Open Communications from the main navigation. It’s available to every role except Crew Member. If you don’t see it, it isn’t turned on for your workspace. See Feature availability.
Turn on texting
Until texting is turned on for your workspace, Communications shows Turn on texting for your business with a short list of what texting gives you. Texting from your own number, calling, and voicemail all need texting to be set up first.- Admins see a Turn on texting button.
- Everyone else sees “Ask an admin to turn on texting.”
If marketplace conversations (Thumbtack, Yelp, and the like) have already landed in your workspace, the inbox opens even before texting is turned on, so you can read and reply to those. A banner at the top invites you to Turn on texting to send messages from your own number, and the message box on your own text conversations stays off until texting is approved. See Messages from marketplaces.
1
Open the form
Click Turn on texting. The Turn on texting window opens.
2
Fill in your business details
Only Business name is required, and it starts filled in with your workspace name. The other fields help carriers approve your number faster:
- Business website
- Business registration number or EIN
- Registration country
- Contact name, Phone number, and Email
- Estimated monthly message volume
3
Submit
Click Submit Details. You’ll see “Texting setup submitted”.
If your workspace already has marketplace conversations, you won’t see these full-page screens. The inbox opens instead so you can keep reading and replying to those, with a short note in the message box for your own text conversations: while your number is being set up, it says the inbox opens for texting as soon as your registration is approved; if setup was rejected, it says texting stays off until it’s sorted out. Sending from your own number turns on once texting is approved.
Once your number is approved, the inbox opens. To add more numbers, choose who each one rings, or set up voicemail and call recording, see Communications settings.
Find your way around
Along the top of the inbox you’ll find:- Tabs that filter what’s listed:
- All: every conversation, whether its latest activity is a text, a call, or a voicemail.
- Messages: text conversations only.
- Calls: conversations that include at least one call. See Review calls and voicemails.
- Voicemails: every voicemail, with a player and transcript.
- Snippets: opens your saved replies. See Snippets.
- Your availability (Active, Unavailable, or On a call): controls whether incoming calls ring you. See Make and take calls.
Switch between your numbers
If you’re on one or more of your workspace’s phone lines, the All and Calls tabs show a number switcher above the search box. It starts on All my numbers, with a count of your numbers and branches. Click it to pick a single number and see only that number’s conversations. Numbers are grouped by branch, and each one shows its unread count. A number that belongs to a different branch than the one you’re working in is labeled “Outside your current branch”.Start a new conversation
1
Click New
Click New at the top of the list. The New Message panel opens.
2
Choose who to text
- On the Contacts tab, search for a client or contact and click them. Only contacts with a phone number are listed.
- On the New Number tab, type a US phone number. A check mark appears when the number is valid. Click Start conversation.
3
Write your message
The conversation opens with the message box ready. If you’ve texted this person before, you land in the existing conversation.
Work a conversation
Click a conversation to open it. Texts, calls, and voicemails with that person appear in order, grouped by day.The header
The header shows the contact’s name and number. Next to them you’ll find:- Call: calls this person. See Make and take calls.
- View Client Page: opens the client this number belongs to. It’s grayed out, with “No client is linked to this number yet”, when the number doesn’t match a client.
- More actions (the three dots): Copy Number, and, when the conversation includes a call, a Call options menu for the most recent call. Use it to create a lead from the call or link it to a lead, client, or project. See Link a call to a lead, client, or project.
Send a text
Type in the message box and press Enter to send. Press Shift+Enter for a new line.- Photos. Click the paperclip to attach up to 10 images (JPEG, PNG, or GIF, up to 5 MB each). Wait for them to finish uploading before you send.
- The From line. When a conversation is tied to one of your numbers, a From line above the message box shows that number with a lock. Hover over it to see why: the customer wrote to that line, so the conversation stays locked to it, and calls you place from the conversation go out on it too.
- Failed texts. If a text doesn’t go through, it’s marked Failed. Click Retry to send it again.
Use the command menu
Type / in an empty message box to open the command menu. Use the arrow keys to move, Enter to pick, and Esc to close.Draft a reply with AI
Click the sparkles button next to the message box, or type /ai. Menaia reads the recent back-and-forth and puts a short draft in the message box for you to edit. It never sends on its own. The button only works once the conversation has at least one message. For what the AI will and won’t do, see AI features and limits.Snippets
A snippet is a message you save so you don’t have to retype it. Click Snippets at the top of the inbox, or type /manage in the message box, to open your library. The library has two tabs:- Mine: snippets you created. You can edit or delete these.
- Team: snippets teammates have shared. You can use these, but only the person who shared one can edit it (“Shared by a teammate — only they can edit it.”).
Create a snippet
1
Start a new snippet
Click New snippet.
2
Name it
Enter a Name (for example “Photos on the way”) and a Shortcut (for example
photos). The shortcut is shown with a / in front of it so you can spot the snippet in lists.3
Write the message
Type the Message. Use the Insert buttons to add placeholders. A counter shows the length and roughly how many text segments it will take. Preview in this conversation shows how it reads with sample details filled in.
4
Choose the options
- Share with the team: everyone with access to your numbers can insert it.
- Append your signature: adds your first name and company name to the end, for example ”— Dana, Acme Plumbing”.
- Category: groups the snippet in the library. Snippets without a category go under General.
5
Save
Click Create snippet. To change it later, select it and click Save changes, or Delete snippet to remove it.
{{first_name}} is replaced with the contact’s first name and {{company_name}} with your company name. The other placeholders ({{project_address}}, {{tech_name}}, and {{review_link}}) stay in the text as typed, so replace them before you send.
Messages from marketplaces
Conversations that come from outside platforms show a source badge in the list, such as Thumbtack, Yelp, Angi’s List, Google Business Profile, Google Local Services Ads, or Facebook Business Page. In the open conversation, the header says “via” followed by the platform. These conversations work a little differently from texts:- They don’t depend on your own texting number. Because a reply goes back through the platform rather than your workspace’s number, you can read and reply to a marketplace conversation even when texting isn’t turned on yet, or while your registration is still being set up. Only your own text conversations wait on texting being approved.
- Replies are text only. You can’t attach photos.
- The customer’s number usually isn’t shared, so there’s no call button and no View Client Page. Thumbtack is the exception when Thumbtack shares the customer’s phone number.
- Where your replies go depends on the platform. Thumbtack replies go back through Thumbtack when your Thumbtack account is connected. See Thumbtack leads in Communications. For other platforms, a reply reaches the customer only if your workspace has a connection set up to pass replies back to that platform. If you’re not sure, check with your admin before relying on it.
Convert a conversation to a lead
When a marketplace conversation is worth pursuing, click Convert to Lead in its header.1
Fill in the contact
The Convert to lead window starts with the name from the conversation. A last name is required. Add a Phone or an Email (at least one), since the platform usually hides the customer’s real contact details.
2
Create the lead
Click Create lead. You’ll see “Lead created” and land on the new lead.
Voicemails
Open the Voicemails tab to see every voicemail, newest first. Unheard voicemails show in bold with a dot. Click Load more at the bottom to see older ones. Click a voicemail to open it:- Play it. The first time anyone plays a voicemail, it’s marked heard for everyone.
- Read the AI TRANSCRIPT below the player, when one is available. While it’s still being processed you’ll see “Transcribing…”.
- Delete it with the trash icon, then confirm with Delete.
Who can do what
What’s next
Make and take calls
Call customers, answer incoming calls, and transfer calls to teammates.
Review calls and voicemails
Find past calls, call back missed ones, and link calls to the right records.