How LedgerHQ messages company owners
Understand the two owner channels — outbound-only text messages versus the two-way Client Requests thread system — and which one to use.
New users often expect LedgerHQ's text messages to work like a phone: send a text, get a text back. They do not. LedgerHQ has two separate ways to reach a company owner, and they behave very differently. Getting them straight is the single most useful thing to learn about owner communication, so this article explains the model first and then points to where each channel lives.
Two Channels, One Rule
LedgerHQ reaches company owners through two channels:
- Text messages (SMS) are outbound only. LedgerHQ can send a text, but the owner cannot hold a conversation by replying to it. Texts are short nudges and alerts, not a chat line.
- Client Requests are the two-way system. Every real back-and-forth — questions, answers, documents, follow-ups — happens here, across email, the in-app owner portal, and mobile.
The rule to remember: if you need a reply, use Client Requests. If you only need to nudge, a text is fine. A text can point an owner toward action, but the actual exchange belongs in a request thread.
Do not wait for a reply to a text message. Owners cannot answer a LedgerHQ text by texting back — the only reply a text accepts is STOP to opt out. If you asked a question by text, you will not receive the answer there.
What Text Messages Are For
Texts are deliberately narrow. LedgerHQ sends them for three purposes:
- Bank connection nudges — asking an owner to connect a new bank or card, each text carrying a secure no-login link into the connection flow.
- Reconnect nudges — asking an owner to fix a bank feed that stopped syncing, again with a secure link to the specific connection.
- Owner alerts — a short message a firm sends to a company's owners, for example a heads-up that something needs their attention.
Every text is branded as LedgerHQ, keeps its content short, and ends with Reply STOP to opt out. That STOP is the one and only thing the messaging system listens for on the way back in: when an owner replies STOP, that number is opted out and LedgerHQ stops texting it. No other reply is read, routed, or answered. There is no inbound text conversation.
Because texts are one-directional, they only reach owners whose cell number is on file, they are never sent to a number that has opted out, and archived companies are not texted. If texting credentials are not configured for the environment, LedgerHQ records the attempt but sends nothing.
For the full texting workflow — choosing the outreach owner, sending connection and reconnect links, and automatic feed texts — see Bank connection texts.
What Client Requests Are For
Everything that needs a conversation lives in Client Requests. A request can ask an owner for a document, a statement, a receipt, or an answer, or simply send them a message. When the owner responds, the thread reopens and keeps the whole exchange — replies, uploaded files, assignments, and closure history — together in one place.
Requests reach owners across the channels that support a real reply: email, the in-app owner portal, and mobile. When a workflow provides one, the owner can use a secure no-login link scoped to that single request, so they can answer without a full LedgerHQ login. Replies flow back into the same thread rather than disappearing into an inbox.
This is also where Tally works. When authorized, Tally takes the first pass on an owner's reply, answers routine questions, and routes judgment-heavy messages to the firm. That supervision only makes sense because the channel is two-way.
For how the queue, replies, and Tally handling work, see Client requests and messages.
Choosing The Right Channel
Match the channel to the job:
- Owner needs to connect or reconnect a bank — send a text with the secure link. The link is the action; no reply is expected.
- Owner needs a quick heads-up — a short owner alert text is fine, as long as you do not need anything back.
- You need an answer, a document, or an ongoing exchange — open a Client Request. This is the only channel that captures a reply.
A common mistake is sending a question by text and then waiting. The owner may read it, but they have no way to answer it as a text. Put questions and document requests in a request thread from the start.
A text and a request can work together: text an owner a nudge that a request is waiting, then let the actual answer come back through the request thread. The text moves attention; the request captures the conversation.
Owner Contact Details Come From One Place
Both channels depend on accurate owner contact information — a cell number for texts, an email for requests. LedgerHQ keeps that information in the company's owners list, and both channels read from it. If a text is not arriving, confirm the owner has a complete cell number on file and has not opted out; if a request email is not arriving, confirm the owner's email is correct. Do not keep a second copy of an owner's contact details anywhere else.