# Text clients with Twilio

> Crewtavo texts clients (quotes, invoices, messages, on-my-way texts) and receives their replies through your own Twilio number. Buy a number, register it, add three variables to the crewtavo service on Railway, and point the number's incoming messages at Crewtavo.

Crewtavo sends and receives text messages (SMS) through a phone number you get from [Twilio](https://www.twilio.com/). You pay Twilio directly, and texts come from your own business number. It takes about half an hour to set up, plus the wait while US carriers approve your number.

Setting it up is done on the server, so it's usually the owner, or whoever has access to your Railway project.

## What texting does in Crewtavo

Once it's on:

- **Quotes and invoices** can be sent by **Text** as well as by email (see [Create and send a quote](https://crewtavo.com/docs/sales/quotes/) and [Create an invoice and get paid](https://crewtavo.com/docs/billing/invoices/)).
- **Messages** can text clients, and their replies come back into the same conversation. See [Text and email clients from Messages](https://crewtavo.com/docs/clients/messages/).
- **Automations** can text clients with the **Text the client** action. The ready-made **Text the client when the crew is on the way** rule texts them when a crew taps **On my way**. It's off until you turn it on in **Settings → Automations** (see [Automate reminders and follow-ups](https://crewtavo.com/docs/clients/automations/)).
- **Review requests** can go by text (see [Ask for Google reviews](https://crewtavo.com/docs/clients/reviews/)), and so can a roof estimate's signed copy.
- **Your team** can get their notifications by text, if they choose it in their notification settings (see [Your profile, notifications and Crewtavo on your phone](https://crewtavo.com/docs/team/your-profile-and-phone/)).
- **Subcontractors** can get job offers, paperwork requests and **Text sign-in link** by text, and a sub on a new phone can sign in with a 6-digit code texted from your number. Without texting, those codes go by email. See [Work with subcontractors](https://crewtavo.com/docs/team/subcontractors/).

Everything Crewtavo texts a client is kept in their conversation in **Messages**.

:::note
Texting is set up for the whole server. If more than one business runs on your Crewtavo, they all text from this one number, and a reply goes to the business that has a client with that phone number.
:::

## What it costs

Twilio charges for the phone number each month and for each text, sent or received. A text over 160 characters is billed as several. In the US there are also fees to register your number with the carriers (one-time, plus a small monthly fee). For a small business it usually comes to a few dollars a month plus a cent or two a text, but check [Twilio's SMS pricing](https://www.twilio.com/en-us/sms/pricing/us) for your country.

Twilio's free trial works for trying it out, but it can only text numbers you've verified in Twilio and adds a note to each text. Upgrade the account before texting clients.

## Set up texting

### 1. Get a Twilio number

1. [Sign up for Twilio](https://www.twilio.com/try-twilio) and add a payment method to upgrade from the trial.
2. In the Twilio Console, open **Phone Numbers → Manage → Buy a number**.
3. Pick a local number that can send SMS, ideally in your area code, and buy it.

### 2. Register the number (US)

US carriers block texts from business numbers that aren't registered for **A2P 10DLC**. In the Twilio Console, register your business (the "brand") and how you'll text (the "campaign"), and add your number to the Messaging Service the campaign uses (you can create one while registering). Twilio's guide walks through it: [A2P 10DLC registration](https://www.twilio.com/docs/messaging/compliance/a2p-10dlc).

Describe what you send: appointment reminders, quotes and invoices, and replies to customers. If your subs sign in with a texted code, list one-time passcodes too. Approval can take from a few days to a few weeks, and until it's done Twilio blocks texts from the number to US phones (error 30034). Toll-free numbers have their own verification instead.

### 3. Copy your account details

On the Twilio Console's home page, under **Account Info**, copy the **Account SID** (it starts with `AC`) and the **Auth Token**. Use the Auth Token itself, not an API key.

### 4. Add the variables in Railway

1. In Railway, open your project, then the **crewtavo** service, then **Variables**.
2. Add these three:

   | Variable | Value |
   | --- | --- |
   | `TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID` | Your Account SID, like `AC1234…` |
   | `TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN` | Your Auth Token |
   | `TWILIO_FROM_NUMBER` | Your Twilio number with the country code and no spaces, like `+15551234567` |

3. Deploy the change when Railway asks.

All three are needed: with any one missing, texting stays off. With Docker, add them to `.env.instance` and run `npm run instance` again. (See [Optional settings](https://crewtavo.com/docs/hosting/settings/) for the other variables.)

### 5. Send replies to Crewtavo

So clients' replies come into **Messages**, tell Twilio where to send them:

1. In the Twilio Console, open **Phone Numbers → Manage → Active numbers** and choose your number.
2. Under **Messaging Configuration**, set **A message comes in** to **Webhook**, with this address and **HTTP POST**:

   ```
   https://your-crewtavo-address/api/webhooks/twilio
   ```

   Use the address you open Crewtavo at, like `https://crm.yourcompany.com` or your `….up.railway.app` address, followed by `/api/webhooks/twilio`.
3. Save.

Type the address exactly: `https://` at the start and no slash at the end. Crewtavo checks that each incoming text really came from Twilio, and the check fails if the address differs. If you later [move Crewtavo to your own domain](https://crewtavo.com/docs/hosting/own-domain/), the old address keeps working, so replies don't stop; you can change it in Twilio to the new one whenever you like.

:::tip[If your number is in a Messaging Service]
Registering for A2P 10DLC usually puts your number in a Messaging Service, and the service's settings can take over from the number's. In **Messaging → Services**, open the service, then **Integration**, and under incoming messages choose **Defer to sender's webhook** (Twilio's default), or **Send a webhook** with the same address as above.
:::

## Check it works

1. Reload Crewtavo. "Texting isn't turned on yet." should be gone from **Messages** and the send options.
2. Open a client whose **Phone** is your own mobile number. You can add yourself as a client to test.
3. In **Messages**, choose **Text**, write a message and send it. It should arrive on your phone from your Twilio number.
4. Reply from your phone. Within half a minute the reply shows in that client's conversation, and owners, admins and office staff get "New text from a client".

## Apps → Twilio

**Apps → Twilio** shows **Not available yet** ("Ask whoever set up Crewtavo to turn on Twilio.") until the variables are set. After that, there's nothing to install there: texting already works from the variables, and a key saved on that page isn't used.

## Troubleshooting

| What happens | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| **Text** says "Texting isn't turned on yet." after you added the variables | Check all three are on the **crewtavo** service, spelled exactly, and that the change was deployed. Then reload Crewtavo. |
| "The text provider refused it (…)" | Twilio turned the text down, and the words after the code say why. A trial account can only text verified numbers; a number that replied STOP can't be texted until it replies START; and the number has to be a mobile that can get texts. |
| "Couldn't reach the text provider. Try again." | Twilio didn't answer in time. Try again in a minute. |
| Crewtavo says it was texted, but it never arrives | In the Twilio Console, open **Monitor → Logs → Messaging** and look at the message's status and error. In the US it's usually a number whose A2P 10DLC registration isn't approved yet (error 30034). |
| A client's reply doesn't show up | Check that the number they texted from is the **Phone** on their client record: texts from numbers that aren't on a client are dropped. A text with only a picture doesn't come in either. |
| No replies show up at all | Check the webhook address and **HTTP POST** (step 5), and the Messaging Service tip. In **Monitor → Logs → Errors**, a 403 means the address in Twilio isn't exactly your Crewtavo address, or the Auth Token in Railway isn't the current one. |
| Texting stopped after you changed the Auth Token in Twilio | Put the new token in `TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN` and deploy. Sending and receiving both use it. |

Still stuck? See [Getting help](https://crewtavo.com/docs/support/getting-help/).

Source: https://crewtavo.com/docs/connections/texting-with-twilio/ (last updated 2026-10-28)