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A roofer's phone rings hardest when the crew is least able to answer it: on a roof, in a lift, or during the first storm of the season. A homeowner with a stain spreading across the ceiling won't leave a long voicemail. They call the next name on the list.
This isn't legal or insurance advice: licensing, contract and insurance-claim rules vary by state, so have the owner review every line.
TL;DR: A roofer's missed-call text should name the company, say the crew is on a roof or in the field, and ask one sorting question: "Is water coming in right now, or do you need an estimate?" Active leaks get a short safety line (stay out of the attic and away from sagging ceilings, call 911 for anything dangerous) and a priority flag, while estimate requests get two time slots. After storms, homeowners are warned by the FTC about contractors who pressure them to sign immediately, demand cash up front or ask them to sign over insurance checks, so a trustworthy text offers a time, not a deadline, and says your license and insurance details are available on request. In HighLevel, use the built-in text-back or a workflow that tags leak calls and alerts the owner. US texts cost under a penny per segment plus carrier fees and A2P registration.
What should a roofer's missed call text back say?
It should name your company, show you saw the call, and ask one question that sorts it: "Is water coming in right now, or do you need an estimate?" Keep it to one SMS segment (160 plain-text characters); keep the example texts below short enough to fit with a 23-character company name. Emojis and curly apostrophes switch the text to an encoding with only 70 characters per segment (HighLevel: How to Calculate SMS and MMS Costs). Replace anything in [brackets], and only promise reply times you can keep. To check a message after adding your name, use our free text message generator.
First texts (sent automatically after a missed call)
-
Crew on a roof:
Hi, it's [Company]. Sorry we missed you, our crew is on a roof. Is water coming in now, or do you need an estimate? Reply here and we'll help. -
After hours:
[Company] here. We're closed now and open at [7am]. Reply with your address and what's happening, and we'll text you first thing. -
Weekend or holiday:
Thanks for calling [Company]. We're closed today. Reply with your address and what you're seeing, and we'll text you [Monday] to schedule. -
After a storm:
[Company] here. We're getting a lot of calls after the storm. Reply with your address and what you see, and we'll get you on the list in order.
How do you set up missed call text back for roofing in HighLevel?
Start with the built-in feature for speed, then move to workflows when you want leak routing. The steps below follow HighLevel's help docs as of October 2026.
Option 1: built-in text-back (five minutes). In the sub-account, go to Settings → Phone System → Voice → Voicemail & Missed Call Text Back, open Missed Call Text Back, enable it, send your text-back message, send a test, and save. HighLevel says an incoming call timeout of 10 to 20 seconds is typically recommended (HighLevel: Missed Call Text Back). If the number called can't send SMS, HighLevel sends from another eligible number, so tell your team the text may come from a different number.
Option 2: workflows (more control). HighLevel recommends customizing its Missed Call Text Back recipe in Workflows to avoid duplicate texts. Three workflows cover most roofing companies:
- Text-back: trigger on Call Details (incoming; no-answer, busy, or voicemail) → short wait → send your text-back message → tag the contact (Workflow Trigger: Call Details).
- Existing customer vs. new lead: an If/Else step checks for a "past customer" tag or an open opportunity in your job pipeline (Workflow Action: If/Else). Past customers and new callers get different wording.
- Leak alert: trigger on Customer Replied, filter Reply Channel = SMS and the message containing "leak," "water," "dripping," "ceiling," or "tree," then send an internal notification to the owner or dispatcher with the message body (Workflow Trigger: Customer Replied). Test it with real spellings and typos.
If your estimating or job software doesn't sync with HighLevel, keep the tags simple: add "past customer" when a job closes. Our GoHighLevel vs Jobber comparison covers how a CRM and a field service tool split the work. For the calls HighLevel can't text back fast enough in a storm, see the roofing AI receptionist guide. To estimate what unanswered calls cost you, try the free missed call calculator.
How much does missed call text back cost a roofer in HighLevel?
Under a penny per text segment plus carrier fees, plus your number and A2P registration. From HighLevel's Phone System Pricing & Billing Guide (US, as of October 2026):
| Item | Price (USD) |
|---|---|
| SMS, per segment | $0.00747 outbound and $0.00747 inbound, plus a carrier fee (about $0.0025 to $0.0100) |
| MMS (photos), per message | $0.0220 outbound; $0.0165 inbound on a local number, plus carrier fees |
| Local phone number | $1.15/month |
| A2P 10DLC registration (Low Volume) | $22.50 one-time + $1.50 to $10.50/month per campaign |
Inbound replies are billed too, so a six-text back-and-forth costs roughly 6 to 11 cents, and storm-damage photos add a few cents each.
Get the full guide
This is a shortened version. Read the full guide with all scripts on Peace Call.
Originally published at getpeacecall.com.
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