Missed-call text-back in Canada: how it works, what it costs, and the CASL part

Short answerA missed-call text-back sends an automatic text from your business number seconds after a call rings out: your business name, a question, a booking link and “Reply STOP to opt out”. The caller books or replies, and you answer later. In Canada it needs a text-capable number and carrier approval, usually 1–2 weeks. In our plan it’s included in $299 a month.

Missed-call text-back is one of the simplest things we build. Owners tend to ask the same three questions about it: what actually happens, what does it cost, and is it legal to text someone who just called you?

I wrote about the feeling of an unanswered call in the 6 pm problem. This note is the mechanics: the steps, the setup in Canada, the price and the CASL part, in plain English.

How does missed-call text-back work?

The system watches your business number, and when a call ends without anyone picking up, it texts the caller from that same number within seconds. Step by step:

1. 1
   The call rings out

   Someone calls your business number and nobody answers. You’re mid-cut, under a sink, or closed for the night.
2. 2
   A text goes out from the same number

   Seconds later, the caller gets a text from the number they just dialled. It opens with your business name, so it reads as a reply from you, not a message from a stranger.
3. 3
   The caller picks what happens next

   They tap the booking link and choose a time, reply with a question, or ignore it. A booking lands on your calendar and they get a confirmation.
4. 4
   You answer when your hands are free

   Replies come straight to you. You read them between clients or the next morning and pick up where the caller left off.
5. 5
   STOP ends it

   If they reply STOP, our system stops texting that number immediately.

Here’s the shape of one for Cedar & Co. Hair, a made-up salon for this example:

Name first, one question, one link, the STOP line. Nothing else needs to be in it. The wording is written with you, so it sounds like your shop.

It fires day or night, every time a call goes unanswered: after closing, but also at 2 pm when you’re open and simply busy. The text sits in the caller’s messages under the number they called, so if they come back to it on Saturday, the booking link is still there.

Voicemail, call-back or text-back: what can the caller do next?

The real difference between the three is what the caller can do the moment the call ends.

You don’t need a statistic to judge this. Think about the last time you called a business after hours and got nothing. Which of the three would have stopped you from tapping the next listing?

A text-back doesn’t replace calling people back. It makes sure the first thing the caller gets is an answer and a next step, not silence.

What do you need to set it up in Canada?

You need a business number that can send texts, carrier approval for that number, a booking link and wording that works as a reply.

• A text-capable business number. The text-back only works on a number the system can see. We set one up as part of launch.
• Carrier registration. Carriers register business numbers that send texts; approval usually takes 1–2 weeks. We file on day one, and until it clears, missed calls are followed up by call and email.
• A booking link. The link opens your booking page, where the caller sees your services and picks a time. Without it, the text can only promise a call back.
• A STOP line. Every text we send names the business and ends with “Reply STOP to opt out”. STOP applies immediately.
• Someone to read the replies. That’s you. The text-back starts the conversation; you finish it.

How much does missed-call text-back cost?

With us it costs nothing extra: missed-call text-back is part of the $299 CAD a month plan, with no separate price and no setup fee.

Price

$299 CAD a month, $0 setup, month-to-month

Includes

Website, online booking with confirmations and reminders, missed-call text-back, client list, Google profile and review requests, a monthly report

Texts and minutes

2,000 text segments and 500 voice minutes a month; beyond that $0.06 per segment and $0.35 per minute

Texts switch on

After carrier approval, usually 1–2 weeks

Cancelling

30 days’ notice

A short text-back like the Cedar & Co. one above uses a single segment. The full list of what’s included is on our pricing page.

If you’re comparing providers, ask four questions: is the business number included, who files the carrier registration, are texts billed on top of the monthly fee, and where do the replies go? The answers matter more than the headline price.

Is missed-call text-back allowed under CASL?

It can be, as long as it stays a reply: sent only to someone who just called you, naming your business, with a working STOP line and nothing for sale.

I read the Act and its regulations for this part. Replies get lighter treatment than cold messages, but missed calls aren’t named anywhere. Here’s what the text says:

Because that question is open, we write every text-back as if the full rules applied. It costs nothing, and it helps the caller too: a text that names the business they just rang is easy to trust, while an unnamed text from a number they half-remember is not.

• Your business name first, in every text.
• “Reply STOP to opt out”, and STOP takes effect immediately.
• Sent only to the number that just called. No lists.
• No offers. “Sorry we missed you, 20% off this week” isn’t a reply any more.
• One follow-up at most if they don’t answer.

Sending that caller offers later is a different kind of message with its own consent rules. Our checklist for texting clients in BC covers them.

What a missed-call text-back doesn’t do

It doesn’t answer the phone, it isn’t an emergency line, and it can’t reach everyone.

• It doesn’t answer calls. The phone still rings out. If you want calls answered, that’s our AI receptionist add-on (+$197–297/mo): it answers calls 24/7 as a clearly automated assistant and books appointments into your calendar. Anything that needs a person goes to you.
• It isn’t for emergencies. A text-back can’t tell a burst pipe from a quote request, and nobody reads the reply until you do. If you run an after-hours line, put that number in the text. If anyone is in danger, the answer is 911, not a text.
• It doesn’t pretend to be a person. The text-back is an automatic message and reads like one: short, named, with a way out. The conversation becomes personal when you reply.
• It can’t reach everyone. A caller with a hidden number can’t be texted, and someone calling from a landline or an office line may never see it. Some people just don’t text businesses. Those callers still need a call back from you.

If you’d like to see it working with your own business name, we’ll build you a free demo site within 48 hours of a 15-minute call and show you the text-back on that call. Not ready to talk? Ask for a free video audit of your current site or Google profile. Everything the text-back connects to is on our AI automation page.