Integration of the life:) SMS SMS service (Belarus) with Bitrix24

Integration of life:) SMS (Belarus) with Bitrix24

The company works in Bitrix24, the client database is in the CRM, and SMS notifications are sent manually through the life:) account. A manager opens a deal card, copies the phone number, goes to the life:) interface, pastes the number, writes the text, sends it. Delivery status is somewhere in the life:) account; the CRM doesn't know about it. There are no automated notifications by funnel stages. Integration directly connects Bitrix24 and life:) SMS: sending from CRM, automation via robots, delivery status returned to the card.

life:) SMS API and SMPP: Protocol Choice

life:) (Turkcell brand, operator #3 in Belarus) provides an SMS gateway through two protocols:

HTTP API — REST interface for sending SMS via HTTP/HTTPS requests. Simple integration: one request—one message. Suitable for transactional SMS and small volumes (up to a few hundred messages per day).

SMPP (Short Message Peer-to-Peer) — binary protocol with persistent TCP connection. Advantages: higher sending speed (100+ SMS/sec), built-in delivery reports on the same connection, lower latency. Suitable for mass distributions.

For integration with Bitrix24, the choice depends on volume:

For most implementations, we use HTTP API. SMPP is connected for mass distributions via CRM marketing, when a campaign sends 5000+ messages.

Registering a Provider in Bitrix24

Connection via the messageservice module:

messageservice.sender.add({
  CODE: "life_sms_by",
  TYPE: "SMS",
  HANDLER: "https://your-domain.com/handler/life-sms.php"
})

The handler receives requests from Bitrix24 and translates them to the life:) API:

1. Receives POST from Bitrix24: message_to, message_body, message_id.
2. Normalizes the number to +375XXXXXXXXX format (life:) API requires international format).
3. Sends a request to the life:) API: endpoint, authorization data, number, text, Sender ID.
4. Receives a response: message identifier, queuing status.
5. Saves the mapping message_id (Bitrix24) ↔ msg_id (life:)).
6. Returns confirmation to Bitrix24.

Sender ID: Registration with life:)

life:) Belarus requires registration of an alphabetic sender name. Procedure:

• Request via life:) manager or corporate client personal account.
• Name — up to 11 Latin characters. Cyrillic is not supported in Sender ID.
• Attached: copy of organization's registration certificate, description of distribution purpose.
• Approval time — 5 to 10 business days.
• Possible to register multiple names: one for transactional, another for marketing SMS.

Without a registered Sender ID, the life:) API rejects the send request.

Delivery Reports: Obtaining Delivery Status

life:) supports delivery reports (DLR) in two ways:

Via HTTP callback:

• The handler URL is specified in life:) settings.
• When the status changes, life:) sends POST with msg_id and status.
• The handler finds the associated message_id in Bitrix24 and updates the status.

Via SMPP (when using SMPP protocol):

• DLR arrives over the same SMPP connection as deliver_sm PDU.
• Parsing: id, stat (DELIVRD, EXPIRED, UNDELIV, REJECTD).
• Faster than HTTP callback — status arrives almost instantly.

life:) statuses:

Without DLR processing, all messages in the CRM show "Sent", even if the subscriber is unavailable for a week.

Belarusian Phone Number Format

The handler normalizes numbers from the Bitrix24 database:

• +375251234567 — no changes
• 80251234567 → +375251234567
• 375 25 123-45-67 → +375251234567
• 25 1234567 → +375251234567

Mobile operator codes in Belarus: 25, 29, 33, 44 — life:) historically uses 25 and 29 (partially). SMS via life:) gateway are sent to numbers of any operator—not just life:).

Automation via CRM Robots

Typical scenarios:

Sales funnel:

• New lead → SMS "{NAME}, request received. We'll contact you within 15 minutes"
• Deal "Awaiting payment" → SMS with payment link (ERIP or bank acquiring)
• Deal closed → SMS with thanks

Service and reminders:

• Appointment booking → reminder one day before
• Missed call → automatic SMS

CRM field substitution in text: #CONTACT_NAME#, #DEAL_TITLE#, #DEAL_UF_XXX#.

Cost Optimization

• Message length: Cyrillic — 70 characters per segment (67 when concatenating). Each character beyond 70 — second segment. Templates should fit 70 characters.
• Duplicate filtering: add a condition to the robot—send only if UF_CRM_SMS_SENT field is empty.
• Number verification: before mass distribution, run the database through normalization and remove invalid numbers.

Implementation Timeline

What We Configure

• Registration of life:) SMS as a provider via messageservice.sender.add
• Handler for requests from Bitrix24 → life:) SMS API (HTTP or SMPP)
• Assistance with Sender ID registration with life:)
• Normalization of Belarusian phone numbers
• Processing delivery reports (callback or SMPP inline)
• CRM robots for transactional SMS by funnel stages
• Mass distributions via CRM marketing
• SMS templates with CRM field substitution
• Testing: manual sending, robots, DLR, mass distribution to test segment