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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 Save & Test
  6. You'll receive a test SMS to confirm everything works
ℹ️

Your Twilio credentials are encrypted and stored securely. TechsBox 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 (e.g., "Your device is ready for pickup!")
  • Appointment reminders (1 hour before)
  • Custom messages from the job detail page

You can configure which notifications trigger an SMS in Settings → Templates.

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 Messages page for delivery status and error messages

Customer says they didn't get it?

  • Check the Messages page 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