Business texting · Tonet
Text customers from your business number. Not your cell.
SMS and MMS from the same number customers already call, in a browser tab or the phone app, with the whole team on the thread. Here is how it works, what the carrier registration is, and what it costs.
From $10 a user a month. Texts are 3¢ each on Pay As You Go and included on Unlimited.
LIVE DEMO · TYPE A REPLY AND SEND IT
Why the business number
Three things a personal cell can't do.
Keep the thread when people change
The conversation belongs to the business line, not to whoever happened to answer. When someone leaves, the customer's history, their number and the open questions stay in the account.
Let the team see it
Everyone with permission on the number sees the same conversation and who replied. Nobody has to forward screenshots, and the morning shift can pick up where the evening shift stopped.
Text the number they already call
One number on the sign, the website and the invoice. Customers text it the way they would call it, and the text shows up next to their calls and notes on their contact page.
What you can send
Texts, pictures, PDFs. One person at a time.
- SMS
- Plain texts to any US mobile number, from any Tonet number you have permission to text from.
- MMS
- Pictures and files in the same thread: JPEG, PNG and GIF images, MP4 video, MP3 and OGG audio, and PDF. Up to 10 attachments and 5 MB per message.
- Receiving
- Works the moment you have a number. Incoming texts land in Messages and on the contact's page, and your phone app notifies you.
- Delivery status
- Each sent text shows the carrier's status: queued, sent, delivered. Delivered means the carrier handed it over, not that the person read it. There are no read receipts in SMS.
- Names
- A saved contact's name and business show on the thread, so the shop sees “Dana Brooks, Brooks Roofing”, not ten digits.
- One recipient
- A conversation is with one person. Tonet is for talking to customers, not for blasting a list, and the carriers' rules say the same.
The step every provider has
Registration, explained.
US carriers only deliver business texts from registered numbers. The registration is called A2P 10DLC: business texting from an ordinary ten-digit number. Every provider has to file it for you. Tonet's form lives in the dashboard, and Tonet checks it before anything goes to the carriers, because the fees are not refunded if a filing is rejected.
Until your campaign is approved, texts people send you still arrive. Calls, voicemail and team chat are not affected.
Full walkthrough: texting registration in the docs.
- 1Gather four things
Your legal business name and EIN as on your IRS letter, a website with a privacy policy and terms, how people agree to get your texts (a checkbox on a booking form is typical), and two example texts you will really send. One of them says how to opt out.
- 2Fill the form in the dashboard
Manage, Phones, SMS Registration. Pick a campaign type, confirm the business details Tonet already knows, describe the campaign, pick the numbers that will text, sign with your name.
- 3Tonet checks it, then files it
If something is missing or too short, the form says what, before it costs anything. Then it goes to the carriers.
- 4Carrier review, usually a few business days
A brand sent to manual review can take seven business days or more. You get an email when it is decided, and the number's card shows Texting approved. Numbers you buy later are added without a new fee.
| Campaign type | Monthly | Brand, once | Vetting, once |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sole Proprietor One campaign per brand | $2.00 | $4.00 | $15.00 |
| Low Volume Standard A mix of uses, up to 2,000 segments a day to T-Mobile | $1.50 | $4.00 | $15.00 |
| Standard Every use case on the form | $10.00 | $44.00 | $15.00 |
One-time fees are charged when the filing goes to the carriers and are not refunded if it is rejected. The monthly fee starts once the campaign is approved. The form shows your account's exact prices.
US dollars · billed by the day
What texting costs a two-person shop.
Both plans have every feature. The difference is how calls and texts are paid for. The example below is a shop with two people on the line, one number and the Low Volume Standard registration.
$10 per user, per month
- Two users $20.00
- 300 texts at 3¢ $9.00
- One number $2.50
- Registration, monthly $1.50
- A month, texts included $33.00
$15 per user, per month
- Two users $30.00
- US texts Included
- One number $2.50
- Registration, monthly $1.50
- A month, texts included $34.00
Calls are 1¢ a minute on Pay As You Go and included on Unlimited. Users are billed only for the days they are active. No contract, no setup fee, no seat minimum. Unlimited has a fair-use policy: it is not for call centers, auto-dialers or bulk SMS.
Start with $15Where you text from
The same places you take calls.
A browser tab
Messages sits next to Calls in the dashboard. Open a thread, type, send. Attach a file from your computer.
The phone app
iPhone and Android. Incoming texts notify you, and a reply goes out from the business number, never from your own.
The contact page
Every person you deal with has one page: calls, texts, notes and transcripts in one timeline, with a text button at the top.
Per number, per user
Each number has its own permissions. The shop line can be texted by three people, the owner's direct line by one.
Team chat beside it
Direct and group messages for your own team, with files and reactions, so the customer thread stays for the customer.
Desk phones for calls
A desk phone answers the same number. Texts stay on the screen and in the app, where you can read them.
Before you count on it
What business texting is not.
- Not instant on day one. Receiving is. Sending waits for the carrier approval, usually a few business days, sometimes more.
- Not a blast tool. One recipient per conversation. Marketing lists and bulk sends are outside the plan and outside the registration you file.
- Not a read receipt. Delivered is the carrier's word that the text was handed over. Whether it was read, SMS cannot tell anyone.
- Not toll-free. This registration covers local numbers. Texting from a toll-free number is a different carrier check that takes days to weeks. Email support@tonet.ai to ask about it.
Questions
Business texting, answered
Can I text from my business number with Tonet?
Yes. Every Tonet number can send and receive SMS and MMS. Receiving works as soon as you have the number. Sending starts once your one-time carrier registration is approved, which you file from the dashboard.
What does a business text cost?
3 cents a text on Pay As You Go, on top of $10 per user a month. On Unlimited, $15 per user a month, US texts are included. Every number is $2.50 a month, and a registered texting campaign carries a small monthly carrier fee, from $1.50.
What is 10DLC registration and why do I need it?
A2P 10DLC is the US carriers' registration for businesses that text from ordinary ten-digit numbers. Carriers block business texts from unregistered numbers, so every provider has to file one for you. It asks for your legal business name and EIN, your website, how people opt in and two sample texts. Tonet checks the form before filing it because the fees are not refunded if a filing is rejected.
How long does texting registration take?
Carrier review usually takes a few business days after Tonet files it. A brand sent to manual review can take seven business days or more. You get an email when it is decided. If it is still under review after two weeks, email support@tonet.ai.
Can my whole team see and answer texts?
Yes. A conversation is shared by every team member with permission on that number, and the thread shows who replied. Permissions are set per number, so a shared shop line and a personal direct line can have different people on them.
Can I send pictures and PDFs?
Yes. MMS supports JPEG, PNG and GIF images, MP4 video, MP3 and OGG audio, and PDF files, up to 10 attachments and 5 MB per message.
Does texting work from the phone app?
Yes. The iPhone and Android apps notify you of incoming texts, and replies go out from the business number, not from your personal one. The same threads are in the dashboard in a browser.
Can I text from a toll-free number?
Toll-free texting needs a separate carrier check called toll-free verification, which the dashboard registration form does not do. It can take days to weeks. Email support@tonet.ai to ask about texting from a toll-free number.
Registration steps and fees: Register for texting, Tonet docs. Plan prices: tonet.ai pricing. Example names and numbers on this page are invented.
One number. Calls and texts.
Sign up, add $15, pick a number. Texts come in today; file the registration from the dashboard and send once it is approved.
Start with $15