Compare options · Plans & Services · Automation & AI · AI Enablement · Help & Support

Every email, text and message your account sends

Your Pondocean account sends messages to your customers and to you and your staff: booking confirmations, reminders, receipts, invoices and more, by email, text, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Instagram. This guide shows which messages can go by text, which only work by email, what each messaging channel needs and costs, and what changes if you turn email off.

Browse the Pondo help library

Start a request

Every reply lands in one inbox.

Your account can talk to customers by email, text, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Instagram, and every conversation arrives in the Communication Hub. Email and text work once your sending domain and texting number are set up. WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram each need their own connection first. Jump to a channel:

Six things to know before you change anything

Email isn't one switch

Each feature has its own setting: calendars, receipts, invoices, documents, reviews, forms and automations. Turning email "off" means changing each one.

Your domain is part of your system

If the web domain your emails send from expires, those emails stop. They don't switch to a backup. Talk to us before letting a domain lapse or changing it.

Appointments can run fully by text

Every booking message can go by text. Customers cancel or reschedule by tapping a link in the text. Booking messages can also go by WhatsApp once it's connected.

Some things only work by email

Payment receipts, online store orders, membership and portal logins, form alerts, email campaigns, and your own login and password resets. See the list.

Never ask customers to "reply CANCEL"

CANCEL is a phone-carrier opt-out word. A customer who texts it is unsubscribed from all your texts. Use cancel links instead.

Social and WhatsApp messages have a clock

You can reply freely for 24 hours after the customer's last message. After that, the rules tighten. See .

Every channel at a glance

What each channel needs, who can start the conversation, and how it's charged. Replies from every channel arrive in the Communication Hub, where you and your staff answer them.

ChannelWhat you connectWho can startAutomationsCost
EmailA sending domain of your own (recommended)You, any timeSend, follow up, campaignsUsage at volume
Text (SMS/MMS)A texting number, registered with the carriersYou, with the customer's consentSend, reminders, missed-call text-back, reply triggersPer segment, both ways
WhatsAppA WhatsApp Business number and an approved display nameThe customer; or you, with an approved template and their opt-inSend, templates, booking messages, review requests, reply triggersChannel charge + per message
Facebook MessengerYour Facebook PageThe customerReply triggers, Messenger replies with buttonsNo per-message charge
Instagram DMsAn Instagram professional account linked to your PageThe customer (a DM or a comment)Reply triggers, DM replies, reply to a comment by DMNo per-message charge
Facebook & Instagram commentsThe same Page and Instagram connectionThe customer, by commentingKeyword triggers, public reply, private DM replyNo per-message charge
Website chatThe chat widget on your siteThe visitorAri can answer; hand-off to staffNo per-message charge

Ari, the platform's AI, can answer on text, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram and website chat where your account includes it. Ari replies are billed as AI usage.

What your account sends by email and text

Each row is one message. The coloured pill tells you how well a text can replace the email. Where a row lists WhatsApp, that message can also go by WhatsApp once it's connected.

SMS nativeTexting is this feature's own channel.
SMS worksA text does the same job as the email.
SMS not idealA text can do part of it, usually a link instead of an attached PDF or full document.
Email onlyNo built-in text option. You lose it if email is off.
Ask us firstBehaviour isn't documented yet. Check with us before relying on it.
Workflow neededReplacing it by text means building an automation.

What you give up without email

None of these has a built-in text option. The right-hand column is the closest alternative.

MessageGoes toClosest alternative

WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram

These channels run on Meta's rules, not the phone carriers'. Each one needs its own connection, and each has a limit on when you can message someone. Here's what to connect, what can be automated, and what it costs.

Business messaging on the customer's favourite app

WhatsApp

Chat with customers, and send booking messages and review requests, on WhatsApp. Conversations appear in the Communication Hub next to texts and email.

What you connect
  • A phone number that can receive a verification code by text or call.
  • Keep using the number in the WhatsApp Business app alongside your account, or give the account a dedicated number. A dedicated number has to be removed from WhatsApp first, so back up its chats.
  • A display name, which Meta approves. We turn the channel on for your account and walk you through the connection.
Automations
  • Whena customer sends a WhatsApp message (a reply trigger that can be limited to WhatsApp), or a contact is created
  • Thensend a WhatsApp message, send an approved , or wait for their reply
  • Alsoappointment booked, cancelled, rescheduled, reminder and follow-up messages, and review requests, each from an approved template. Ari can answer WhatsApp chats.
Cost
Channel charge + per message
Meta charges per delivered message, by category, at rates it publishes for each country. Marketing and authentication templates are always charged. Until 30 September 2026, replies and utility messages inside are free. From 1 October 2026, utility messages inside the window are charged, and replies to customers are free for the first 1,000 per number each month. The WhatsApp channel also carries a monthly platform charge. We confirm your rates before we turn it on.

Watch out

Customers must before you message them on WhatsApp, and you can only start a conversation with an approved template.

If you keep using the WhatsApp Business app on the same number, templates can only be sent from your account, not from the phone app.

Direct messages from your Facebook Page and Instagram

Facebook Messenger & Instagram DMs

Messages people send your Facebook Page or Instagram account arrive in the Communication Hub, and a contact is created for them. You and your staff reply from there.

What you connect
  • Your Facebook Page, connected by someone with full Page access, including messaging.
  • For Instagram: a professional account (Business or Creator) linked to that Page, with Allow access to messages turned on in the Instagram app (Settings › Privacy › Messages › Connected tools).
  • Both connect in one place: Settings › Integrations › Facebook & Instagram.
Automations
  • Whensomeone messages your Page or Instagram account (a reply trigger limited to that channel)
  • Thenreply by Messenger or Instagram DM, including messages with buttons or quick replies
  • AlsoAri can answer Facebook and Instagram messages.
Cost
No per-message charge
There is no per-message charge for Messenger or Instagram DMs. Ari replies and AI steps are billed as AI usage.

Watch out

The customer has to message first. Automated replies only go out inside after their last message.

You can't message someone on these channels who hasn't messaged you or commented first.

Turn a comment into a conversation

Facebook & Instagram comments

Comments on your posts can start an automation: a public reply under the comment, a private message to the person who commented, or both.

What you connect
The same Facebook Page and Instagram connection as DMs. Nothing extra.
Automations
  • Whensomeone comments on a post: on a chosen Page, on all posts or specific posts, and optionally only when the comment contains a keyword (for example "PRICE" or "BOOK")
  • Thenreply publicly in the comments (rotating through up to 10 replies you write, with an optional like), and/or reply privately by DM
Cost
No per-message charge
AI-written replies are billed as AI usage.

Watch out

A private reply to a comment has to go out within 7 days of the comment.

You can see and answer comments inside your account only for posts published through the social planner. Comments on posts made directly in Facebook or Instagram can still trigger automations.

Messaging costs are usage, not plan price

Texts, WhatsApp messages, email at volume and AI replies are usage-based and billed on top of your plan. An automation can be included in your plan and still have a running cost; we explain those costs before activation.

Other channels people ask about

Website chat

A chat widget on your website. Chats land in the Communication Hub, and Ari can answer them.

TikTok

DMs and comments from a US-registered TikTok business account can be connected to the Communication Hub. Ask us before relying on it. Not available for accounts in the EEA, UK or Switzerland.

Google Business Profile chat

Google shut this down in July 2024. Put your WhatsApp or texting number on your Google profile instead.

LinkedIn messages

Not available. LinkedIn messages can't be connected to the Communication Hub.

Thinking about going text-only?

It's your call, and it's a reasonable one if your customers prefer texts. Here's what it involves, so you can decide with the full picture.

What stays working
  • Booking confirmations, reminders, reschedules, cancellations and follow-ups, by text with cancel and reschedule links.
  • Invoices, estimates and documents, sent as a text with a link to view, pay or sign.
  • Review requests, missed-call text-back, and alerts to you by text or in the app.
What you give up
  • Emailed payment receipts, unless we build a "payment received" text.
  • An online store, digital products, memberships, courses and a client portal. These need customer email to work.
  • Email campaigns and newsletters.
  • Turning email back on later is a new setup project.
What still needs an inbox
  • You and every staff member need a working email address to log in, accept invites and reset passwords.
  • Customers who give you an email address may still get some receipts and payment emails. Without your own domain, these come from a shared address and are more likely to land in spam.
What the switch involves
  • Every active calendar: turn email off and text on for each booking message, and add cancel and reschedule links.
  • Turn off any automation that also sends booking emails, so customers don't get duplicates.
  • Switch invoices, documents and review requests to text.
  • Build automations for anything marked Workflow needed that you want to keep.
  • Remove any old or expired sending domain from your email settings, and any business email address that uses it.
Two ways to do it
  • Yourself: use the help guides and, where available in your account, Ask AI to work through each setting.
  • Done for you: start a request. We review what's involved and send a written quote before any chargeable work begins.

Texts are billed per 160-character segment, and your customers' replies count too. Short texts with a link keep costs down.

Start a request

About your sending domain

Your emails are sent from a web address (a "domain"), like msg.yourbusiness.com. Your account is always in one of three states.

Your own domain, working

Emails come from your business name and address and land in inboxes most reliably. This is what we recommend if you use email at all.

No domain of your own

Emails still go out, but from a shared address. Customers may see "sent via" another address, and more messages end up in spam.

A domain that has expired

The worst of the three. Emails set to send from it stop, and nothing takes over. Someone else can also buy the expired domain and receive mail sent to your old addresses.

If a domain lapses: it has to be renewed, or removed from your account and every setting that uses it updated. Going text-only doesn't remove this step, because some messages only send by email.

Texting basics

  • Your texting number has to be registered with the phone carriers (US "A2P 10DLC" registration). Unregistered texts are blocked by the carriers, even when your account shows them as sent. Ask us if you're not sure yours is registered.
  • Keep it short and plain. One text segment holds 160 characters. A single emoji or curly quote drops that to 70, which can double or triple the cost of a message.
  • Use full links, not bit.ly-style shorteners. Some carriers block shortened links.
  • The first text to each customer automatically includes your business name and "reply STOP to opt out," which adds length.
  • STOP, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE, END and QUIT all unsubscribe a customer from your texts. Never use them as reply keywords.
  • Send reminders during the day. Texting customers before 8 am or after 9 pm their time can break US texting rules.

Want us to connect a channel or make the change?

Tell us what you'd like your account to send, on which channels, and how. We review your setup, explain what's covered and what needs a quote, and only start chargeable work after your written approval.

Start a request What your service covers

Start a request opens the Duck & Shark client area, which uses your Duck & Shark website login. It's separate from your Pondocean login.

Start in the right place.

Use New Request for an issue, question or change in an existing service. Browse the guides when you want to work through it yourself. Review the service details when you are considering a larger change.

Your Duck & Shark website login and Pondo login are separate. Signing into one does not sign you into the other.

Duck & Shark · Terms · Privacy Policy · Accessibility