Set Up TouchPoint for Texting

After you establish your PBT or Twilio account, you can now finish the texting setup on your TouchPoint database.

Completing Setup for Twilio

  • You should have already found the TwilioSID and TwilioToken for your account on the Twilio website.

  • When you find those account settings on Twilio as referenced in the previous article Establish an Account with Twilio, open TouchPoint and go to Admin > Advanced > Settings > Integrations > Twilio.

  • Copy the AccountSID from Twilio and paste it into the value for TwilioSID.

  • Copy the AuthToken from Twilio, and paste it into the value for TwilioToken.

Completing Setup for PBT

  • You should have already set up your PBT account and they should have provided you an PBT Client ID and an PBT Secret Key.

  • When you have those account settings open TouchPoint and go to Admin > Advanced > Settings > Integrations > Powered By Text.

  • Copy the PBT Client ID and paste it into the value for PBTClientID.

  • Copy the PBT Secret Key, and paste it into the value for PBTSecretKey.

  • Last, toggle the settings PoweredByTextEnable and PBTDirectChatEnable (optional) to True.

Configuring Users and Groups

A special user role is required for a user to have permissions to send texts through your TouchPoint database.

Step 1 - Prepare the SMS Users

Assign the SendSMS user role to each user that needs permission to text by going to each person’s System > User Account tab. Note that the SendSMS role also allows a user to gain access to the Admin > Communication > SMS Log page where he/she may view all sent messages and replies and also configure reply words.

Click the menu icon under the Actions column, then click Edit. Check SendSMS (under Basic Level 2) and click Save.

You do not create a new user account for the individual, just assign him the additional role.

Add the role to every user that should be able to send texts.

Note

In addition to needing the SendSMS role, users will also need to be added to a PBT or Twilio group as described in Step 5 below. Please note carefully that there are two requirements before a user can send a text through TouchPoint: (1) they must have the SendSMS role and (2) they must be included in at least one PBT or Twilio group.

Step 2 - Add the Groups

Go to Admin > Communication > SMS Setup and click the green +Add New Group button. Either the Admin or ManageSMS role is required to access this setup page.

  • Twilio Groups: Enter the Name and Description you want for the group. The name and description can be the same. Or, just give it a short name with a longer description.

    Example: Name = NextGen Description = Students 6th - 12th Grade

  • PBT Groups: The Campus and Group are set in PBT and selected from the dropdown list as you set up the Group.

Important

Twilio clients need a minimum of ONE group. That one group can manage all text messages, System SMS messages, Quick Sign-in and Reply Words. When using Twilio, your System SMS and Quick Sign-In features are combined. You can manage users and optin/optout for this group. This also means that people can opt out of Quick Sign-In. If they do so, they will not be able to receive the 6 digit code until they are opted back in.

PBT clients will have the System and OTM (One Time Messaging) groups created by PBT during the integration setup. Once they are created in PBT, they cannot be deleted.

Step 3 - Add the Number(s)

Note

Step 3 only pertains to Twilio groups. All PBT groups share the same number or shortcode.

Now click the green + Add button beside Numbers and select the phone number for that group. Then click Submit.

Step 4 - Add the User(s)

Each group needs users that will text using that group’s number.

Note

The PBT group used for Quick Sign-In does not allow, nor does it need Users.

Click the green + Add button beside Users for the Group you just created. Then select each of the users you want to add to this Group.

Note

Only Users with the SendSMS role will appear in the list, so be sure to assign the user roles before getting to this step.

Step 5

If you will be using Reply Words (Two-Way SMS), check the box under the Receive Notices column for each person that you want to receive an email when someone replies to a text from that group.

Repeat Steps 3-6 for each phone number you’ve purchased through Twilio OR each PBT group you’d like to setup.

Facts re Groups, Numbers, and Users

  • You only need 1 Twilio group if you only purchased one number.

  • A phone number can only be in one Twilio group.

  • Each Twilio group can have multiple phone numbers associated with it. If using Twilio and toll-free numbers, it is recommended to only use one number per group.

  • Numbers will be displayed when you click +Add beside Numbers.

  • Each group must have users that can text using that number with the exception of the PBT Quick Sign-In group.

  • Users with the SendSMS role will display when you click +Add beside Users.

  • Users can be in multiple groups.

  • Even if users have the SendSMS role, they cannot send texts unless they are in a group.

  • If you get an error when trying to add numbers you probably have the SID and Token incorrect in the Settings.

  • You may use both PBT and Twilio concurrently, but you need to select either PBT or Twilio to manage BOTH System SMS and Quick Sign-In.

  • If a user opts out of any PBT group, the ONLY way they can opt back in is by using the keyword for that group as entered in PBT.

This image below has 2 Twilio groups - Students and Recreation - but no numbers or users associated with either of them yet.

https://i.tpsdb.com/2017-02-20_14-38-36.png

Phone Numbers

Using Twilio, if you have purchased only one Toll-Free number and multiple ministries will use that number, that works fine. Only one number will display in the drop-down. If you purchased multiple Toll-Free numbers, you can create a Group for each number, naming the Group based on the ministry that will use it.

Using PBT, you can setup an SMS group in TouchPoint for any group that exists in your PBT account. For those who established an PBT account prior to becoming a TouchPoint client or prior to the TouchPoint PBT Integration (September 2021), in order for someone to receive a text to an PBT group using TouchPoint, that person must also exist in your TouchPoint database.

This concludes the Admin setup for texting.

Now, since texting is an opt-in type of communication, you will need to encourage your congregation to sign up to receive texts. We have some suggestions for how to do that.

See also

Texting: Opt-In



Latest Update

1/15/2024

Update references for MBT to PBT.