Set Up and Schedule SMS Notification Flows

Overview

AfterShip's SMS notification feature allows businesses to communicate tracking updates and other alerts to customers. This article guides you through setting up SMS sender information, complying with regional regulations, and configuring scheduling options like quiet hours and opt-out messages.

Set up active sender number for SMS

In the AfterShip admin dashboard, go to Settings > Email and SMS.


Navigate to the SMS to manage sender info and compliance preferences.


It is important that you abide by compliance requirements to ensure customers’ security and data privacy. Refer to this article to know more about the rules and regulations while sending SMS notifications.

Click Set up SMS.

1. Choose regions

Select the regions you’d like to send SMS to, and we’ll assign a phone number to your account according to your selection. You can change this later in the settings. Click here to view supported regions.


Click Next to proceed further.

2. Your info

Fill in your Company Info: Name, registration authority, registration number, website, address, city, country/ region, state/ province, postal/zip code, registration extract.

Under Company registration extract, upload a PDF file and click Upload. The maximum file size permitted is 5 MB.

Fill in Contact Info: First and last name, phone number, and a contact email address.

The email suffix must be the same domain as your website.

Important considerations:

For merchants who need to send SMS to the US, we will generate a US toll-free number for US SMS traffic.
For merchants who need to send SMS to the UK, we will generate a UK domestic long code for UK SMS traffic.
For merchants who need to send SMS to the rest of the world ( excluding certain countries) , we will generate a US long code for other SMS traffic.

Specific countries excluded from numeric sender numbers

For the following countries/regions, SMS will be sent with an AfterShip branded sender ID (i.e., the recipient will see “AfterShip”) rather than a numeric sender:

Country/region	SMS sender
Saudi Arabia	Branded sender ID, “AfterShip”
Hong Kong	Branded sender ID, “AfterShip”
Singapore	Branded sender ID, “AfterShip”
Thailand	Branded sender ID, “AfterShip”
France	Branded sender ID, “AfterShip”
Mainland China	Dynamic numeric sender

3. SMS use case

Fill in the following details:

Use case category: Select your use case from the dropdown (e.g., account notifications).
Use case description: Describe what kind of messages will be sent using this number.
Sample messages: Provide an example of a message that you plan on sending to opted-in customers.
Opt-in type: Choose how customers subscribe (e.g., Web form, Mobile QR code).
Opt-in process image: Upload visuals that show how users consent to receiving messages from this number.

There should be a check-box for users to tick, and it should not be pre-checked by default. Your brand name must be included in the consent agreement. Different message types cannot use a single check-box. If you plan to send both marketing messages and informational messages, you will need to provide two separate check-boxes.

Estimated monthly volume: Select the approximate volume of monthly messages.
Additional information (optional): Any additional details that clarify your business use of this phone number. For e.g., links to privacy policies, AUPs etc.
Click Next to process further.

4. TCPA/ GDPR compliance

Ensure you are compliant with TCPA/GDPR rules and regulations before using AfterShip SMS. Learn more about the rules and regulations while sending SMS notifications.
Click Confirm to finish SMS setup.

Manage subscription keywords

These are the default commands customers send to your sender number to subscribe or unsubscribe.

Opt-in keyword: START
Opt-out keyword: STOP

Customize opt-out text

You can personalize opt-out messages that appear at the end of your SMS messages.

The SMS action language and customer phone number are used to determine which opt-out text is used. To learn more about the supported opt-out methods for different countries, refer to this article.

Enter the following details:

Toll-free and long code SMS: Can use an opt-out keyword or link.
Branded Sender ID SMS: Can include an opt-out link.



To add custom opt-out text, click Add language and region.
Search the language or region in the search bar provided.
Click Add to add the language and region.

Enable URL shortening

Shorten links in your SMS for character efficiency and performance tracking.

Toggle Automatically shorten merge tag URLs.
Toggle Automatically shorten manually entered URLs.

Schedule messages using quiet hours

To better comply with SMS regulations, restrict SMS messages from being sent during a set time period.

Quite hours are based on the recipient’s country code.

To enable quiet hours:

Set the Start and End time based on the recipient’s time zone.



Click Save to apply the changes.

FAQs

Q1. Why is compliance required for SMS?

Compliance ensures legal delivery of SMS messages and protects user’s data and privacy, especially in regulated regions like the U.S., EU, and Singapore.

Q2. Can I use a branded sender ID for all countries?

No. Some countries require toll-free or long-code numbers. For example, France and Singapore use "AfterShip" as the sender ID.

Q3. Can I have a branded sender ID with my brand name?

Yes, we provide the service to our enterprise customers to apply a branded sender ID with their brand info. But not all countries support branded ID, contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM) to check if you want to apply for one.

Q4. How long does it take to start sending SMS after registering my business info for a phone number?

To send SMS to US or UK recipients, business information verification is required, taking around 2-4 weeks. SMS sending is enabled only after phone number verification. For non-US recipients, activation can be done instantly by clicking "Activate" in the admin panel.

Q5. Will I receive a notification regarding the phone number verification result?

Yes, we will send an email to the organization owner of your AfterShip account.

Key takeaways

SMS settings include TCPA/GDPR compliance, sender info, keywords, opt-out text, URL shortener, and SMS quiet hours.
Quiet hours restrict message sending during inappropriate hours based on recipient time zones.
URL shortening optimizes space and provides performance tracking.
Custom opt-out and subscription messages can be configured by language and region.

Updated on: 07/05/2025