Sending rent reminders on WhatsApp or SMS

SetURent does not send WhatsApp or SMS messages itself, and it does not resell them. You connect a service you have an account with, and for each reminder SetURent sends a request to that service's web address with the tenant's phone number and the message.

That keeps you in control: messages come from your own sender name or number, and you pay your provider directly for what you send.

Automatic WhatsApp messages need the WhatsApp Business Platform, which you can use through Meta or through a WhatsApp provider. The WhatsApp Business app on a phone cannot be connected to other software.

A reminder is a message your business starts, and WhatsApp only allows those from a message template it has approved. Write the template with blanks for the tenant's name, the amount and the due date, get it approved, then set up SetURent to fill those blanks.

Your provider gives you a web address to send messages to, and a key that goes in a request header.

Business SMS in India goes through a provider, and the sender name and the message templates must first be registered on a DLT platform. Your provider can help you register.

An SMS is only delivered when it matches a registered template, so write SetURent's reminder message to match your template word for word, with the changing parts in the same places.

If you already use Zapier, Make or n8n, point SetURent at a webhook there. The tool can then send the reminder by email, SMS or WhatsApp through its own connections, or post it to Slack.

1. Open Settings, then Notifications, and choose Add channel.
2. Enter your provider's web address, and add your key as a header if the provider asks for one.
3. Write the request body your provider expects. Put {{recipient.phone}} where the phone number goes and {{message}} where the text goes.
4. Use Send test to send a sample to your own number.
5. Add a rule: what to watch (a rent bill, an agreement renewal, a rent increase or a payment received), how many days before or after, who receives it, and an optional send window.

The help guide walks through the same steps, and Reminders shows what each rule can do.

• Save each tenant's phone number in the format your provider expects, usually with the country code.
• Send a test to yourself and read it the way your tenant will.
• Check your provider's prices. Providers charge for each message, so know the cost of a month of reminders.
• Set a send window so reminders arrive at a sensible hour. Times follow India Standard Time.

For the wording, Rent reminder messages you can copy has a message for each stage.

Reminders are optional. Rent Dues lists every tenant whose rent is overdue or due in the next seven days, with their phone number, so you know who to call or message yourself each morning.