Tech Send Dispatch texts job details straight to your technicians, and reads their replies to close, cancel or schedule jobs automatically. To do that it needs a phone number of its own. This guide connects one from Twilio.
1 Create your Twilio account
Go to twilio.com and sign up, then verify your email and phone number.
Important: a free trial account can only text phone numbers you have verified in Twilio. Add a payment method and upgrade to a paid account before going live, otherwise messages to your technicians will fail.
2 Buy a phone number
- In the Twilio Console open Phone Numbers, then Manage, then Buy a number.
- Choose your country, tick the SMS capability, and pick a local area code your technicians will recognise.
- Click Buy.
Write the number down in international format, for example +13035550123. That is the format the CRM expects.
3 Copy your Account SID and Auth Token
Open the Twilio Console home page. On the dashboard you will see Account SID (it starts with AC) and Auth Token (click to reveal it). Keep these private, they are the keys to your Twilio account.
4 Enter the details in the CRM
- Sign in to your dashboard, click your profile icon top right, then SMS settings.
- Set Send texts via to Twilio (direct).
- Paste your Twilio Account SID.
- Paste your Twilio Auth Token.
- Enter Your Twilio phone number in the +1 format, for example +13035550123.
- Click Save.
5 Connect replies back to the CRM
This step is what lets your technicians close a job by texting you back. Skip it and you will be able to send, but never receive.
- Still in SMS settings, copy the Inbound webhook URL shown at the bottom.
- In the Twilio Console go to Phone Numbers, then Manage, then Active numbers, and click your number.
- Scroll to Messaging. Under A message comes in, choose Webhook.
- Paste the URL you copied, and set the method to HTTP POST.
- Click Save configuration.
6 Register for A2P 10DLC (United States)
US carriers require every business that texts from a local number to be registered. Without it your messages will be blocked, usually with error 30034.
In the Twilio Console go to Messaging, then Regulatory Compliance, then A2P 10DLC, and register your brand and campaign. Use your real business name and EIN. Approval commonly takes a few days.
7 Send a test job
Add yourself as a technician using your own mobile number, then book a job and send it. You should get a text with the job ID, customer name, phone, address with ZIP, and job type. Reply to it with done, total: 250 and the job should close in the CRM by itself.
What your technicians can text back
Technicians simply reply to the job message. Keep the original Job ID line in the reply so the CRM knows which job is meant.
| To do this | They text something like |
|---|---|
| Close the job with a price | done, total: 250 / closing, total amount 250 |
| Book it as an appointment | appointment tomorrow 2pm |
| Cancel the job | cancel, customer changed their mind |
Troubleshooting
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| Nothing sends, authentication error | The Account SID or Auth Token is wrong. Copy them again from the Twilio Console, watching for extra spaces. |
| Messages fail with error 30034 | Your A2P 10DLC registration is missing or not approved yet. See Step 6. |
| Only your own phone receives texts | You are still on a Twilio trial account. Add a payment method and upgrade. |
| Technician replies never appear | The inbound webhook is not set on the number. Redo Step 5 and check the method is HTTP POST. |
| Message rejected, invalid number | Use international format with the country code, such as +13035550123, for both the Twilio number and your technicians. |
| A reply came in but the job did not close | The reply must keep the Job ID line, and include a closing word such as done, closing or total. If it is unclear the CRM leaves the job alone on purpose. |
Still stuck?
Call us on 866-857-6172, Sunday to Thursday, 6am to 2pm ET, or use the contact page and we will walk you through it.