Setting up SMS
SMS capabilities in Inspector Studio — sending text messages to customers and receiving their replies — require a dedicated business phone number. This is separate from your personal or office phone number and is used only for Inspector Studio messages.
Getting there
Go to Settings → SMS or Settings → Phone Numbers.
Getting a business SMS number
Inspector Studio provisions a phone number for your organization through its SMS carrier. The number is a standard 10-digit US number that customers see as the sender when they receive texts from you.
To request a number:
Go to Settings → SMS.
Click Set Up SMS or Get a Phone Number.
Follow the provisioning steps. You may be asked to verify your business information as part of carrier compliance requirements.
Inspector Studio assigns a number to your account.
The provisioning process typically takes a few minutes to a few hours. Once active, you can send and receive SMS immediately.
10DLC registration
Sending business SMS in the US requires registration with The Campaign Registry (TCR) under a system called 10DLC (10-digit long code). Inspector Studio handles this registration on your behalf as part of the number provisioning process. You will need to provide:
Your business legal name
Your business EIN (tax ID)
A description of how you use SMS (for example, "appointment confirmations and inspection scheduling")
10DLC registration improves deliverability and is required by carriers to prevent spam. Unregistered numbers may have messages blocked or filtered.
Your SMS number vs. your office phone
The SMS number Inspector Studio provides is separate from your real office phone number. Customers text your Inspector Studio SMS number. If they call it, calls may not connect (SMS numbers are often not voice-capable). For voice calls, give customers your regular office number. For text messages, Inspector Studio handles everything through the platform number.
Testing your SMS setup
After your number is active, send a test message to yourself (your own mobile phone) through a Threads SMS message. Confirm you receive the text from the Inspector Studio number and that a reply you send comes back into the thread.
Opting out and compliance
All SMS sent through Inspector Studio includes opt-out compliance. Customers who reply STOP are automatically opted out and will not receive further texts. Inspector Studio tracks opt-out status so your team does not accidentally message an opted-out contact.
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