Text messaging (SMS)

Text customers about their vehicle. Texting from Daedalus gives your shop its own local number with two-way texting: customers' replies come into Messages and onto their repair order, and we file the carrier registration for you. You can also text from your own phone with one tap, or connect a Twilio account you already have.

How texting works for your shop

Texting from Daedalus Recommended Your shop gets its own local texting number. Status updates and reminders go out automatically, customers can text you back, and their replies land in Messages. We register you with the carriers — about two weeks to approve. 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. Advanced — my own 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.

Carriers only deliver business texts from registered senders. Fill this in once; we file it for you. Use your business's details exactly as they appear on your IRS EIN letter — a mismatch is the most common reason a registration is turned down.

Does your business have an EIN?

Yes — it has a federal tax ID (every LLC and corporation does)

No — I'm a sole proprietor with no EIN

Legal business name

Exactly as on the IRS letter, including LLC or Inc.

EIN

Nine digits. Leave blank to keep the one on file.

Registered as

Website (optional)

No website? Leave it blank — we publish the pages the carriers check.

Street address

Suite / unit (optional)

City

State

ZIP

Who the carriers can contact

First name

Last name

Business phone

Area code for your texting number

I agree to the texting rules.

We text customers only about their own vehicles and appointments, unless they have separately agreed to offers.
Every customer who replies STOP gets no more texts — Daedalus enforces this automatically.
No texts about cannabis, firearms, gambling, loans or anything else the carriers forbid; no purchased lists.
Automatic texts only go out 8am–8pm, shop time.

There's nothing to pay at this step.

What your texts say

Write each one the way you'd say it. Words starting with $ are filled in when the text is sent; each message lists the ones it can use. A text is billed per segment — keep an eye on the count.

Why registration? Carriers require every business that texts customers to be registered (A2P 10DLC or toll‑free verification). Texting from Daedalus files it for you, in your business's name. With your own Twilio account, that registration — and the legal responsibility for lawful, consented texting — stays with your shop. Either way, customer opt‑in is captured per customer on the customer's page.

The rest of this note is about connecting your own Twilio account.

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.