Send texts through your own Twilio account

6 steps10 min read

About ten minutes in Twilio, two in Afi Planner. Until SMS is connected, email and the tracking page still work, and SMS options show what they need.

1. 1

   Step 1: Open a Twilio account and upgrade it

   Sign up at twilio.com and add a payment method. A trial account can only text numbers you have verified and adds a trial notice to every text, so upgrade before you text customers.

2. 2

   Step 2: Get a sender

   Buy a phone number with SMS in the country you deliver in. Recommended: create a Messaging Service and add the number to it, so Twilio handles STOP replies and you can add numbers later without touching Afi Planner. In the US, texts from a local 10-digit number need A2P 10DLC registration (brand and campaign) in Twilio first, and a toll-free number needs toll-free verification; unregistered texts are blocked by the carriers.

3. 3

   Step 3: Create an API key

   In the Twilio Console, create a Standard API key. Copy its SID (starts with SK) and its secret: Twilio shows the secret only once. Also copy your Account SID (starts with AC) from the Console home page.

4. 4

   Step 4: Enter it in Afi Planner

   As the account owner, open Settings → Advanced → Connections → SMS (your Twilio account). Enter the Account SID, the sender (the Messaging Service SID starting with MG, or the number like +15551234567), the API key SID and the secret, then Save. The card shows Ready when everything is in place.

5. 5

   Step 5: Send yourself a test

   Open Help → Send me a test delivery and add your mobile number. You get the same texts your customers get, and the real tracking page. If a text can’t be sent, the order’s story in Afi Planner says why.

6. 6

   Step 6: Costs and opt-outs

   Twilio bills your account for every text; each message preview in Settings → Customer messages shows how many SMS segments it uses. Customers who reply STOP are opted out by Twilio, and Afi Planner stops texting that number.