How to set up texting and calling
Texting and calling run through a business phone number Pillar rents for you, paid for with prepaid credit you buy in the app. This guide walks the whole setup, from credit and the number through carrier registration to your first text.
Add credit and turn texting on
Where to clickAdminText & CallsAdd credit
Press Admin at the bottom of the left sidebar, then pick Text & Calls from the admin menu that appears. The Texting & calling credit card sits at the top of that page, with Add credit next to your balance.
Before anything is charged, Pillar shows the exact rates, the minimum first purchase, and the charges that repeat every month, and you tick the acknowledgment yourself. Only owners can add credit or turn texting on.
Texting and calling run on prepaid credit at the carrier rates plus a markup. The rates are on the pricing page.
With a funded balance, press Enable Twilio Integration on the Connection Status card and Pillar sets up your messaging account. Twilio is the carrier network your texts and calls travel over.
Get a business phone number
Where to clickAdminText & CallsManage NumbersAdd Phone Number
Nothing can be sent until you have a number of your own. Back on Text & Calls, press Manage Numbers, then Add Phone Number.
Choose Local Number or Toll-Free Number, type an area code if you want one, and press Search Available Numbers. Pick a number from the results, give it a Friendly Name, and press Provision Number.
Leave Purpose on Primary Business Line for your main line, and list the phones you want incoming calls sent to under Forward Calls To. Calls to the new number then ring the handset your crew already answers.
Register with the carriers
Where to clickAdminText & CallsStart Registration
US carriers require every business texting number to be registered, which the app calls A2P 10DLC Registration. On Text & Calls, press Start Registration and fill in the brand form with your legal company name, EIN, and business address.
Brand review takes 1 to 7 business days. When it clears, the page moves you on to Register Campaign, where you describe how your customers agreed to be texted and give sample messages, and that review takes another 1 to 5 business days.
Text a customer from their record
Where to clickCustomersopen the customerSMS & CallsSend SMS
Press Customers in the left sidebar and open the customer you want to text. Scroll to Communication History, open the SMS & Calls tab, and press Send SMS.
Pick a Message Template such as On The Way or write your own, and the composer counts the segments as you type. Replies land in the same thread, and every message is listed under SMS Log.
Set your consent rule
Where to clickAdminText & CallsRequire consent before texting a customerSave Changes
New accounts start with Require consent before texting a customer switched on, in the Feature Settings card on Text & Calls. With it on, a text to a customer with no consent recorded is blocked and logged instead of sent.
Record consent on the customer themselves: open them, press Edit Customer, tick This customer has agreed to receive text messages, and answer How did they agree? Pillar stamps the date when you save.
Common questions
What does texting cost?
Texting and calling run on prepaid credit, and the app shows you the exact rates and the minimum first purchase before you turn anything on. The same rates are published on the Pillar pricing page.
Why are my texts not sending?
The three usual reasons are a balance at zero, carrier registration that has not been approved yet, and the consent requirement blocking a customer with nothing recorded. The credit card at the top of Text & Calls and the registration status on the same page tell you which one you are looking at.
Do I have to use a new phone number?
Pillar rents you a number of its own, local or toll-free. Calls to it can ring the phone you already answer, so list those handsets under Forward Calls To while you are setting the number up.
Who on my team can set this up?
Adding credit, turning texting on, adding a phone number, and carrier registration are all owner only. Sending a text from a customer record is open to dispatchers as well.
What happens if the balance runs out?
Texting and calling pause until you top up. Your phone number and its carrier registration keep their monthly charges through a short grace window, and the number is released back to the carrier if the balance is still empty when that window ends.