Service Texts - Activate and Set Up (Web)

Watch the video or scroll down for step-by-step instructions.

Tiers:

Getting Started - Service texts are an additional fee of $0.029 (2.9 cents) per text.
Scaling Up, Enterprise - Service Texts are included, free and unlimited

Keeping your customers informed about appointments, service updates, and any unexpected changes is crucial for building trust, delivering a positive experience, and increasing loyalty. Service Texts let you send text message notifications directly to your customers, reflecting key events in your pool service workflow.

Why Service Texts?

Clear, timely communication with customers is a top priority, and the safety of your techs is paramount. Service Texts provide a convenient, efficient way to keep customers informed when you're on the way, service is completed, or there's an unplanned interruption.

How this benefits your business

Time savings: Automated messages minimize the need for manual communication, so technicians can focus on service delivery while customers stay informed.
Enhanced customer satisfaction: Proactive updates and clear communication strengthen trust and reduce misunderstandings.
Streamlined communication: One-way updates eliminate back-and-forth conversations, saving time for you and your customers.
Additional proof of service: Texts give residential/commercial pool owners and short-term rental property managers advance notice to take action before your technician arrives — putting dogs away, notifying tenants, or providing access.
Safety for your techs: A proactive text can help ensure technician safety, especially when arriving after dark or outside the expected service window.

Notification types

Skimmer sends six types of service text notifications:

On My Way: Sent when a technician marks themselves "on my way" to the next stop, letting the client know the tech is heading over to service their pool.
Finished: Sent when a technician finishes a routine service or a work order. Applies to both route stops and work orders.
Skipped Stop: Sent when a technician is unable to complete scheduled work and skips a service location in the app.
Scheduled: Sent when you schedule a work order, letting the customer know what kind of work will be done and when.
Invoice: Sent when a customer's invoice is ready. Confirming to send an invoice also confirms the text going out and which number will receive it. The text includes a link so the customer can view and submit payment. Not sent if the invoice is set to AutoPay.
Quote: Sent when a quote is ready for customer review. The text includes a link so the customer can review the quote details.

Messages are pre-configured. If you have a long company name or work order type, texts may be truncated to stay brief and easy to read.

How to activate and set up (Web)

Go to Settings > Service Texts.
Accept the terms of service. The first term exists because all messages come from a number provided by Skimmer, so there are regulations around what kind of message can be sent. The second term indicates that using this feature will incur additional costs, depending on your service tier, which will be added to your Skimmer bill.
Sign to accept the terms. Click "I agree, sign me up" at the bottom to move forward. You'll receive a final confirmation pop-up — once accepted, you're signed up and Service Texts are activated. The name entered here is recorded and stored in your company's account history.
Select and toggle ON which text messages you want to send to customers, then click Save.
Enable service texts for work orders: go to Settings > Work Order Types, click Edit for any work order type, check Notify the customer when finished, and click Save. This must be selected for work order completion texts to be enabled.
Client-level opt-out: all clients are enabled by default to receive text messages, sent to the phone number entered in the Mobile Phone 1 field. If there are clients you want to exempt, edit their profile and uncheck the box.
Company name and contact number: the company name and contact number from your Service Email settings are applied to service texts. If you don't want to include a callback phone number, remove it under Settings > Service Emails, and Save.

Your customers' experience

All text messages originate from a single Skimmer number. Calls and texts to this number receive a generic message noting that the number does not accept calls or texts.
Customers can opt out of service texts anytime by replying "STOP" to any message, and opt back in by replying "START."
To help customers recognize the number and messages as legitimate, send a customizable email template (linked below) before you start using Service Texts.

Delivery notes

Some text delivery may fail due to a customer's self-selected opt-out, carrier issues, or other network problems. Technicians can still send notifications from the app, but they will not be notified if a text fails to deliver.

Reports

The Text Messages report shows:

The total cost of texts sent
Which customers were sent texts
What type of texts were sent
Delivery status — whether each text was sent successfully