How to Send SMS Messages from an Excel Spreadsheet
Question details
The user wants to know how to send SMS text messages to a list of contacts stored in an Excel workbook.
- Product
- Microsoft Excel
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Managing a contact list and message content in a spreadsheet and attempting to dispatch automated or bulk SMS messages to those recipients.
- Observed behavior
- Excel lacks a native, built-in feature for sending SMS messages, requiring the use of external connectors or automation services.
Ensure your Excel data is formatted as a Table with distinct column headers for 'Phone Number' and 'Message'. You will also need an active account with a third-party SMS provider and access to Microsoft Power Automate.
Automate SMS Sending via Microsoft Power Automate
Use Power Automate to read contact data from your Excel spreadsheet and route it through a third-party SMS connector to dispatch the texts.
Power Automate allows you to create seamless workflows between Microsoft applications and external services. By connecting an SMS provider to your Excel file via Power Automate, you can automate text messages without writing complex code.
Open your Excel workbook, select your contact data, and press Ctrl+T to format it as a Table. Ensure your columns are named clearly. Save this file to an online location like OneDrive or SharePoint, as Power Automate requires cloud access to read the file.
Log into Power Automate, navigate to 'Create', and select either an 'Instant cloud flow' (to trigger manually) or a 'Scheduled cloud flow' (to run at specific times).
Add a new step and search for the 'Excel Online (Business)' connector. Select the action 'List rows present in a table'. Map this action to the location, document library, file, and specific table you created earlier.
Click 'New step' and search for your chosen SMS provider (such as Twilio, Clickatell, or Plivo). Select their 'Send text message' action. In the 'To' and 'Message' fields of the SMS action, insert the corresponding dynamic content variables (e.g., your Phone and Message columns) from the Excel step.
Save your flow and use the 'Test' button in the upper right corner to run it manually. Verify with your SMS provider's dashboard that the messages were successfully dispatched.
Manage Your Contact Data Efficiently with WPS Office
If you frequently compile extensive contact lists and SMS marketing campaigns, WPS Office provides a fast, lightweight, and highly compatible alternative to Microsoft Excel for managing your data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I send SMS messages directly from Excel without third-party tools?
No, Microsoft Excel does not possess a built-in feature or native capability to send SMS text messages. You must rely on third-party add-ins, automation platforms like Power Automate, or VBA scripts connected to an SMS API.
How should phone numbers be formatted in my spreadsheet for automation?
Phone numbers should ideally be formatted in the E.164 international standard format (e.g., +1234567890). It is highly recommended to format the phone number column as 'Text' in your spreadsheet so that leading zeros or plus signs are not automatically stripped out.
Is it possible to use VBA to send texts from Excel?
Yes. Advanced users can write an Excel VBA macro that loops through rows of data and uses an HTTP POST request to send data directly to an SMS gateway's REST API. This requires basic programming knowledge and an account with an API-enabled SMS provider.
Why is Power Automate failing to read my Excel file?
Power Automate can only read data from Excel files stored in the cloud (OneDrive or SharePoint). Additionally, the specific data range containing your contacts must be explicitly formatted as an Excel Table (Insert > Table), not just as regular sheet cells.
