Butchers and meat delivery
Heavy, cold orders on the right truck, in the right order.
Porch Route puts every frozen box on a vehicle that can keep it frozen, respects each van’s weight limit without pretending an unknown weight is zero, and texts customers when the driver is almost there so a box isn’t left on a warm porch. Photo and signature proof settle “it never came” in seconds.
Free up to 150 orders a month · No credit card · Last updated
The problem
Why is delivery hard for butchers?
- Boxes that have to stay frozen from the cold room to the customer
- Loads heavy enough that a van’s weight limit actually matters
- Customers who need to be home, or need the box left somewhere safe
- Proving a box was delivered when a customer says it never came
How Porch Route helps
What does Porch Route do for butchers?
- A stop only goes on a vehicle that can carry it frozen, and waits with the reason if none can
- Weight capacity on every vehicle, with unknown weights flagged instead of counted as zero
- Delivery instructions on the driver’s screen, like where the cooler is and the gate code
- Photo and signature proof, attached to the stop and sent to your system with the outcome
- An “almost there” text so customers can be home for a frozen box
What it looks like on the day.
Drive mode on a driver's phone: a frozen stop with the customer's instructions, what's in the box and a Delivered button.
Every number in these screens is the planner’s own answer for a demo day — not a mock-up of one.
Elijah Moss
Customer notified in 3 min
Priya Raman
312 W Tabernacle St, St. George, UT 84770
Cooler on the side porch, gate code 4417
One delivery day
What does one delivery day look like?
Step 1: Orders with weights
Import the day from your store’s export or send it over the API. Each item carries its pounds where you know them; leave a weight blank and routing treats it as unknown — never zero — and tells you how many stops that affects.
Step 2: Build by what each van carries
Choose the day and the vans. Frozen orders go only to freezer-capable vehicles; weight capacity and stop limits hold on every route; the plan shows what it saved against driving the orders as they came in.
Step 3: Check the load
Print a load list per route and a run sheet with every line item, so the cold room packs in stop order.
Step 4: Dispatch with a window
Customers get a “delivery scheduled” text or email with their window and a tracking link; each driver gets a no-login link to their route.
Step 5: Almost there, then the photo
Thirty minutes out (15 to 60, your choice) the customer gets “almost there” so they can be home. At the door the driver takes a photo or collects a signature; you decide whether either is required.
Step 6: Outcome back to the store
After the undo window the delivered event, with the proof photo, reaches your store over a signed webhook. A failed delivery carries the driver’s reason — “Nobody home”, “No safe place to leave it”.
Pricing
What does Porch Route cost butchers this size?
Every feature is on every plan. Plans differ only by how many orders and customer texts they include each month, and by support — never by drivers or vehicles.
| Business | Orders a month | Vehicles | Plan | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butcher shop, one van | 300 | 1 | Starter | $39/month |
| Meat subscription boxes | 900 | 3 | Porch | $79/month |
| Regional meat delivery | 3,000 | 6 | Route | $189/month |
Monthly billing; annual billing is two months free. Porch and Route include unlimited vehicles and drivers. Fleet is priced for your volume.
Questions
What butchers ask us.
What happens to a frozen order if the freezer van is full?
It stays unassigned with the reason — “Vehicles are full — add capacity or another vehicle” — rather than being pushed onto the dry van. Add a vehicle or move a stop and rebuild.
We don’t weigh every box. Does capacity still work?
Yes. Capacity binds only on the pounds you know. The build screen says how many selected stops have no weight on file, and the fleet view shows a “+” on a route carrying unknown weight.
Can customers be told when the driver is close?
Yes. The “almost there” text goes 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes before arrival, measured against the live estimate, and the tracking page shows the truck on a map while it’s on the way.
Can I require a signature for high-value boxes?
Yes. Settings → General lets you require a photo, a signature or both before a driver can finish a stop. Proof is stored privately and shown to the customer on their tracking page.
Related pages
Plan your next delivery day in a few minutes.
Add your vehicles and a day of orders — by hand, from a CSV or over the API — and build your first routes.
Free up to 150 orders a month · No credit card