Text messaging (SMS)

Text customers about their vehicle. The simplest option needs no setup — you text from your own phone with one tap. For automatic texts (status updates, reminders), connect your own Twilio account so the messages come from your number under your registration.

How texting works for your shop

OffNo texting features. Text from my phoneOne tap opens your phone's messaging app, pre‑filled with the customer + message. Free, works immediately, nothing to set up. You are the sender. Automatic — my Twilio account Daedalus sends texts automatically through your Twilio account + number. Requires a Twilio account with A2P 10DLC or toll‑free registration (see below). You remain the registered sender and are responsible for consent + compliance.

Why your own account? Carriers require the business that sends texts to be registered (A2P 10DLC or toll‑free verification). Using your own Twilio account keeps that registration — and the legal responsibility for lawful, consented texting — with your shop. Customer opt‑in is captured per customer on the customer's page.

What it costs and how long it takes

The phone number and the texts themselves are a few dollars a month for a typical shop's volume — a monthly number fee plus a small per‑text cost.
Carrier registration is a separate, smaller cost and it differs by path (toll‑free vs. A2P 10DLC — see below). Check twilio.com/pricing for the current number before you commit — we're not going to print a figure here we haven't re‑verified against Twilio's own page, because a wrong number in a place you're trusting us is worse than no number.
Budget a few days, not a few minutes. Buying the number is instant; carrier approval of your registration is not. Until it clears, stay on Text from my phone — nothing is lost, it just isn't automatic yet.

Daedalus adds no markup on any of this and never sees your Twilio bill — you're billed by Twilio directly.

Which registration should I pick?

Toll‑free verification is generally the simpler path for one location at normal volume.
A2P 10DLC is more paperwork, but the texts come from a local area code — worth it if that matters to your customers, or if you're multi‑location.

Twilio's own comparison has the current detail for each: twilio.com/docs/messaging/compliance.

The whole path: twilio.com → buy a number → complete toll‑free verification or A2P 10DLC registration → wait for approval → paste the credentials above → check the compliance box → send yourself a test.