose a color for your service area
   3. Default tax: Choose the tax rate that should automatically be applied to jobs booked in this service area
   4. Under Advance area select, turn the toggle switch on
   5. Above the map on the right side of the page, enter the name of the city or county you want to create a service area for
   6. Zoom in on the general area you want to cover
   7. In the upper-left corner of the map, select the draw shape icon
   8. Move your cursor over one of the edges of your service area on the map, and click to drop a boundary point
      
   9. Move your cursor to another edge of the service area on the map, and click again to drop another boundary point
   10. Continue dropping boundary points until you have closed off and created the shape that matches your desired service area
       

       To close off your shape at any time, double-click on the map.

   11. Select Save

Booking jobs in service areas

After entering the service address when creating a new job, Workiz will automatically suggest the nearest service area for this job. 

If you enter a new job that doesn’t fit into one of the predefined service areas you created, Workiz will provide you with the distance between this service address and your nearest service area. This allows you to make a judgment call on whether to accept the job or not.

Workiz will also provide you with visibility of the field techs who can be assigned to this job based on the service areas they were assigned to when setting up their profile.