Texting customers in the US (10DLC)

In the US, phone carriers block business texts from numbers that are not registered. The registration is called A2P 10DLC (“10DLC” for short). You do it once, with the company that provides your texting number (Quo, Twilio or RingCentral), not in BenchKey. BenchKey sends texts through that number, so customers only receive them after your provider approves the registration.

For texts to numbers outside the US, including Australia, follow the provider setup and country checks; this US registration guide applies when texting US numbers.

Start the registration on the day you connect texting. Check the review status with your provider; approval timing depends on the provider and carriers.

Find where to register your texting number and see how BenchKey handles texts while you wait. (1 min 15 s)

What you need before you start

Your provider asks for the same things. Have them ready:

• Your legal business name and address, exactly as they appear on your tax records.
• Your US tax ID (EIN). A shop without an EIN can register as a sole proprietor with Quo or Twilio, with lower sending limits.
• Your website, with a privacy policy that says you don’t share phone numbers. RingCentral declines registrations without a working website.
• What you text about: repair updates to customers who left their number with you (status changes, estimates to approve, “ready for pickup”, payment links).
• How customers agree: describe how customers are told about texts for each way they give you their number. At check-in, staff need to tell customers the number is for texts about their repair. BenchKey’s check-in form shows no texting notice. The online booking page says We’ll text you about this booking. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out. Customers can reply STOP at any time. BenchKey adds Reply STOP to unsubscribe to the first text. List every way in the registration. Providers may ask where they can see it, such as a link to your booking page.
• Two or three sample messages (Quo writes them for you). Copy your shop’s wording from Settings → Workflow → Statuses & Customer Messages: open a status and read Text the customer. For example: “Main Street Repair: your device is ready for pickup (ticket #1234). See you soon. Reply STOP to unsubscribe.”

Registration fees and monthly carrier fees are charged by your provider, not by BenchKey. Check your provider’s pricing page for the current amounts.

Register with your provider

Quo

Complete carrier registration in your Quo workspace. Quo’s guide walks through each field: Quo carrier registration. The guide also lists Quo’s current review times.

Twilio

In the Twilio Console, finish your business profile in Trust Hub first, then register your brand and your campaign under A2P 10DLC. Twilio reviews the brand first, then the campaign; its guide gives current review times: A2P 10DLC quickstart.

RingCentral

Your RingCentral admin completes the SMS Registration form in the RingCentral Admin Portal. The carriers review it before texting starts. RingCentral’s checklist: SMS registration. In BenchKey, the RingCentral page shows a RingCentral SMS registration reminder once RingCentral is your texting provider.

Connect texting in BenchKey

1. Open Settings → Integrations & Shipping → Integrations.
2. Open QUO (SMS), RingCentral or Twilio and connect it. Each page has Setup help with the exact fields. The integrations guide has the steps for each provider.
3. Under How texting works, the line says No texting provider is set up yet. until a provider is saved. Later, it says Texts send through QUO., Texts send through Twilio. or Texts send through RingCentral. On Standard, it says On Standard, texts go from your own phone. Choose Change and check that Provider shows the provider you connected. On a new shop it already shows QUO, so leave it if you connected Quo. Connecting Twilio selects Twilio for you. A new choice saves right away with Texting provider saved. The line above updates after you reopen the page.
4. After your provider approves the registration, open Settings → Integrations & Shipping → Integrations. If it shows Waiting for carrier approval, choose Try texts again. Then, between 8 AM and 9 PM in your shop’s time zone (the default texting hours), change a test ticket with your own mobile number, not the shop’s texting number, to a status that texts. Check that the text arrives.

Sending texts from your shop’s number is part of Pro and Business. On Standard, every text goes from your own phone (see below).

What works while you wait

• Email updates. New shops send status emails for most statuses, so customers still hear from you.
• The customer status page. Emails include the link where customers follow the repair, approve estimates and pay.
• Text from your phone. In a ticket’s Customer panel, Text from your phone opens your phone’s Messages app with the update and tracking link already written. It works on every plan and needs no registration, because it is your own phone.

Automatic texts are switched on

New shops start with text messages switched on for five statuses (Pending Approval, Waiting on Customer, Pending Payment, Ready for Pickup and Mailed Back To Customer) and for events such as a new ticket, a sent invoice or estimate, and a received payment. Until your registration is approved, those texts don’t reach customers. On Standard, automatic texts don’t send at all (status emails still do); text from your phone instead.

To pause a status text, open Settings → Workflow → Statuses & Customer Messages, open the status, and switch Text the customer to Off on its message. Leave Email the customer on. Event texts are on the same page: open Messages on other events below the status list and switch off Text for each event. Leave Email on. Turn them back on once your registration is approved.

If a text doesn’t arrive

Open the ticket’s Ticket panel and check Activity log. A text that didn’t go out shows a line like Text not sent: Ready for Pickup message, because texting is not set up yet (Settings → Integrations). Select the line to go where you fix it. Reasons include:

• texting is not set up yet: connect a provider (steps above).
• US A2P registration is incomplete with the texting provider: finish the registration with your provider.
• automatic texts are paused until US carriers approve your texting number: a carrier refused a text, so BenchKey paused automatic texts (emails still go out). After approval, choose Try texts again in Settings → Integrations & Shipping → Integrations, or wait: BenchKey lets one text through about every 6 hours to check.
• the texting provider has not approved this account yet: the review is still running. Check its status with your provider.

If you send a text by hand through Twilio before approval, it may say Text not sent: US A2P registration is incomplete with the texting provider. It may also look sent and then show as failed in the conversation. Complete the brand and campaign registration in Twilio, then send again.

Outside the US and toll-free numbers

10DLC applies to US local numbers. Toll-free numbers go through a separate verification with your provider instead. Outside the US, your provider’s rules apply; check with them before texting customers.