Table of Contents
Overview
Instantly communicate with your clients and manage your conversations in a single place.
Two-way text messaging allows you to start and carry on a conversation with a client directly in Jobber so you can continue to work without switching between programs. On Jobber subscriptions where two-way text messaging is available, there is no additional cost to you associated with the messages you send through Jobber.
Two-way text messaging availability
Two-way text messaging is available on the Grow Plan in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. Two-way text messaging is not available while in trial.
Two-way text messaging is available to administrators and users who have the two-way text message permission enabled. This permission can be updated by going to the Gear Icon > Manage Team > User and updating their custom permissions. Each message sent through the message center will display the name of the user who sent it.
This article covers how to use two-way text messaging while using Jobber from a desktop, check out Two-Way Text Messaging in the Jobber App to learn more about how to use two-way text messaging while out in the field.
Jump to Two-way text messaging settings
Select a dedicated phone number
Before messaging with your clients, make sure you select a dedicated phone number. This is the phone number that your automated messages will be sent from and where your clients can reply back.
You can select a dedicated phone number by going to the Gear Icon > Settings > Two-Way Text Messaging. If you open the message center before selecting a number, you will be prompted to select one first.
Message center
To view messages with your clients, open the message center by clicking the message icon in the top navigation menu on jobber.com.
The message center will open a drawer where you can see all the messages you have sent to clients. The client's name, phone number, and a preview of the message appears. If the client is a lead or has been archived, a label will show to indicate they aren't an active client.
When a message in the message center is unread, there will be a red dot on that message indicating that it's new.
To find messages quickly, there is a search bar at the top of the message center. Searching client names or phone numbers will pull up text messages that match those terms.
Note: Both the new message flag and red dot on conversations indicate that a message has been read. These indicators operate on the account level which means that if a user opens a new message, that message will appear as read to all users on the account.
Note: For your clients to receive a text message sent through Jobber, they must have a text message-enabled phone number.
Filter by unread
To narrow down the messages in the message center so that you only see unread messages, use the message filter. Click the filter icon (located on the right side of the message search bar) then from the drop-down, select Unread.
If you navigate away from the message center and then return later, the filter will stay applied showing you only unread messages. To see all your messages again (including ones that you have read and responded to), click Clear Filter.
Send a message
To send a new message to a client, click the message icon in the top navigation to expand the message center. Then, click the compose icon.
If the client you're texting is someone brand new and you don't have a message history yet, type their phone number into the search bar to start a new message with them.
If the client you're texting is someone you've messaged before, you can search their name or number from the search bar to pull up your previous history with them. If you've texted them recently, you can also select their conversation from the message center conversation list rather than using the search.
Each message sent by your company will show the user that sent it. For automated notifications like an appointment reminder, it will show "Jobber" as the user who sent the message. Each message is time-stamped so you can see when the message was sent. After 24 hours, the time will change from the time the message was sent to the day of the week.
Type your text message into the Send a message text box. This field has an autosave so that if you start typing a message and then navigate away, when you come back to this conversation you can pick up where you left off since the message you typed will still be there.
When a message is sent regarding a specific item like a visit, quote, or invoice there will be a link to that item in the message center so you can view it in Jobber.
Note: For your client's privacy, in the message center we hide private client hub links however when your client views the text message on their device, the links will be visible and clickable.
If someone texts your dedicated phone number and they are not currently a client in your Jobber account, they will show up as "unknown" since their phone number doesn't match a client in Jobber.
In the future, once you get to know this person, if you add the unknown number as a client and they text you again, the message thread in the message center will update with the client name.
Receiving images or attachments
Your clients can send you images that can be viewed in the message center, however sending images is only available to clients and you cannot send clients images through two-way messaging. A workaround may be to send clients a link to Google Drive or another image hosting platform where you can save a folder with images.
Note: Due to a limitation from our text messaging service, receiving images (MMS) is not supported in Great Britain.
Click View Image to open the image.
Note: Messages can contain up to 10 images and 1600 characters, as long as the entire message is under 5MB. If a client sends a video, since it is sent by MMS it will likely be compressed which can affect video quality.
Actions on conversations
There are actions you can take on a conversation directly from the message center including:
- marking the conversation as unread
- viewing the client
- reassigning the conversation to another client
- deleting the conversation
To take an action on a conversation, select the More actions icon (...), then select one of the options from the dropdown.
Mark as unread
If there is a message that you would like to come back to later, it can be marked as unread in the message center so that it still appears as a new message. To mark a message as unread, in the top right of the message, click the More actions icon (...) > Mark as unread.
Once the message is marked as unread, you will be taken out of the conversation with the client and back to your list of messages. The message you have marked as unread will appear as a new message for all members of your team who have access to text messages.
View client
If you need to reference information about client the conversation is with, select the More actions icon (...) > View client. You will be taken to their profile in Jobber where you can view details like their contact details, property information, work and billing history, their upcoming schedule, and notes and attachments. Learn more about Client Basics.
Reassign conversation
If you have more than one client with the same phone number, their text conversation can be reassigned to a new client with the same phone number. To reassign the conversation, select the More actions icon (...) > Reassign conversation. Next, select the client to assign this conversation to.
Note: This client must have the same phone number as the client in the original conversation.
Once you've selected the new client, you'll be prompted to confirm the reassignment. Click Reassign to move the conversation to the new client.
Now that the client is reassigned, all texts from this phone number going forward will be listed under the new client's name.
Delete conversation
To delete a conversation, select More actions icon (...) > Delete conversation.
Note: Once a conversation has been deleted, it is final and cannot be brought back.
Failed message deliveries
If a client ever wants to opt-out of messages from you, they can text "STOP" to your dedicated phone number. If this happens, you will receive an email to let you know that they have opted out. In the future if the client would like to opt back into messages, they can send a text saying "START" and they will resume. For clients who opt-out of receiving text messages, we suggest that you contact them via email instead.
If a text message ever fails to be delivered, the message will show up in the message center as red. In this situation, you would need to copy and paste the message into the text box and send it again.
Reporting
The client communications report shows a history of emails and text messages that have been sent to your clients through Jobber. This report includes messages like quotes, invoices, automated notifications, booking confirmations, and on my way texts. The client communications report does not include replies back to these messages from your clients. The back-and-forth messaging between you and your clients that happens in the message center, stays in the message center and does not appear in the client communications report.