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Connect your Twilio account to send SMS notifications to customers.

SMS Setup

TechsBox uses Twilio to send SMS notifications. You bring your own Twilio account: this gives you full control over your phone number, messaging costs, and compliance.

What You'll Need

  • A Twilio account (free to create)
  • A Twilio phone number (starting at ~$1/month)
  • Your Twilio Account SID and Auth Token

Step-by-Step Setup

1. Create a Twilio Account

  1. Go to twilio.com and sign up
  2. Verify your email and phone number
  3. You'll get some free trial credits to start

2. Get a Phone Number

  1. In the Twilio console, go to Phone Numbers → Buy a Number
  2. Choose a local number (customers prefer seeing a local area code)
  3. Make sure it has SMS capability enabled
  4. Purchase the number

3. Find Your Credentials

  1. Go to the Twilio console dashboard
  2. Copy your Account SID (starts with "AC...")
  3. Copy your Auth Token (click to reveal)

4. Connect to TechsBox

  1. In TechsBox, go to Settings → SMS
  2. Enter your Twilio Account SID
  3. Enter your Twilio Auth Token
  4. Enter your Twilio phone number (in E.164 format: +1XXXXXXXXXX)
  5. Click Connect Twilio. TechsBox checks the credentials with Twilio before saving them
  6. Use Send Test on the same page to text yourself and confirm it works
ℹ️

TechsBox uses your Twilio credentials only to send your shop's texts, and never shares them with third parties.

SMS Costs

Twilio charges per message. Typical US rates:

  • Outbound SMS: ~$0.0079 per message
  • Phone number: ~$1.00/month

For a shop sending 500 status updates per month, that's about $5/month total.

💡

Twilio offers volume discounts. As your message volume grows, your per-message cost decreases.

What Gets Sent via SMS?

Once configured, TechsBox can send SMS for:

  • Job status updates when a job is checked in, started, or complete (e.g., "Your device is ready for pickup!")
  • Invoices, using the Text button on an invoice
  • Appointment reminders, about a day before a confirmed appointment, if you turn them on (see Appointment Reminders)

You can switch each automatic status text on or off in Settings → SMS. Appointment reminder texts are off until you turn them on in Settings → Booking or Settings → SMS.

Texts are one-way. Customer replies go to your Twilio number, not into TechsBox.

Troubleshooting

SMS not sending?

  • Verify your Account SID and Auth Token are correct
  • Make sure your Twilio account has sufficient balance
  • Check that the customer has a valid phone number on file
  • Look at the job's activity log: a sent status text is recorded there

Customer says they didn't get it?

  • Check the message logs in your Twilio console for the delivery status
  • Verify the phone number is correct (including country code)
  • Some carriers filter automated messages: Twilio's support can help with deliverability