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How to Email, Text, or Call a Contact



Exterio lets you email, text, and call contacts directly from the platform, so communication is logged against the record instead of living on someone's personal phone.

When you'd use it

  • Following up on an estimate you sent last week
  • Texting a homeowner that the crew is on the way
  • Calling a lead back and keeping the record on their contact history

Before you start

Three things need to be in place. If the action buttons aren't working, one of these is why.

  • Email requires a connected inbox. You must connect your Gmail or Outlook account before you can send email from Exterio.

  • Calling and texting require an Exterio phone number. This is set up separately in your account.

  • Consent must be recorded on the contact. SMS and phone consent, and email consent for automated emails, need to be captured — either through your lead form or when you gathered the contact's information. See How to Create a Contact for where these opt-ins live.

    Setup for email connection and phone numbers is covered in separate articles in the Help Center.

Option 1: From the contact card

  1. Go to the Contacts page.
  2. Search for the contact and click their name. The contact card opens.
  3. At the very top of the card, you'll see three actions: Email, Call, and Text Message.
  4. Click the one you want.

Option 2: From a project

The primary contact or contacts on a project always appear just under the project page title. You have two ways to reach them from there.

Open the contact card: click the contact's name. You get the same card with the same three actions.

Trigger directly: use the small phone, text, and email icons next to the name. These launch the action immediately without leaving the project.

The direct icons are the faster path when you're already working a job and just need to reach the homeowner.

Tips and gotchas

  • If the buttons don't work, check setup before calling support. Email failing usually means the Gmail or Outlook connection isn't in place. Call and text failing usually means no Exterio phone number is set up. Both are one-time account setup steps.

  • Communicate from Exterio, not your cell. The reason to use these buttons instead of your personal phone is the record. When a rep is out, or a customer disputes what was promised, the history is on the contact where anyone with access can see it. Texts from a personal phone are invisible to the rest of your team.

  • Consent isn't a formality. Texting or calling a contact who hasn't opted in creates real compliance exposure under TCPA. If a contact asks to stop receiving texts or emails, update their consent on the contact card promptly.

  • Use the project header icons for speed, the contact card for context. If you need to see history, notes, or past campaigns before reaching out, open the full card. If you just need to say "we're on the way," use the icons.