Fieldkit
Help Center

Sending Text Messages

Quick version: You can text any customer right from Fieldkit. Go to Messages in the sidebar, pick a conversation, and type your reply. Messages come from your business tracking number.

Before You Can Send Messages

Text messaging requires A2P registration to be complete. If you have not set that up yet, see Setting Up Text Messaging.

Sending a Message from the Messages Page

  1. Click Messages in the sidebar.
  2. Pick a conversation from the list on the left, or find a customer by scrolling through recent conversations.
  3. Type your message in the text box at the bottom.
  4. Press Enter or click the send button.

Your message will be delivered to the customer's phone as a regular text message.

The Conversation View

The Messages page works like a texting app on your phone. On the left you see a list of all your conversations. On the right you see the message history for the selected conversation.

Each conversation shows:

  • The customer's name (if they are in your contacts)
  • Their phone number
  • The most recent message
  • Whether there are unread messages

At the top of each conversation, you will see a link to the customer's profile and their related job if one exists. You can click these to jump to the full customer or job details.

What Number Do Texts Come From

All texts are sent from your business tracking number -- the same number used for call tracking. This is the number your customers see when they receive a text from you.

When a customer replies, their response appears in your Messages inbox automatically.

Sending from a Customer's Profile

You can also start a text conversation from any customer's profile. The customer must have a phone number on file.

Character Limits

Each standard text message holds 160 characters. If your message is longer, it gets split into multiple segments.

Fieldkit shows you a character count and segment count as you type. We recommend keeping messages under 320 characters (2 segments) to keep costs down.

There is no hard limit on how long a message can be, but shorter messages tend to get better responses from customers.

Opt-Outs

Customers can reply STOP to any text to opt out of receiving messages from your business. If a customer has opted out, Fieldkit will let you know when you try to send them a message.

If a customer wants to start receiving texts again, they can reply START to your number.

Tips

  • Keep messages short and to the point -- most people read texts on small screens
  • Always identify your business in the message so customers know who is texting them
  • If a customer asks to stop receiving texts, respect their request immediately
  • Press Shift + Enter to add a new line without sending the message
  • The Messages page updates automatically when customers reply

Related