Feature
Text to pay: send the invoice by SMS with a secure pay link
Text to pay delivers your invoice as a text message with a secure pay link, so clients see it fast and pay in a few taps. In development.
Updated · By PayToMe Editorial
Text message · Today
Hi Maria, invoice INV-0042 for $1,200.00 is ready. Pay securely here: paytome.si/pay/inv-0042
Paid, thanks!
Receipt sent to your email.
Text to pay means your client receives the invoice as a text message that contains a secure link, taps it, sees the invoice and pays on the same screen. PayToMe’s version, which is in development, adds the parts that make texting a business message responsible: recorded consent, a clear opt-out, and a fallback to email. You stay in control, because Via drafts the message and nothing is sent until you confirm.
How text to pay works
- Create the invoice. Build it by chatting with Via, from a photo, or by hand. PayToMe’s invoice engine computes the totals.
- Choose text as the channel. For a client with a mobile number and recorded consent, pick SMS. Otherwise PayToMe falls back to email.
- Review the message. You see the exact text, including your business name, the amount, the due date and the link. Edit it if you like.
- Send, then watch. The client taps the link, views the invoice and pays. You see when it was delivered, opened and paid.
A typical message looks like this: “Hi Dana, this is Rivera Plumbing. Invoice 0042 for 380.00 is due Nov 7. View and pay: (secure link). Reply STOP to opt out.” Short, specific, and clear about who is writing.
Why texting can get invoices seen sooner
Email invoices often sit between newsletters and receipts. A text arrives as a notification on a personal device and the first line is visible without opening anything. For a client who is not at a desk, such as a homeowner after a repair or a customer at an event, that matters.
We want to be careful here. Plenty of vendors quote dramatic open-rate numbers, and we cannot verify them, so we do not repeat them. What we can say is the mechanism: a text is shorter, more immediate and one tap from the payment page. Whether that gets you paid faster for your clients is something to measure on your own invoices, and PayToMe will show delivery and payment timing so you can compare channels.
Where text works best
- Residential and field work. The client is on a phone, often away from email.
- Small amounts. A 120.00 invoice should take thirty seconds to pay.
- Repeat clients who already text you. You are continuing a conversation, not starting one.
Where email is still better
- Large or formal invoices that a finance team needs to forward and file.
- Clients who have not agreed to texts. Do not text them. Use email.
- International clients where local messaging rules or costs are unclear.
Consent and opt-out basics
Texting is more regulated than email, and ignoring that can cost far more than a late invoice. Here is the plain-language outline. It is general information, not legal advice, and the rules change, so check current guidance from the FCC and your own counsel before you text clients.
- Get permission first. In the United States, business texts to consumers generally call for the recipient’s prior consent under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. A client giving you their number for a job is not automatically consent to receive every kind of message, so say what you will text and ask.
- Say who you are. Every message should name your business.
- Make opting out easy. Include instructions such as replying STOP, and honor the request promptly. Replies with other clear wording should be treated as opt-outs too.
- Do not text after an opt-out. A single confirmation message is the usual exception. After that, stop.
- Keep records. Note when and how each client agreed, so you can show it later.
PayToMe is being designed to help with each point: a consent field on every client, an opt-out keyword handled automatically, an opted-out badge you can see, and an automatic switch to email. Industry groups and carriers also publish messaging guidelines, and the details differ by country. We will link the official sources from this page when the feature launches rather than paraphrase them from memory.
What stays secure
The link in the text opens a hosted payment page, so the client never types card details into a text thread and never replies with them. PayToMe will not send card numbers or ask for them by SMS. The page shows your business name and the invoice, which lets the client confirm they are paying the right party. Each link is specific to one invoice.
Phishing is the reason this matters. Clients are right to be careful about links from unknown numbers, so we recommend a short heads-up for new clients (“you will get a text from me with the invoice”) and a consistent sender name.
A worked example
You finish a bathroom repair for 380.00 on a Thursday. You invoice at the job, the client has already agreed to texts, and the message goes out before you leave the driveway. If the client does not pay by the due date, smart reminders can send a polite nudge by text, inside the same thread. If they reply STOP, PayToMe stops texting and moves reminders to email.
For comparison, when a due date is part of your terms, the due date calculator helps you pick one that matches your payment terms. To see how this works step by step without PayToMe, read how to send an invoice by text.
Works with the rest of PayToMe
Text to pay combines naturally with a payment link that supports several payment methods, and with online payments so cards and bank transfers are both available from the same message. The draft itself can come from AI invoicing or photo to invoice.
What to do today
Sign in and send an invoice by email with a pay link, or build one with the free invoice generator, download the PDF and send it by whichever channel your client has agreed to. Text to pay is in development, and it is designed so the same invoice data flows straight into a text.