SMS & Snail Mail
This course covers text-message (SMS) and physical postal-mail (snail mail) sending in Quickenerp: templates, sending from any record or in bulk, third-party SMS gateways (Twilio, SMS Gate), delivery tracking, and when to reach for a stamped letter instead of an email.
| Responsible | System |
|---|---|
| Last Update | 07/21/2026 |
| Completion Time | 1 day 10 hours |
| Members | 1 |
Every Channel Has a Real Per-Message Cost
Unlike email, both SMS and Snailmail cost real money per message/letter sent (credits, Twilio charges, or per-letter postal fees) — worth factoring into any automation that fires per-transaction at volume.
Choosing a Channel
| Channel | Best For |
|---|---|
| Default for anything with detail/attachments; free, high volume. | |
| SMS | Time-sensitive, short alerts likely to be seen fast (appointment reminders, OTP-style codes, delivery notices). |
| Richer interactive notifications where the customer already engages on WhatsApp. | |
| Snail Mail | Formal/legal notices, or reaching contacts with no reliable digital channel. |
Best Practices
- Keep SMS templates short and purposeful — reserve it for messages people actually need to see quickly.
- Validate postal addresses before triggering bulk Snailmail — a bad address wastes the letter's cost entirely.
- Monitor Error states on both channels the same way you'd monitor bounced emails — a silent failure means the customer never actually got the message.
- Respect opt-outs and local regulations for SMS marketing exactly as strictly as for email (see the Email Marketing course's compliance article) — SMS regulations in many jurisdictions are at least as strict.
SMS Overview
View allEvery Channel Has a Real Per-Message Cost
Unlike email, both SMS and Snailmail cost real money per message/letter sent (credits, Twilio charges, or per-letter postal fees) — worth factoring into any automation that fires per-transaction at volume.
Choosing a Channel
| Channel | Best For |
|---|---|
| Default for anything with detail/attachments; free, high volume. | |
| SMS | Time-sensitive, short alerts likely to be seen fast (appointment reminders, OTP-style codes, delivery notices). |
| Richer interactive notifications where the customer already engages on WhatsApp. | |
| Snail Mail | Formal/legal notices, or reaching contacts with no reliable digital channel. |
Best Practices
- Keep SMS templates short and purposeful — reserve it for messages people actually need to see quickly.
- Validate postal addresses before triggering bulk Snailmail — a bad address wastes the letter's cost entirely.
- Monitor Error states on both channels the same way you'd monitor bounced emails — a silent failure means the customer never actually got the message.
- Respect opt-outs and local regulations for SMS marketing exactly as strictly as for email (see the Email Marketing course's compliance article) — SMS regulations in many jurisdictions are at least as strict.
When Email Isn't Enough
Some documents legally or practically need to go out as a real, printed, stamped letter — a formal notice, a contract requiring a wet signature by post, or reaching a customer who doesn't check email. Snailmail sends any Quickenerp document (typically a PDF report — invoice, letter, notice) through a physical mail service without you printing, stuffing an envelope, or visiting a post office.
Sending a Letter
- From a document that supports it (e.g. an invoice), choose Send by Post instead of (or alongside) email.
- Confirm the recipient's postal address is complete and correctly formatted — an incomplete address is the most common cause of a failed letter.
- Choose color vs black & white and single vs double-sided printing if offered — these affect the per-letter cost.
- Confirm. The document is queued for printing and postal dispatch by the mail service.
Letter Statuses
- In Queue → Sent (handed off to the postal service).
- Error – with a specific error code (most commonly an invalid/incomplete address) shown so you can correct and resend.
- Cancelled.
Note that "Sent" means handed to the postal carrier, not confirmed delivered — actual physical delivery tracking depends on the mail service used and typically isn't as granular as email/SMS/WhatsApp read receipts.
Common Use: Overdue Invoice Follow-up
A frequent real-world use is escalating collections: email reminders first, then a formal printed letter by post for accounts that remain unresponsive — a physical letter often carries more weight for a final notice than another email, and can be required before certain legal collection steps.
Sending an SMS
One-Off, From a Record
- Open a contact, order, or invoice → click Send SMS (in the chatter's action menu).
- Pick a Template or write a message directly.
- Confirm the recipient number (defaults to the record's mobile/phone field) and send.
SMS Templates
Go to Settings > Technical > SMS Templates (developer mode). Like email templates, an SMS template is tied to a model and can include placeholders (customer name, order reference) that auto-fill per record. Keep SMS templates short — carriers charge/segment messages by character count, and unlike email there's no room for a long layout.
Bulk / Mass SMS
Select multiple records in a list view (e.g. a filtered list of contacts) → Action > Send SMS to message all of them at once using a template — useful for appointment reminders across a day's bookings or a short promotional blast to an opted-in list.
Automated SMS
Trigger an SMS template automatically from an Automated Action, the same mechanism used for automated emails and WhatsApp messages — e.g. an appointment reminder 2 hours before the slot, or a delivery-day notification.