Sending your first SMS
Sending your first SMS
VanMan's built-in SMS messaging lets you keep customers informed at every stage of their move -- from booking confirmation to day-of arrival updates. Messages are sent through an integrated Twilio connection, and you can create reusable templates with dynamic variables so your team never has to type the same message twice.
How to set up SMS
Enable your SMS provider
Navigate to SettingsCommunications and open the SMS tab. Click Connect Twilio and enter your Twilio Account SID, Auth Token, and the phone number you want messages sent from. VanMan will verify the credentials and send a test message to your admin phone number to confirm the connection is live.
Create a message template
Still on the Communications page, click Templates and then New Template. Give it a clear name like "Booking Confirmation" or "On Our Way". Write your message body using plain text and insert dynamic variables where needed -- for example:
"Hi , your move on at from is confirmed. Reply to this number if you have any questions."
Click Save Template when you're happy with the wording.
Send a test SMS
Before going live, send a test to yourself. Open any existing job, click Send SMS, choose your new template, and preview the message with the job's real data filled in. Change the recipient number to your own mobile if you want to verify delivery. Check that all variables resolve correctly and the message reads naturally.
Automate or send manually
You can attach templates to workflow triggers so messages send automatically -- for instance, sending a "We're on our way" SMS when a driver marks a job as In Transit. Alternatively, operators can send messages manually from any job detail screen whenever a personal touch is needed.
Available template variables include , , , , , and . You can find the full list in SettingsCommunicationsTemplates by clicking the Insert Variable button.
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