Sending quotes via email and SMS

The single biggest predictor of a quote being accepted is the customer actually opening it. The second is opening it within 24 hours. Both depend on which channel you send through. Karven defaults to sending via both email and SMS because the open rates are different, email lands in inboxes; SMS lands on lock screens.

The default behaviour

When you hit Send, Karven sends:

• Email: if you've got an email address.
• SMS: if you've got a mobile number.
• Both: if you've got both.

You can override this per quote. Click Send → Options → toggle channels.

SMS deliverability

Karven sends SMS via Twilio with an Australian short code. The carriers (Telstra, Optus, TPG, Vodafone) deliver these in seconds with one of the lowest failure rates in the industry. You don't manage any of this.

A few things to know:

• Sender ID. On most Australian carriers, the SMS shows as coming from a short numeric code, not your business name. Karven includes your business name in the message body itself ("Your quote from [Your business] is ready: ...") to compensate.
• Length. Karven's send message is two SMS segments. You're charged per segment by Twilio. On Starter and above, SMS is included in your plan.
• Opt-out. Every Karven SMS includes "Reply STOP to opt out". If a customer opts out, they're flagged in your records and Karven won't SMS them again unless you explicitly re-enrol them.

Email deliverability

Karven sends email via Resend, with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configured for the Karven sending domain. Open rates on first-touch quote emails average 78%.

Why your emails don't go to spam:

• Karven sends from quotes@karven.com.au, with your business name in the From field. Your reply-to header is your business email so replies still come to you.
• We don't include shortened URLs, tracking pixels in the visible body, or any of the patterns that Gmail's spam filter flags.

If you've got a customer who keeps reporting "your emails go to my junk", their email provider's the problem, not yours. Ask them to add quotes@karven.com.au to their safe senders, and offer to send via SMS instead.

Custom message

By default, Karven sends a short, professional body, "G'day [Name], your quote from [Your business] is ready. Click to view." If you want to write a longer custom message, hit Edit message at the send step.

A short personal note often lifts response rates. Three lines max. Don't write an essay; the PDF is the document.

Timing

If you send a quote between 7am and 7pm, Karven sends immediately. Outside those hours, Karven shows you a Send tomorrow morning at 8am option. Quotes sent between 8am and 11am have noticeably higher open rates than quotes sent at 11pm.

You can override and force-send out of hours if you want. Sometimes the urgency is real.

Tracking opens

The portal page itself is tracked, Karven records when the customer first lands on it. You'll see "Opened 14 mins ago" on the quote's status row in the bench.

We don't put tracking pixels in the email body. We don't read replies. The portal open is the only signal.

If a customer hasn't opened the quote in 48 hours, Karven offers to send a gentle nudge SMS. See automations.

Resending

If a customer says "I never got it", check the Send history tab on the quote. You'll see every send attempt, channel, and delivery status. Twilio confirms delivery on most carriers; Resend confirms either delivery or bounce on most providers.

If both look healthy, the email almost certainly hit their spam folder or got eaten by a corporate filter. Hit Resend and pick SMS-only. They'll have it inside a minute.

Multiple recipients

You can add a second recipient to any quote, typically a partner or co-decision-maker. Karven sends a copy to each, with their own shortlink (so you can tell who actually opened it). When either one accepts, the quote is accepted; the other recipient sees a "your partner accepted this, here's the deposit page" view.

What you can't do

You can't send a quote to a generic mailing list. Karven is one-to-one, not marketing. If you want to broadcast something, a price update, a holiday closure, use Customers → Broadcast which has the proper unsubscribe/compliance plumbing baked in.

A common mistake

Sending the quote to your own email "to check it looks right". Don't. Your inbox's spam treatment is different from your customer's, your client UI is different, and the open will mark the quote as opened in Karven's stats. Use Preview in the send dialog instead, it renders the PDF and the portal page exactly as the customer will see them.