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New feature release 6 min read

SMS messaging.
Now in HiveSuite.

Customer messages, replies and reminders. Now part of your HiveSuite workflow.

Customer conversationsMessages and replies together
Approved templatesPersonalised with your job data
Smart schedulingSend within business hours

SMS has arrived in HiveSuite. A dedicated messaging area brings customer conversations, templates, delivery updates and credit tracking into the portal, with automation options connected to quotes, invoices and jobs.

Before you send SMS requires a paid plan, available SMS credits and the relevant user permissions. Customer replies require a dedicated UK mobile number.

01 / Conversations

Keep the conversation with the customer.

Send a message from scratch or choose an approved template. Messages are grouped by customer and phone number, with read and unread tracking so you can follow each conversation.

Delivery updates distinguish between queued, sent, delivered and failed messages. Failed sends are recorded with a reason. With a dedicated number, incoming replies return to the corresponding SMS conversation.

Business-name sender

One-way messaging

Send using an alphanumeric sender ID, such as your business name. Customers cannot reply to this sender type.

Dedicated UK number

Two-way messaging

A dedicated UK mobile number enables customer replies. This is a paid add-on, available through SMS settings.

02 / Templates

Prepare once. Personalise at send time.

SMS templates support categories, versions and approval statuses. Only approved templates can be used for sending, helping your team work from prepared messages.

Variables can insert customer and business details, quote totals, invoice numbers, payment links, job dates and job statuses where the selected template and sending context support them.

Starter messages included

Load starter templates for your workspace. Templates with an existing name are skipped, preserving your edits. Categories cover general messages, appointments, payments, invoices, quotes, jobs, marketing and staff notifications.

03 / Automation

Connect texts to the work already happening.

Spend less time manually chasing customers. HiveSuite can automatically keep customers updated as quotes, invoices and jobs move through your workflow, helping reduce routine admin and missed follow-ups. With a dedicated number, replies come back into the same customer conversations.

Configured automations use templates and SMS credits to send customer messages and staff alerts at supported points in your existing workflows.

Quotes
Quote sent and accepted messages, expiry reminders, and staff alerts for accepted quotes.
Invoices
Invoice sent messages, due and overdue reminders, and payment received messages.
Jobs
Job completion messages, selected status changes and day-before job reminders in HivePlanner.
Your team
Staff notifications for form leads, crew assignments and status changes where configured.

Availability depends on the settings and templates configured for each workflow. Automation failures are logged so they do not interrupt the parent workflow.

04 / SMS credits

See where your credits go.

The composer calculates message segments based on length and character encoding. Credit usage follows the number of segments, so a longer message can use more than one credit.

Used firstMonthly credits
Used nextPurchased credits

Top up from the SMS credits page and review purchases, usage, staff usage, refunds and monthly credit adjustments. Transaction history can be filtered by type and date, with a CSV export of the loaded results.

Monthly resets replace the monthly allowance while retaining purchased credits. Credits reserved for a scheduled message are returned if it is cancelled before sending, skipped because the customer has opted out, or fails during the scheduled send.

05 / Sending controls

Manage timing, access and opt-outs.

Business-hour scheduling

With smart scheduling enabled, customer messages sent outside configured business hours are queued for the next business window. Credits are reserved when scheduling, and pending messages can be cancelled.

Consent and opt-outs

Consent records are stored by customer and phone number, and explicit opt-outs block customer sends. With a dedicated number, STOP opts a customer out and START can opt them back in. Authorised users can manage consent records in the portal.

For dedicated-number conversations, a configurable opt-out footer can be added to the first outbound message. Business-name senders cannot receive STOP or START replies.

Separate permissions

Viewing conversations, sending messages, managing templates and managing settings have separate permission checks. Rate limiting also helps prevent repeated manual sends to the same customer.

06 / Getting started

Find SMS in your HiveSuite portal.

Open the SMS area to manage conversations, templates, credits, settings and consent. Configure templates in the relevant quote, invoice, job and notification settings to use supported automations.

Sending requires a paid plan and SMS credits. A dedicated number is an additional paid option for two-way messaging.

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