6 Ways to Create Territories in MapBusinessOnline

Sales, service and delivery territories help teams assign coverage, balance workloads, and plan growth. In MapBusinessOnline, you can build territories that are compact by geography, based on real travel times, or shaped by data criteria such as demographics and sales performance metrics. Each method below serves a different business need, giving you flexibility to build territories that match how your organization operates.

1. Draw an Area (Circle / Polygon / Freeform / Drive-Area)

Use on-map drawing and search tools to outline a geographic or travel-based area, then convert it into a territory with one click.

Best for: Creating compact, visual territories directly on the map.

Why it helps: Draw precise coverage areas that reflect actual geography and travel times for each rep or service zone.

How to:

1. Use the Circle, Polygon, Freeform, or Drive area search tool to draw an area on the map.
2. Click the area’s binocular icon to select the map layer to search (ZIPs, Counties, etc.) and click Next.
3. In the Create or edit territory dialog, enter the territory name if you choose to create a new territory, or choose an existing territory you want to append with the selected area. Click Create or Edit.

2. Select on the Map

Select map areas one by one or in groups and use the territory tools to create or edit territories directly on the map.

Best for: Smaller markets, quick edits, or when local knowledge defines boundaries.

Why it helps: Enables hands-on control — adjust territories ZIP by ZIP, county by county, right on the map.

How to:

1. Click a ZIP, county, state, or city on the map to select it. Hold Shift to select multiple areas.
2. In the mini toolbar, click the puzzle icon to open New territory or Edit territory. Choose New Territory to create a new territory or Edit Territory to update an existing one.
3. If you are editing an existing territory, pick your edit action (Add, Move, Update, Intersect, Remove, or Remove from all except) and click Edit.

3. Import From a Spreadsheet

Import a file with your territory assignments — MapBusinessOnline matches your data to map boundaries and builds territories automatically.

Best for: Fast setup from an existing ZIP/County list, onboarding legacy maps, or rolling out a national scheme.

Why it helps: Turn your company’s official assignments into interactive map territories in minutes — no redrawing or manual selection.

How to:

1. On the main toolbar, click Territories (in Adding to map).
2. On the first page choose the Import territories option.
3. Follow the Create territories wizard. For counties or cities, include a State column since names may repeat across states.
4. Confirm the alignment layer and naming column, then click Create territories.

4. Filter by Attribute Data

Apply filters in the Data Window to isolate geographies meeting specific criteria, then turn the filtered set into a territory.

Best for: Data-driven territories — like targeting ZIPs with high income, large population, or existing customer volume.

Why it helps: Lets you build coverage that reflects business reality, not arbitrary boundaries.

How to:

1. Open the Data Window for your alignment layer (e.g., ZIP Codes).
2. Click the funnel icon (Filter data) and set your conditions (e.g., Population > 50,000).
3. Apply the filter to display matching ZIP Codes.
4. Click New territory icon in the Data Window.
5. In the wizard that starts, select All geographies in the Data view to generate your territory from the filtered set.

5. Multiple Radius Territories at Once

Automatically draw equal-distance circles around several locations at once to define potential territory boundaries.

Best for: Standard coverage rings around many stores, depots, or field offices.

Why it helps: Creates many territories at once with consistent coverage radius — ideal for retail or service operations.

How to:

1. On the main toolbar, click Market analysis → Search & segment data from multiple centers.
2. Select a dataset with your center locations (stores, offices, or service hubs).
3. Choose Straight distance (radius), set your desired radius, and click Next.
4. Select the alignment layer for territories.
5. Check Create multiple territories, add a name prefix, and click Create.

6. Multiple Drive-Time or Drive-Distance Territories at Once

Generate realistic, travel-based territories for multiple locations simultaneously, using road-network drive times or distances instead of simple circles.

Best for:

Designing travel-based territories that reflect real-world accessibility across multiple industries — from market analysis and retail expansion to service coverage and healthcare outreach. Ideal when you need to understand true trade areas, compare location reach, or define service and home-visit zones based on driving time estimates.

Why it helps:

Drive-time and drive-distance methods model how teams and customers actually move, using road networks and time instead of simple radii. This creates territories that are more realistic and actionable — helping you balance workloads, improve response times, and plan expansion with confidence based on realistic travel times.

How to: (requires MapBusinessOnline Pro)

1. On the main toolbar, click Market analysis → Search & segment data from multiple centers.
2. Select a dataset with your center locations (warehouses, clinics, or stores).
3. Select Drive time or Drive distance, set your duration or distance, and click Next.
4. Choose the alignment layer for territories.
5. Check Create multiple territories, add a name prefix, and click Create.

Related Territory Tools

Edit Territory controls: The Create or edit territory dialog provides granular edit actions (Add, Move, Update, Intersect, Remove, Remove from all except) to refine territory coverage.

Manage overlap and intersections: In Map & Data → Territory options, enable Intersections to visualize overlap and resolve with edit actions.

Undo option: Use the Undo arrow on the main toolbar to quickly reverse your last change while editing or creating territories.

Territory properties: Adjust names, colors, or transparency from the territory’s mini toolbar (gear icon) or from the Data Window → Territories view.

Analyze and balance: Use Choose columns in the Data Window to add demographics or imported data (such as sales) for balancing and performance analysis.

Export assignments: From Data Window → Export, choose Territory hierarchy to save assignments to a spreadsheet.

Need Help?

Do you need help choosing the best way to create your territories or a quick walkthrough of the tools? Our team can show you how it works.

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