Texting (SMS)
Texting gives your business its own local number. It's a separate channel from your Thumbtack replies — and the one part of setup that involves a real wait.
Two channels, one assistant
- Thumbtack replies go inside the Thumbtack thread. They work from day one and never wait on anything.
- Texting uses your own number to reach customers by SMS — for example day-of-visit coordination with a customer who gave you their number.
Why there's a wait: carrier verification
U.S. carriers require every business that sends texts to register — it's an industry-wide anti-spam rule (called A2P 10DLC), not a Zendro policy. We file the registration for you; the carriers take it from there. Verification typically takes days, sometimes a couple of weeks. There's no way for anyone to skip the line.
The wait holds up texting only. Your assistant answers Thumbtack leads the entire time carriers are vetting. You are not waiting to go live — just to text.
The Texting status line in Settings
- Verifying with carriers — your registration is in review. Nothing for you to do.
- Ready — approved; your number can text.
- Registration snag — the filing hit a problem; we're on it and will reach out if we need anything from you.
- Not set up — you haven't set up texting yet. It's included with your plan; set it up whenever you're ready.
Customer consent and opt-out
Texting follows the rules that keep your number in good standing: customers can text STOP at any time and Capture honors it immediately and permanently across everything automated (a START reply opts them back in). Your assistant only texts customers who reached out to your business in the first place.
Setting it up later
If you skipped texting at signup, no problem — it's included with your plan whenever you're ready. Head back to your welcome page, or email support@zendrocapture.com and we'll get it moving.
Next: The Inbox & approving replies →
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