Text message (SMS) is easy using an Estimate Rocket email sent to Zapier in conjunction with a 3rd party messaging product. In this case Twilio will be the option.
Requirements
- In Estimate Rocket
- Email template specifically designed to send a precise subject and short message body (there is a strict character limit of 152 in the email body)
- For examples see help articles on the specific message that can be sent
- Zapier account
- A premium Zapier account is required because the Free Plan does not allow 3 steps in the same Zap (the Zap does have 3 steps).
- A Zapier specific email address that is configured to receive and parse the Estimate Rocket email.
- Twilio account
- Pay-as-you-go rates on texts are $7.90 per 1000 texts messages as of July 2022.
Steps in the Zapier Zap
- Receive the email
- Parse the subject line of the email to get the TO phone number
- Connect to Twilio and Send the text
The SMS message is sent from a random phone number that is selected when the sign up for Twilio is done, so inclusion of a call back number in the body of the message is critical.
Steps for Setup
- In Estimate Rocket create the email template
- In the other email address sent to field put unique_name_for_you@zapiermail.com (this will need to be edited based on Zapier setup later)
- See examples for what to have the subject and body of the email contain
- In Zapier
- Create a new Zap to receive the email
- Create your unique_name_for_you@zapiermail.com where the placeholder is something related to your company
- Parse the TO phone number out of the subject so there is a proper target phone number
- Connect to Twilio to Send the message
- Detailed Setup page with screen shots
What Can be Sent
These would all be stand alone email templates. Click the link to see the details of the email template.
- Proposal Link to customer portal
- Invoice Link to customer portal
- Appointment confirmation to the client
- Appointment confirmation to the crew
- Link to review page
Send Restrictions
- Primary restriction is the character limit in the body of the message