Sending texts from your practice line

Most client follow-ups don’t need a call. They need a text — a quick confirmation, a link, an “I got your message, can we do Thursday instead?” Rivet’s inbox is built around that. Every voicemail and every inbound text shows up as a thread, and the reply box is at the bottom.

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Where to reply

Open the Messages tab. Each row is one client (one phone number). Tap a row to open the thread. Voicemails appear as event cards inline; texts appear as chat bubbles — gray for the client, blue for messages from you or from the auto-reply system. A text input is pinned at the bottom of the thread. Type, tap send. The text goes out from your Rivet number.

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What your client sees

Your client receives a text from the same number that called them with the auto-reply earlier, and the same number you’d call them from if you used the in-app dialer. From their phone’s perspective, it’s all the same line — one conversation thread on their end. If they’ve saved your practice number as “Your Practice” or similar, the message shows up under that contact name. If they haven’t, they see your practice number — never your cell.

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Sending from mobile vs. desktop

The reply input works the same on iPhone, Android, and desktop browsers. The thread, the polling, the auto-reply suppression behavior — all identical across surfaces. Pick whichever device is in front of you.

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Sending to a contact who hasn’t called yet

From the Compose screen (tap the new-message icon on the Messages tab), pick a contact or enter a North-American number, type the body, send. Rivet creates a fresh conversation thread for that number on first send. The client sees the message land in their phone the same way they’d see a text from anyone they don’t have saved — your practice number on top, the body below.

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What about auto-reply messages?

When a client leaves a voicemail or texts you out of the blue, Rivet sends them an auto-reply text from one of the eleven categories. Those texts are visible in the same thread, in blue. They’re labeled distinctly so you can see which messages came from you versus from the auto-reply system. If you reply to the client manually before the next auto-reply would have fired, Rivet suppresses the follow-up acknowledgment. The thread stays clean — your client sees your real reply, not a canned one stacked on top of it. See How auto-reply works for the full rules.

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When manual reply makes sense

The auto-reply handles the acknowledgment. It does not handle the answer. Use manual reply for:

• Confirming a specific time. “Thursday at 2 works.” The auto-reply can’t know your calendar.
• Sending a link. A booking link, your waiting-room URL for a video session, a form to fill out.
• A real conversation. Anything where the next message back will be different per client.

The auto-reply pattern is “received, here’s what’s next.” Your manual reply is “and here’s specifically what’s next for you.”

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North-American numbers only

Outbound texts go to North-American (+1) numbers only — Canada and the US, ten digits. International outbound texts are not supported. Inbound texts can come from anywhere, but Rivet will refuse to send a reply to a non-NA number with an error. This isn’t a license restriction — it’s a deliberate cost-control choice. International SMS rates are unpredictable and abuse-prone.

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Daily and monthly limits

To protect against accidental fan-out (and abuse), Rivet enforces sane limits on outbound office texts: a per-business daily cap and a per-business monthly cap. Both are sized to comfortably cover a normal practice’s volume. If you ever hit one, the send fails with an explicit error — not a silent drop. Email hello@getrivet.ca if you think you’ve hit one and shouldn’t have.

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