If your CRM uses CallRail for texting, you can now send SMS messages and read the full back-and-forth text conversation directly from an Account — without leaving the CRM to log into CallRail. Each phone number that has a text history appears as its own tab with a message count, and you can reply right from the same window.
Contents
1. Before You Start
2. Turn On CallRail Texting
3. Open the Conversations Window
4. Read a Text Conversation
5. Send a Text Message
6. How It Works
7. Frequently Asked Questions
1. Before You Start
You will need:
A CallRail account connected to your CRM, with a tracking number that has texting enabled. The CallRail SMS gateway turned on for your instance (see the next section).
At least one Account record that has a phone number which has exchanged texts through CallRail.
Access requirements: Turning the feature on is an administrator task done in VOIP Controls. Once enabled, any user who can open an Account record can view and send texts.
If you don't see the texting options described here, your instance may not have CallRail selected as the active texting provider yet — ask your administrator to enable it (Section 2), or contact Dazos support.
2. Turn On CallRail Texting
This is a one-time setup done by an administrator.
1. From the CRM, go to Settings → VOIP Controls.
2. Find the SMS Configuration section.
3. Turn on Enable Send SMS.
4. Under Select SMS Gateway, choose CallRail.
5. Under Select Module to Enable "Send SMS" Button on Detail, make sure
Accounts is included. 6. Click Save Settings.
Setting | What it does |
Enable Send SMS | Master switch that turns texting on across the CRM. |
Select SMS Gateway | The texting provider used to send and read messages. Choose CallRail. |
Select Module to Enable "Send SMS" Button | The record types where texting appears. Include Accounts for the conversation view. |
Tip: The conversation view (reading full text threads) appears on the Accounts screen. The "Send SMS" button can appear on other record types too, but the threaded conversation history is shown on Accounts.
3. Open the Conversations Window
1. Open any Account record.
2. Go to the Communications area of the record (the Text Messages section).
3. Click Show Conversations.
A window opens titled Text Messages. Along the top you'll see one tab per phone number that already has a text conversation, and a small number on each tab telling you how many conversations that number has. Numbers with no texts are not shown, so you never have to click around to find out where the activity is.
Tip: If no tabs appear and you see a "no conversations yet" message, that simply means none of the record's phone numbers have texted through CallRail yet. You can still start a new conversation from the compose area at the bottom.
4. Read a Text Conversation
1. Click a phone number tab at the top of the window.
2. The most recent 10 messages load, newest at the bottom — incoming texts on the left, your outgoing texts on the right, each with a date and time.
3. To see older messages, scroll to the top of the conversation. The next 10 older messages load automatically. Keep scrolling up to walk back through the whole history.
What you see | Meaning |
Message on the left | A text received from the contact. |
Message on the right | A text you sent to the contact. |
Date / time under a message | When that message was sent or received. |
Number badge on a tab | How many conversations exist for that phone number. |
Tip: Conversations are pulled live from CallRail each time you open the window, so you're always looking at the current, up-to-date thread.
5. Send a Text Message
You can reply within an existing conversation or start a brand-new one, all from the bottom of the same window.
1. In the To field, pick the phone number you want to text (it defaults to the conversation you're viewing).
2. Choose a From number — the CallRail tracking number the text will be sent from.
3. Choose a Company — required for CallRail so the message is sent from the correct CallRail company.
4. Type your message. A character counter shows the length.
5. Click Send SMS.
Field | Description |
To | The contact's phone number that will receive the text. |
From | Your CallRail tracking number the text is sent from. |
Company | The CallRail company that owns the From number. Required for CallRail. |
Message | The text you want to send. |
After sending, your message appears immediately in the thread. If you texted a number that had no prior conversation, a new tab is created for it automatically and becomes the active tab.
Important: A Company must be selected before you can send with CallRail. If you click Send without one, the CRM will ask you to choose a company first.
Tip: Long messages are handled for you — if a message is longer than a single text segment, it is automatically split into multiple parts (labeled like "(1/2)", "(2/2)") so the full message gets delivered.
6. How It Works
Live, not stored. The CRM does not keep a copy of your texts. Every time you open the Conversations window or scroll for older messages, it asks CallRail for the latest information in real time, so you always see the true, current conversation.
One window per Account. Conversations are grouped by the phone numbers on the Account record, so everything for that contact is in one place.
Multiple CallRail accounts. If your CRM is connected to more than one CallRail account, conversations, counts, and From numbers from all of them appear together in the same view.
7. Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I don't see "Show Conversations" on the Account. Why? The feature appears only when CallRail is set as the active SMS gateway and Accounts is enabled in VOIP Controls (Section 2). If those are set and you still don't see it, contact Dazos support.
Q: A phone number I expected isn't showing as a tab. Tabs are only shown for numbers that already have a text conversation in CallRail. If a number has never texted, it won't have a tab — but you can still start a conversation with it from the compose area.
Q: Why do I have to pick a Company when sending? CallRail organizes tracking numbers under companies, and it needs to know which company a text is being sent from. This is specific to CallRail.
Q: My message was long — did the whole thing send? Yes. Messages longer than one text segment are automatically split into numbered parts and sent in sequence, so the complete message is delivered.
Q: Can I edit or delete a text after sending? No. Texts are sent through CallRail and cannot be edited or recalled from the CRM, just like a normal text message.
Q: Does turning this on affect my other texting setup? Switching the SMS gateway to CallRail changes which provider sends and reads texts. If you previously used a different provider, talk to your administrator before changing it.
Need Help?
If you run into issues:
1. Confirm CallRail is selected and Enable Send SMS is on in Settings → VOIP Controls, with Accounts enabled.
2. Confirm the CallRail tracking number has texting enabled in CallRail, and that the Account has a valid mobile number.
3. Contact Dazos support with what you were doing and the phone number involved, and reference CRM-3278.