Setting Up a SMS Connector & Channel for CloudRadial Chat

• Twilio is preferred by CloudRadial, as it has been consistently easier to work with based on Partner feedback and results.
  
  
• Twilio offers a toll-free number for testing SMS functionality while waiting for your 10DLC campaign to be approved
  
  
• Adding compliance information requires a 10DLC campaign. This is federally mandated in the US and requires additional setup and cooperation with SMS providers to vet and review your specific use case for SMS messaging. This process can take several weeks to complete.
  
  
• Please reach out to support@cloudradial.com if you need additional assistance with this process. We will do our best to work with you towards getting approval from your SMS provider.

Step 1: Collect SMS Provider Credentials

To integrate SMS, please navigate to the appropriate account settings screen in either Twilio/Flowroute and retrieve the following:

• • Account SID 
  • Auth Token

Step 2: Creating a New Connector

Once you have your Account SID and Auth Token, follow these instructions in the CloudRadial Chat feature set:

1. Navigate to Connectors on the left-hand menu
2. Select the New Connector button in the upper right-hand corner
   
                              
   
   
3. Scroll to the bottom and choose your appropriate SMS Client, based on your preference

Please Note: Ensure you select the SMS client connector located at the bottom (SMS Client category) and not the Chat channel one located in the second row.

Step 3: Entering Credentials into Your Connector

Once you've selected your SMS provider, add the following details to the connection:

• A phone number
  • Be sure to enter the number with the prefix "1", but without the plus (+) sign
  • Ex: 12815555555
• The Account SID you retrieved in Step 1
• The Auth Token you retrieved in Step 1

Use the Save button at the top right when you are ready to finalize your information for the Connector.

Step 4: Create a New Channel to Tie to the Connector

Once you have connected SMS to the platform, we will need to tie the specific connector to a new communication channel. To do so:

1. Navigate to Channels on the left-hand menu
2. Select New Channel from the button at the top right of the screen
3. Select your vendor (Twilio SMS/Flowroute) and enter the following:
   
   
   • Name (Your preference, but Twilio/Flowroute is fine)
   • Active toggle (should be on by default - if it is not, enable it)
   • Role (select Customer from the list)
   • Conversation Ends After (Your preference, totally optional)
   • Company Name
     • (Optional value - if this channel is specific to a single company in your PSA, you can enter the name here, and any newly created contacts will be associated with this
       company. The name must match exactly with the PSA)
   • Connector (This is the connector we created in Step 2)
     
     
4. Select the Regenerate ID button at the bottom right of the screen

Ensure that you Copy the URL given to you and store it (we'll add it back into your SMS provider momentarily. Select Save in the top right corner to finalize your new Channel progress.

Step 5: Complete Your SMS Provider Setup

Navigate back to your SMS provider (Twilio/FlowRoute). We'll provide an example of what to do in Twilio below, but the general steps should be similar for FlowRoute.

1. Navigate and select Messaging from the left-hand menu
2. Select Services
3. Select the option to Create Messaging Service
   
   
   
   
4. Enter the required field details
   • Give your service a friendly name (CloudRadial Chat works fine)
5. Proceed to the next step via the button at the bottom right (Step 2: Add senders)
6. Select Add Senders
   • Select your phone number
   • If you do not have a phone number, you can buy one from Twilio here
7. Proceed to the next step via the button at the bottom right (Step 3: Set up integration)
   • Ensure Defer to sender's webhook is selected
      
     
     
8. Proceed to the next step via the button at the bottom right (Step 4: Add compliance info)
   • Select the button to Complete Messaging Service Setup
   • Please Note: You can skip Step 4 unless you have it completed already.

Step 6: Adding Senders to the Service

Once you have completed the steps above, you will be prompted to View my new Messaging Service or to Try sending a message. Select to view the messaging service. 

• If you have already exited the prompt, you can get to this by navigating to Messaging > Services > Selecting the friendly name that you created

From the Sender Pool menu:

1. Select Add Senders
2. Select the Sender Type dropdown and select Phone Number
   
   
   
   
3. Select the Phone Number you'll be using with Chat
4. Scroll to Messaging Configuration
   
   
   
   
5. Add the Webhook from your SMS Channel to the URL for A message comes in
   
   • This was the URL copied from the end of Step 4.
6. Select the Messaging Service you created above
7. Select Save to finalize the configuration.

To verify the setup, send an SMS message to the Bot from a Contact that exists in the PSA.