Does everyone see the same conversation?

Yes. The inbox is shared, with assignment and internal notes so two people do not answer the same message. Threads stay with the business when staff change.

How do opt-outs work?

The platform supports opt-out keywords such as STOP and ARRÊT and keeps consent and opt-out records against each contact. Your team is responsible for the permission and content practices behind the messages you send.

Can I send images and PDFs?

Yes, over MMS. Photos, quotes, maps and short documents can be sent and received, subject to carrier size limits we confirm during setup.

Can reminders be automatic?

Yes. Reminders can be scheduled ahead of appointments with confirm or reschedule replies, and integrations with your booking or CRM system are scoped during planning where an integration is available.

Can we message in French and English?

Yes. Templates, reminders and auto-replies can be written in both, and a contact’s preferred language can be stored so the right version is sent.

Business SMS in Canada | Text From Your Business Number

3CTel Business SMS lets a company send and receive text messages on the business number customers already call. Messages land in a shared team inbox with assignment, internal notes and saved replies, so reminders, confirmations and quick questions are handled without tying up the phone line. Opt-out keywords and consent records are kept per contact, and templates can be written in English and French.

What changes for your business.

Customer texts stop living on someone’s personal phone

Conversations land in a shared inbox, so coverage does not break when the person who owns that thread is off, on the road or gone.

Fewer no-shows and fewer callbacks

Automated reminders reach people who never listen to voicemail, and a reply of “reschedule” starts a conversation instead of an empty slot.

The phone rings less for questions that are one line long

“Are you open Monday?” and “Is my part in?” get answered in seconds without occupying a queue agent for four minutes.

A written record of what was agreed

Quotes confirmed, times changed and instructions given all sit in one searchable thread tied to the customer’s number.

Core capabilities.

Texting on your existing business number

The local number customers already dial is enabled for messaging, so replies come back to the business rather than a staff cell.

Shared team inbox

Assign a conversation, leave an internal note, mark it resolved, and see who is already replying before two people answer at once.

Appointment reminders and confirmations

Scheduled reminders with confirm or reschedule replies, sent ahead of bookings and follow-ups.

Two-way conversations, not blasts

Every outbound message can be replied to, and the reply reaches a person — not a dead-end no-reply number.

MMS: photos, PDFs and images

Send a quote, a parking map or a parts diagram; receive a photo of the damage, the serial plate or the invoice.

Consent records and opt-out keywords

Contacts who reply STOP or ARRÊT are suppressed automatically, and consent and opt-out events are recorded against the contact.

Templates and saved replies

Standard answers for hours, directions, deposits and intake questions, personalised with contact fields before sending.

Message reporting

Volume by number, response times and opt-out counts, so you can see whether messaging is helping or wearing out its welcome.

Common use cases.

Clinic or salon reducing no-shows

Reminders go out the day before with a one-word confirm, and cancellations free the slot early enough to refill it.

Trades and field service dispatch

Technicians confirm arrival windows and send a photo of the completed work; the office sees the thread without calling anyone.

Sales team following a quote

A short text after a proposal gets replies that a voicemail never would, and the whole thread stays with the account.

Front desk handling overflow

When the queue is deep, callers are offered a text instead of a hold, and reception clears the simple questions in writing.

AI messaging agent answering and booking by text

The AI chat and messaging agent replies to inbound texts on your business number, answers routine questions, books appointments into the connected calendar and hands the thread to a person when a request falls outside its scope.

Setup and migration.

Messaging is added to numbers you already have, so there is nothing for customers to relearn. Setup focuses on who answers and what is sent automatically.

Enable messaging on your numbers
We enable texting on your existing business or toll-free numbers, or provision a new local number if you want messaging kept separate.
Set up the shared inbox
Users, assignment rules and business-hours auto-replies are configured so nothing sits unanswered overnight without acknowledgement.
Build templates and reminders
Reminder timing, confirmation wording and saved replies are written with you, in English and French where you need both.
Set consent and opt-out practice
We configure opt-out keywords, an identifying sender line and consent capture, then agree how your team records permission to text.

AI in this product

AI in business SMS

Your texting numbers can answer, book and draft replies with the same agent that answers your phone, under rules you approve.

Smart replies for your team

Incoming texts get suggested replies drawn from your approved knowledge and the thread so far; a person sends, edits or discards them with one tap.

Booking by text

When a customer texts to ask for an appointment, the AI agent checks your connected calendar, offers open times, books the slot and sends the confirmation in the same thread.

After-hours and overflow handling

Outside business hours or when the team is busy, the agent answers common questions from your knowledge, collects intake and hands anything else to a person with the transcript.

See AI Chat & Messaging Agent

Common questions, answered directly.

Can a business text from its existing phone number?

Yes. Messaging is enabled on the local or toll-free number already printed on your invoices and website, so customers text the same number they call. Replies come back to a shared inbox rather than an employee’s personal phone, and the conversation history stays with the business when staff change. Enabling texting does not change how voice calls are routed.

What is a shared SMS inbox and why does it matter?

A shared inbox shows every text conversation with the business in one place that the whole team can see. Conversations can be assigned to a person, annotated with internal notes and marked resolved, so two people do not reply to the same message and nothing sits unanswered. Managers see response times and open threads across the team.

How are appointment reminders sent by text?

Reminders are scheduled ahead of an appointment from a template that fills in the name, date and location. The customer can reply to confirm or ask to reschedule, and that reply appears in the shared inbox. Where an integration with your booking or CRM system is available, it is scoped during planning so reminders are triggered from your existing schedule.

Learn more

Works with the tools you already use.

Integrations are scoped during planning based on your systems; availability is confirmed before activation.

HubSpotCRM
SalesforceCRM
GoHighLevelCRM
Zoho CRMCRM
Jane AppClinic management
Webhooks & APICustom

View all

Across Canada

Business SMS by city and province

Frequently asked questions.

Yes, that is the usual setup. Messaging is enabled on your existing local or toll-free number, so a customer who texts your published line reaches the business inbox.

Plan how texting fits your front desk.

Answer a few questions and see which numbers, reminders and replies we would set up.

Build My Phone System Talk to a Specialist

Your business number can text back.