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 |
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.
SMS Overview
View allWhen 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.
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.