Have you ever needed to monitor something closely in Excel and get a text message as soon as something important happens? It might be something urgent, that requires immediate attention- and it’s hard to monitor excel 24/7 when you have other priorities. For example, you might want a text message if someone edits a cell, or if it’s time for you to complete the next task in a Gantt chart.
Whatever you’re tracking, you can set up automatic text message notifications from Excel in just a few minutes using the Spreadsheet Text Alerts add-in. This lets you send SMS alerts without writing any VBA or messing with complex scripts or APIs.
Unlike other tutorials, these text messages work for Android or Apple IOS, for every common carrier. You are limited to 20 text messages a day- but you can increase that by contacting support@spreadsheettextalerts.com
Below is a step-by-step guide to set up text message alerts from Excel, including how to buy and activate your license key.
Step 1: Install the Spreadsheet Text Alerts add-in
First, install the Spreadsheet Text Alerts add-in. You can download it here.
- If you’re only using sound alerts, you can use the free version.
- To send text message alerts (and email alerts), you’ll need a paid plan, which you can buy here.
Once installed, open Excel and confirm that you can see the Excel Text Alerts button in the Excel toolbar (ribbon).
Step 2: Activate your license key inside Excel
After you have subscribed to your paid plan, you’ll need to enter your license key inside the add-in.
- Click on the Manage Alerts button.
- Enter your license key in the bottom left-hand corner.
- Save or apply the changes.
Once your license is active, text message alerts will be available as an option when you create rules.
Step 3: Create a text message alert rule
With your license activated, you can now set up a text alert.
- Choose the option to Add Rule on the lower right.
- Select the cell you want to monitor. This could be:
- A stock price
- An inventory level
- A budget total
- A date or deadline
- Choose the condition, such as:
- Greater than
- Less than
- Equal to
- Greater than or equal to, etc.
- Enter the trigger value (the number, amount, or date that should trigger the alert).
- Under Alert Type, choose text.
- Enter the phone number where you want to receive the alert.
- Select the cell that contains the message you would like to send (or, if the add-in allows, type in a custom message).
Click OK to finish creating your rule.
Step 4: Let Excel run and wait for your text alert
Now just let your spreadsheet do its thing. When the monitored cell meets your condition, the add-in will automatically send a text message to the phone number you specified.
A few useful tips:
- The text alert is only sent once the condition becomes true, not just because it’s already true.
- For example, if you want a text message to send once Apple stock is greater than $100, it will only send when it crosses that threshold. If Apple stock costs $115 when you first set the alert, it won’t send a text message, since this condition was already true.
- Make sure you enter the correct phone number, including country code if required, so your text message can be delivered.
Once it’s working, you can create multiple rules for different cells, different conditions, and different phone numbers—so you can send text alerts to yourself, your team, or anyone else who needs to know.
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