Twilio SMS for Zoho CRM
Two-Way SMS Inside Zoho CRM
What makes it different
In detail
What each part actually does
The extension is written in Deluge and runs inside your own Zoho CRM. There is no dashboard of ours to log into, and no third party sits between Zoho and Twilio. Here is what happens when your team uses it.
Sending to one person
Open any Lead, Contact or Account and click Send SMS at the top right of the record. Write the message in the composer, or pick a saved template.
Send, and a status message confirms whether it went. If it failed, the error is shown on screen and written to that record’s SMS History.
Sending to many at once
From Leads or Contacts, select the records you want, by hand or from a filtered view, then click Send SMS at the top of the list.
The composer shows the recipient list under the message so you can check it before sending. Each recipient gets their own SMS History entry, so you can review the result record by record rather than as one batch.
Templates
Reusable messages live in their own SMS Templates module, each with a name and a body, and are selectable from the composer.
Templates can carry dynamic placeholders, so a saved message still comes out specific to the person receiving it.
Dynamic text from CRM fields
Messages can include CRM field placeholders. When the message is prepared, each placeholder is replaced with that record’s value.
On a bulk send, placeholders are resolved separately for every recipient, so fifty people get fifty different messages rather than one generic one.
Scheduling
Turn on Schedule Message, then pick the date, the time and the timezone. The timezone list covers global timezones, which matters when you are texting outside your own.
A scheduled message is written to SMS History as Pending rather than sent. The processor picks up due messages and sends them, and the status moves to Sent. If it fails, the failure is recorded. Timing depends on your Zoho scheduler frequency.
Replies coming back
When someone texts back, a new entry is created in the SMS History module.
If their number matches a Lead or Contact, the reply is linked to that record automatically. If that Contact belongs to an Account, it is linked to the Account too, so the whole company’s thread is visible in one place.
There is no default notification on an inbound message. You set that up with a CRM workflow rule, which can email someone, create a task, or send a Cliq message.
Finding the right phone number
Rather than only reading the Mobile field, the extension looks at the Phone-type fields on the record and lets the sender choose which one to use.
At least one Phone-type field needs a value for sending to work. Numbers should be in international format, for example +15555555555. The extension normalizes supported formats, and an invalid number produces a validation error on screen rather than a silent failure.
History, errors and what you can see
Sent, received, scheduled and failed messages all sit in the SMS History module inside your CRM, so message content and delivery information stay under your own Zoho permissions.
Validation, configuration and Twilio errors are shown on screen, with long messages wrapping so the whole error stays readable, and Twilio sending errors are written to SMS History where applicable.
Your Twilio account, your credentials. Nothing ships with our Twilio details in it. During setup you enter your own Account SID, Auth Token and Twilio number, and the number has to be SMS enabled and compliant with the rules where you are sending. We support the extension. Twilio account, deliverability and compliance questions go to Twilio, who own that side of it.
What you get
What the Zoho CRM SMS extension includes
All 22 of these ship in the extension, which you install from the Marketplace and run in your own Zoho CRM.
Automation
- Built in Deluge only
- No phone home architecture
Setup
- Runs inside your Zoho account
- Your Twilio account and numbers
Data and records
- Full history on the record
- Automatic phone field detection
- Lead to contact conversion mapping
Messaging
- Two way conversations
- Search and send one to one
- Bulk send to selected records
- Send to a specific list
- Dynamic text from CRM fields
- Reusable message templates
- Choose the number you send from
- Scheduled message delivery
- Inbound replies logged automatically
What sets it apart
- Nothing phones home
- The reply comes back
- You bring the Twilio account
- Personalized at any volume
- It finds all the phone fields
- History follows the record
Ready to install Twilio SMS for Zoho CRM?
Most installs take a few minutes, and the setup guide below covers each screen.
Texting inside Zoho CRM compared with a third party SMS platform
Most SMS apps for Zoho CRM can send a text. Where they differ is where your customer data goes afterward, and who gets to read it once it is there.
| What to compare | How it works here |
|---|---|
| Data stays in Zoho vs data leaves Zoho | The extension runs inside your own CRM deployment. No third party platform sits between Zoho and your Twilio account holding a copy of your contacts. |
| Your Twilio account vs resold messaging | With resold messaging the carrier cost is buried in a per message price you cannot check, and leaving often means leaving your numbers behind. Here Twilio bills you directly and the numbers stay yours. |
| Flat org price vs per user seats | The price is set per organization. Seat based tools charge more each time you add a person who needs to send, even when total message volume never moves. |
| Replies on the record vs a separate inbox | Replies are logged against the lead or contact they came from, so nobody has to keep a second inbox in sync, and whoever opens the record next sees the whole conversation. |
| No vendor access vs vendor holds your data | We never receive your messages, so there is nothing on our side to read. |
| Native Deluge vs an embedded web app | The extension is written in Deluge on the Zoho platform itself, with no embedded third party app or outside web application in the path. |
Cost
What you pay, and who you pay it to
Two separate bills, and neither of them is a per seat charge from us.
The extension
Bought through the Zoho Marketplace, priced for the organization rather than per user, and billed monthly or yearly by Zoho. Adding another person who needs to text does not change it.
The messages
Twilio bills you directly at their own rates, on your own account. We never resell messaging, so there is no margin added between you and the carrier.
Before you commit
The Marketplace listing includes a ten day free trial, so you can install it, connect your Twilio account and use it on real work before deciding.
Current pricing is shown on the Zoho Marketplace listing, which is where the purchase happens. Local taxes are added there, and Twilio charges appear on your Twilio account separately.
Sales teams chasing warm leads
Service teams confirming and rescheduling appointments
Sales teams answering customer data questions
1. Install from the Zoho Marketplace
2. Connect your own Twilio account
3. Text a record and watch the reply land
On the Zoho Marketplace
Twilio SMS – Zoho CRM
The Marketplace listing installs straight into your Zoho CRM account, with a free trial to start. Once installed, it runs inside your own Zoho environment and sends through your own Twilio account.
Setup and usage guide
Installation screen by screen, the Twilio credentials you need, templates, dynamic fields, scheduling, bulk sends and what to do when a message fails. All of it lives in the documentation.