Overview
The Communications Center is a brand-new, premium messaging platform built within DoorLoop to provide Property Managers with a simple way of communicating between you and your tenants, owners, vendors, and prospects. This negates the need to use external channels to communicate and keeps everything in a centralized location within DoorLoop. (SMS messaging is provided by a third party and requires that you have a valid employer identification number (EIN) when registering.)
Note: The Communications Center is only available for the US and Canada. You should provide a consent form to your tenants which will give you permission to send SMS messages to them. More information is below.
The Steps
Tip: Before setting up SMS for the Communications Center, head over to Settings > Company Information and make sure your Country is set to United States or Canada. Please type out the entire name of your country.
To set up the Communications Center, click Settings on the main menu and then click Communications Center under the Company section.
On the Communications Center window, under the SMS Settings, click the Set up SMS button. (Note that a merchant account is required to set up the Communications Center).
This will take you to the Set Up SMS wizard. First, you must select an Area Code that matches your location. This will help the system choose a number for you that best fits your area.
Click Next to continue.
Under the Business Details, select the Business Name you want associated with your SMS number. The Business Name will be pulled from the Merchant Accounts that you have set up in DoorLoop. The Property Address shown here is also the one that is associated with your Merchant Account. If this is incorrect, you'll need to change the address from your merchant account settings.
(If you don't see the name of your business here while setting up your SMS number, that means you don't have a merchant account set up with your company information yet. Please follow the instructions here: Set Up a Merchant Account to Accept Online Payments - Powered by Stripe).
Next, enter your EIN Number (Employer Identification Number). This can be found on your Letter 147C and should match the business name and address you chose in the previous step. For more information about the EIN, read this article: Verify the EIN Associated with Your Business Name and Address.
Check the box to verify the information.
Click Next to move to the next step.
The next page will show a summary of what you'll be getting before confirming activation of your free SMS number. Depending on your subscription plan, you will receive a different amount of free initial messages . (The ability to use SMS messaging is an add-on service that requires payment outside of your regular subscription plan payments.)
SMS Messaging will only be available in the US and Canada.
SMS Messaging is a premium service add-on and is not included as part of your DoorLoop subscription plan. You will need to set up your Communications Center and request an SMS number.
Only one SMS number per DoorLoop account. You will be assigned a number to use based on the area code you select.
You can not port over an existing number.
Activating your SMS number includes the first bundle of messaging credits for free. (Credits will be purchased after these are used up.)
A $10 fee will be charged for each additional bundle of credits after.
Starter Plan - 150 Credits
Pro Plan - 750 Credits
Premium Plan - 1000 Credits
You can choose to have this automatically replenished each time you run out or not.
Outbound SMS = 1 credit, Inbound SMS = Free
Outbound MMS = 5 credits, Inbound MMS = 5 Credits
Phone number activation can take up to 3 days. You will receive a notification when your number is ready to use.
You must have a valid registered business and EIN number to use the Communications Center.
Click Get My Number to complete the process.
On the confirmation popup, click Close to finish.
You will now need to wait until you receive the email with the message, Two-Way Texting Set Up Completed.
Click Start Texting to be taken to your new Communications Center.
Once you have your Two-Way SMS set up, it is recommended to send an addendum to your tenants requesting permission to send updates, rent reminders, etc via email, phone, and SMS messages. You can download our Addendum template below.
Note: You can only set up one SMS number per DoorLoop account. The phone number you receive will remain your phone number for the life of your service. This number will also be used for Announcement texts.
Where can I find my SMS number for the Communications Center?
Your new SMS number for the Communications Center can be found by going to Settings > Communications Center. On the Communications Center window, you'll find your number under the SMS Settings section.
Tip: If you want some of your properties to appear with different names when sending welcome SMS messages, read the article: Brand Your Properties With a Custom URL and Appearance.
Addendum to Lease
We recommend providing a consent addendum to your tenants which will give you permission to send SMS messages to them.
DoorLoop provides a consent form template you can use to request permission from your tenants to send updates, rent reminders, etc via email, phone, and SMS messages, even if they are on the State or Federal Do-Not-Call lists.
Download link: Addendum to Lease
Please modify the document to your needs. You can then send the Addendum to Lease to your tenants to have signed as an eSignature Request or by other means.
Consider also sending your tenants a welcome SMS message to let them know that the number is not SPAM and also give them the option to Opt-out if they do not want to receive messages from you.