A complete guide to SMS in NetSuite: Automate texts for reminders, field service, and more

NetSuite powers over 43,000 organizations worldwide as the backbone of financials, CRM, inventory, and ecommerce operations. As online commerce continues to accelerate, customer interactions must happen in real time – and that’s where SMS comes in.

Text messaging from within NetSuite allows businesses to engage customers instantly on the device most of them are on constantly: their phone. With over 90% of text messages read within 3 minutes of delivery, SMS offers unmatched immediacy, visibility, and engagement.

This guide outlines best practices for implementing SMS and MMS communication in NetSuite. You’ll also get 15 ready-to-use NetSuite SMS templates for everything from order confirmations to promotions (no coding required).

Text messaging is most effective when your message is:

• Time-sensitive or urgent, such as appointment reminders, deliveries, or order updates.

• Targeted to on-the-go recipients like field staff, delivery teams, or warehouse personnel.

• Worth sending to an engaged audience. 78% of consumers state that checking, sending, and responding to text messages is the activity that they’re most engaged with throughout the day.

When your audience needs fast, actionable updates – and you need confidence your message will be seen – SMS is a channel you shouldn’t overlook.

Adding SMS to your NetSuite workflows has the potential to significantly increase engagement at every touchpoint.

Whether it’s a text reminder, an announcement, or answers to customer questions, text messages complement traditional email and call-based channels while reducing delays and boosting conversions – and they have a ton of useful applications.

Common SMS applications in NetSuite include:

• Order management: confirmations, e-receipts, and tracking links.

• Shipping: real-time delivery ETAs or pickup instructions.

• Promotions: special offers and loyalty discounts.

• Customer feedback: surveys and review requests.

• Support: service notifications and case updates.

Here are some helpful text message templates across all these SMS use cases to help you save time and engage more customers than only email and/or phone outreach.

Replace or supplement email notifications with instant text alerts triggered directly from NetSuite workflows.

Example Templates:

Tip: Use merge fields in NetSuite to personalize messages dynamically and include tracking or order detail links. Check out our help docs to learn how to include merge fields in your NetSuite SMS.

Scheduling field visits, deliveries, or curbside pickups? Text messages achieve faster confirmations and fewer missed appointments.

Templates:

Best practice: Send appointment texts during business hours and allow quick “Y/N” replies for frictionless confirmations.

SMS support resolves issues faster and at a lower cost than email or phone queues. It’s also an opportunity to collect feedback and increase loyalty.

Pro tip: View that customer touchpoint as an opportunity to give value. Always close a resolved case with feedback or loyalty message.

With emails being so easy to ignore, SMS billing reminders reach customers faster and reduce missed payments.

Templates:

Use time-sensitive SMS promotions to drive urgency and conversions.

Templates:

Best practice: Include a deadline or expiration date to encourage immediate action.

When you’re already doing so much of your operations from NetSuite, adding SMS to your workflows can improve every stage of the customer journey – from order tracking to retention.

By following these best practices and using the pre-built templates above, NetSuite-powered organizations can reduce operational friction, increase engagement, and turn text messaging into a competitive advantage.

Explore how Sinch Engage helps you do all of the above with our NetSuite SMS integration, or book a demo to get a walkthrough from our team of experts.