An out of office text message for a business has three parts: you are away, the specific day and time you will reply, and what to do if it is urgent. Keep it to two or three short sentences and name a callback time you will keep. Below are eight examples to paste for a weekend, a vacation, after hours, a busy season, a holiday, a sick day, bad weather and an emergency line. After them comes how to set up the auto-reply, how it differs from a missed-call text, a line about consent, and what to do when you come back so the texts that piled up do not turn into lost jobs.

The three parts, in order

  1. Where you are: "We're closed until Monday." One short phrase, not a story.
  2. When they will hear back: "I'll reply Monday by 10 a.m." A time you control. "As soon as possible" tells the customer nothing.
  3. What to do if it can't wait: a phone number, a link to book, or "call 911." Without this, a leaking pipe waits as long as a price question.

Say your business name at the start so the customer knows which number they reached. A person who texts three companies on the same afternoon will not remember which one answered.

Eight examples to copy

1. Weekend or closed day

Hi, this is Ridgeline Plumbing. We're closed until Monday at 8 a.m. and I'll reply to your message first thing. For a burst pipe or no water, call 555-0122 and press 2.

2. After hours on a weekday

Thanks for texting Ridgeline Plumbing. Our office reopens at 8 a.m. tomorrow and your message will be the first one I answer. If it's an emergency, call 555-0122 and press 2.

3. Vacation

Thanks for your message. I'm away until the 18th and will reply by 10 a.m. that day. If you need an answer sooner, Mia can help at 555-0119. I'll follow up myself on anything left open.

4. Busy season

Got your message, thank you. It's our busiest month, so replies are taking about a day. I'll text you back by tomorrow at noon. For an urgent job, call 555-0122.

5. Holiday closure

Happy holidays from Ridgeline Plumbing. We're closed through January 2 and I'll answer your message on January 3 by 9 a.m. For an emergency, call 555-0122.

6. Sick day or family emergency

Thanks for reaching out. I'm out today and will reply tomorrow by noon. If you need a technician now, call Mia at 555-0119.

7. Weather closure

We're closed today because of the storm and will reopen tomorrow at 8 a.m. We'll text you back in the order messages came in. Stay safe, and call 555-0122 if there's a safety emergency with your system.

8. A practice that may get urgent health or safety messages

Our office is closed and this number isn't monitored after 5 p.m. If this is a medical emergency, call 911. For the on-call team, call 555-0125. Otherwise, we'll reply tomorrow by 10 a.m.

The last example matters for clinics, vets and anyone whose customers may text about something frightening. A text number that nobody watches should say so plainly, and send people to the number that is watched. Ridgeline Plumbing and its numbers here are made up.

Setting up the auto-reply

There are three ways, and which you can use depends on your phone and your plan.

  • Your phone's own settings. Built-in options are thin and differ by phone, maker and software version. On an iPhone, the auto-reply lives in the Driving Focus and only answers people you choose from your contacts or recents, so a new customer texting for the first time may get nothing. Many Android phones have no built-in text auto-reply at all. Look there first, then test it by texting your phone from a number that is not in your contacts.
  • A business texting number or phone system. Many business phone apps and cloud phone systems have an away message or after-hours auto-reply that works for everyone who texts. This is the most reliable option, because the message follows your business hours rather than your battery.
  • A text-back after a missed call. This is a different tool, covered below.

Whichever you choose, test it before you rely on it. Text the number from a second phone at a time the auto-reply should be on, and read what arrives. Check that the reply comes once and does not loop, that it names your business, and that the callback time is correct for the day you set it.

Out of office reply vs missed-call text

An out of office text answers a message someone sent. A missed-call text goes out after someone phones you and you didn't pick up. They solve different problems. A customer who calls and hears voicemail often hangs up without leaving anything, as shown in nobody leaves a message, they just leave, and a text sent in the next minute can save the job. How that works, and what to say, is in missed call text back for small business. For email, the same idea is in Gmail out of office message.

A line about consent

A reply to a text the person just sent you is the safest kind of business text, because they started the conversation. Keep it to the answer: when you'll reply and where to go if it's urgent. Don't turn an auto-reply into a promotion or a coupon. If your texting service sends messages to people who haven't texted you first, the rules around consent and opt-out are stricter, and you should ask your provider what it requires. This is general information, not legal advice.

Keep the promise

The text is a commitment. If it says "Monday by 10," then at 10 on Monday every message that arrived over the weekend has been read and answered. The way to keep it: sort messages oldest first, answer them in the order received, and put a reminder in your calendar for the time you named. The customer who texted Friday evening may well have texted two other companies by Monday morning, so your reply is a race, not a courtesy. The routine for catching up on a pile is in work your missed call list.

What to leave out

  • Where you are, if you work from home. "I'm in Cancun until the 18th" tells strangers the house is empty.
  • A long hours table. Give the next opening, not the weekly schedule.
  • "We'll get back to you as soon as possible." Name a time.
  • A promotion. The message is a courtesy.
  • A promise you cannot keep. "Within the hour" from a phone nobody is watching is worse than no message.

If the phone is where you lose jobs, Rocketship can answer the calls you miss: you forward your business number to a Rocketship line, which is $5 a month, and the phone worker takes the caller's details and books a time. A 7-day free trial lets you test it on your own number; a card is required.