Send an SMS is great for getting one message out to everyone at once. But sometimes a contact replies, and you actually want to have a conversation, not just receive a text you can't respond to. That's what Two-Way SMS is for: a dedicated inbox for reading replies and writing back, tied to your own dedicated number rather than the shared TIDYHQ sender ID.
Before you start: getting a dedicated number
Two-Way SMS needs a dedicated phone number of your own — this is different from the shared TIDYHQ sender ID used for broadcast messages, which can't receive replies. Your number is provisioned through Twilio, and you register it under Organisation Settings > Communicate > SMS.
Your phone number has an additional monthly cost ($8.50 AUD at time of writing).
Where to find the inbox day-to-day
Once you've got a number set up, head to Communicate > SMS Conversations to read and reply to messages.
How it works
The inbox is split into two panels:
On the left, a list of every conversation your dedicated number has going. Most recent first, with an unread count so you can see at a glance what needs a look.
On the right, the message thread for whichever conversation you've selected, with a reply box at the bottom.
You can search the list by name, phone number, or message content if you're trying to track down a specific chat. New messages show up without needing to refresh the page.
To reply, just type your message and hit Send. If it's the very first message you've sent in a brand new conversation, we'll automatically add a short opt-out line to the message for you — so you don't need to remember to include one yourself.
Linking a conversation to a Contact
If a conversation isn't already tied to one of your Contacts, you can link it — this pulls up a side panel showing that Contact's membership, tags, and recent activity, so you've got context without needing to jump elsewhere.
Opt-outs and archiving
If a contact has replied STOP, you'll see a banner on their conversation letting you know they've opted out — replying is disabled for that thread from then on. This is a compliance safeguard rather than something you can override, so if a contact wants back in, they'll need to text START back in to resubscribe themselves.
You can also archive a conversation once it's resolved — archived conversations are read-only (no more replies) but stay there if you need to look back. Unarchive at any time to pick it back up.
A note on cost
Replies draw from the same SMS credit balance as your broadcast messages. If your balance runs low, you'll see a message letting you know before anything sends — just top up in Billing and you're good to go.