Incoming SMS within Bitrix24

Bitrix24 is widely used by self-employed specialists: trainers, tutors, consultants and lawyers.

The Task management, Open Channels and CRM are very useful due to their simplicity and easy-to-understand interface.

At the same time most of Bitrix24 users have some extra expectations about the default functionality. In some cases there is such an opportunity to extend standard features with external applications and third-party-services API.

We’d like to tell about such a case.

One of our customers is an Australian coach who uses a free cloud version Bitrix24 for managing trainings.

He and his clients use SMS as a communication channel. Bitrix24 sends info SMS to clients using Twilio ( https://www.twilio.com/ ) as an SMS provider. They use a virtual SMS number.

Currently there is an SMS integration between Twilio and Bitrix24. Twilio successfully sends messages, customers read them, but when the customers try to answer, they get no reply.
The problem is that Bitrix24 does not receive messages from Twilio and there is no two-way SMS communication. Incoming SMS are  available at Twilio Personal Account.

Project results. What we have done

Now the SMS messages come  to Bitrix24. They are shown at CRM lead card page. If the sender exists as a client, the standard Bitrix24 notification is shown to a person responsible for them. If the client isn’t presented at Bitrix24, it means that the client is new. In that case the notification about SMS is shown to all Bitrix24 users.

Now this couch is able to communicate with his customers through a convenient SMS channel. All incoming SMS from new and existing clients are processed, following arrangements and actions are taken.

Technical details. Solving the problem

There is a web hook for incoming SMS at Twilio. We use it. Our PHP script at the server receives the web hooks. We look for telephony numbers at CRM and send notifications from the server via REST API at Bitrix24.

This work took us 5 hours.

Deployment diagram

Do you have the same or others problems? Write to us. We have wide competence at Bitrix24.