Automation: Auto-Send Review Requests When You Close a Job

What This Builds

Every time you mark a job Complete in Housecall Pro, this automation fires off a personalized review request text to the customer 90 minutes later — automatically, every time, without you doing anything. Instead of relying on memory or a manual process, reviews flow in while you sleep. A plumber doing 5 jobs per day with this running will see 20–30+ new Google reviews per month.

Prerequisites

• Comfortable using Housecall Pro for job management (Level 2)
• Housecall Pro account (Essentials or higher, with API access)
• Zapier account (zapier.com — free tier supports this)
• A texting service connected to Zapier (options: Twilio, SimpleTexting, or a Housecall Pro webhook)
• Your Google Business Profile short review URL
• Time needed: 1–2 hours to build and test
• Cost: Zapier free tier (up to 100 tasks/month, enough for most small shops); Twilio ~$0.01/text

The Concept

Zapier is like a digital assistant that watches for things to happen in one app and does something in another app automatically. In this case: "when Housecall Pro says a job is complete → wait 90 minutes → send a text to that customer with a review link."

Think of it like this: you've hired an invisible receptionist who watches your job board and handles the review ask every single time, never forgets, never feels awkward, and works while you're sleeping.

Build It Step by Step

Part 1: Set Up Your Accounts

Step 1.1 — Create a Zapier account Go to zapier.com and sign up for a free account. The free tier allows 100 "tasks" (trigger-action pairs) per month — plenty for a solo plumber or small shop.

Step 1.2 — Set up Twilio (for sending texts) Go to twilio.com and create a free account. You'll get a free trial with a few dollars of credit. Buy a local phone number ($1/month). This is the number texts will come from — use your area code. Save your Account SID and Auth Token (you'll need these in Zapier).

Alternatively: If your Housecall Pro plan includes automated texts, you may be able to use Housecall Pro's own notification system and skip Twilio entirely — check your HCP settings first before setting up Twilio.

Step 1.3 — Get your Google Review link Go to business.google.com → your business → "Ask for reviews" → copy the short URL. It looks like: g.page/[yourname]/review. Save it somewhere.

Part 2: Build the Zap

Step 2.1 — Create a new Zap In Zapier, click + Create Zap.

Step 2.2 — Set the Trigger In the Trigger step, search for Housecall Pro. Select it. For the trigger event, choose Job Status Updated or Job Completed (the exact name depends on your Housecall Pro version).

Connect your Housecall Pro account when prompted — Zapier will ask for your API key, which you'll find in Housecall Pro under Settings → Integrations → API.

Set the trigger to fire when Job Status = Completed.

Click Test Trigger — Zapier will pull in your most recently completed job as a test sample. You should see the customer's name, phone number, and job details.

Step 2.3 — Add a Delay Click the + between trigger and action. Search for Delay and choose Delay for. Set it to 90 minutes.

Why 90 minutes? Long enough that customers aren't texted mid-job; short enough that the experience is still fresh.

Step 2.4 — Add the Text Action Click + to add the next action. Search for Twilio (or SMS by Zapier if you prefer a simpler option). Choose Send SMS.

Connect your Twilio account using the Account SID and Auth Token you saved.

In the message body, craft your review request. Use Zapier's data fields to personalize it:

Hi {{customer_first_name}}, thanks for having us out today! If you have a minute, a Google review really helps our small business. {{your_google_review_link}}
— Dave, Clear Flow Plumbing

Replace {{customer_first_name}} by clicking the field and selecting the customer first name from your Housecall Pro trigger data. Paste your Google review link directly into the message text.

Set the From number to your Twilio number. Set To to the customer phone field from Housecall Pro.

Step 2.5 — Turn On the Zap Click Publish Zap. Toggle it to On.

Part 3: Test and Refine

Step 3.1 — Test with a real job Complete a test job in Housecall Pro with your own phone number as the customer. Mark it Complete. Wait 90 minutes (or temporarily change the delay to 1 minute for testing). Confirm you receive the text.

Step 3.2 — Check the link works On your phone, tap the review link. Confirm it goes directly to the Google review form, not just your Google profile.

Step 3.3 — Set up a filter (optional but recommended) Add a Filter step between the trigger and the delay: only continue if Job Total > $0 or Job Status exactly matches "complete" (not "cancelled" or "incomplete"). This prevents review requests from going out on cancelled jobs or jobs with issues.

Real Example: The Full Workflow

Setup: You mark a water heater replacement complete in Housecall Pro at 3:45 PM. Customer is Robert Williams, phone 555-0147.

Input: Housecall Pro fires a "Job Completed" trigger to Zapier with Robert's info.

90 minutes later: At 5:15 PM, while you're cleaning up from another job, Zapier sends from your Twilio number to 555-0147:

Output: Robert taps the link, leaves a 5-star review during his evening. You never had to ask.

Time saved: 3–5 minutes per job of remembering to send and writing the ask = 15–30 minutes/day back.

What to Do When It Breaks

• Trigger doesn't fire → Check that Housecall Pro's API connection in Zapier is still active. Go to Zapier → Connected Accounts and reconnect HCP if needed.
• Customer gets a blank message / no link → The message template has a broken field reference. Edit the Zap's SMS step and re-map the Google review link URL.
• Text sends to wrong number → Check the "To" field in the SMS step — confirm it's mapped to the customer's mobile phone field, not the job address or billing phone.
• Zap uses too many tasks → Zapier free tier allows 100 tasks/month. At 5 jobs/day × 22 days = 110 tasks. Upgrade to Zapier Starter ($20/month) to remove the limit.
• Customer replies with a complaint → Texts from Twilio come back to your Twilio number. Set up Twilio to forward replies to your phone or email so you can respond.

Variations

• Simpler version: Skip Zapier and Twilio — just use Housecall Pro's built-in review request feature (Level 2 guide). Less customizable, but 15 minutes to set up vs. 2 hours.
• Extended version: Add a second Zap that, if the customer doesn't leave a review after 7 days, sends a gentle follow-up text.

What to Do Next

• This week: Build and test the automation with your own phone number
• This month: Check your Google review count — it should be climbing
• Advanced: Add a Zapier step that logs all completed jobs to a Google Sheet for monthly reporting

Advanced guide for residential service plumber professionals. These techniques use Zapier, Twilio, and API integrations — features that may require paid subscriptions and occasionally change their interfaces.