# What's the actual onboarding timeline for Postscript on a Shopify Plus store, from install to first live campaign?

Reviewed by Martin Dejnicki, Director of SEO & AI Search · facts verified October 11, 2026 · canonical: https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/postscript-onboarding-timeline-first-campaign

## Short answer

Postscript onboarding on a Shopify Plus store runs about 2 to 3 weeks from install to first live campaign on a toll-free number, in Deploi's planning. Verification sets the date, because it takes about 3 to 10 business days ([Postscript Help Center](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563946-guide-to-the-toll-free-number-tfn-verification-process), October 2026). First campaigns sent weekdays, 9am to 8pm Eastern, get same-day review ([Postscript's approval guide](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563915-understanding-first-campaign-approval-process), October 2026).

- **Toll-free number verification:** About 3 to 10 business days. Postscript reviews the site in up to 5 business days, then Twilio audits for US and Canadian carriers; until then the number can't text US or Canadian subscribers (October 2026) ([Postscript Help Center, Guide to the Toll-Free Number (TFN) Verification Process](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563946-guide-to-the-toll-free-number-tfn-verification-process))
- **First campaign review:** Same day, 9am to 8pm Eastern, weekdays. No campaign sends until Postscript approves the first one; after hours the review is passive, and a denial waits until business hours resume (October 2026) ([Postscript Help Center, Understanding First Campaign Approval Process](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563915-understanding-first-campaign-approval-process))
- **Existing list upload:** 3 business days, alongside verification. Postscript's team uploads and tags the list; uploading certifies it was collected in line with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (October 2026) ([Postscript Help Center, Upload an Existing SMS Subscriber List](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563831-upload-an-existing-sms-subscriber-list); [Postscript Help Center, Guide to the Toll-Free Number (TFN) Verification Process](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563946-guide-to-the-toll-free-number-tfn-verification-process))
- **Short code approval:** About 4 to 7 weeks, or about 14. Postscript's comparison article says about 4 to 7 weeks via application; its short code timeline says carriers take about 14 weeks, up to 2 more if an application is returned (October 2026) ([Postscript Help Center, Comparing Short Code and Toll-Free Numbers](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563949-comparing-short-code-and-toll-free-numbers); [Postscript Help Center, Timeline for a Dedicated Short Code](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563947-timeline-for-a-dedicated-short-code))

## Deploi's call

Two to three weeks from install to first campaign is achievable on Postscript's toll-free path, and only if the website, the registration details and the consent evidence are ready before install. We plan Postscript launches backwards from the carrier verification window, because it is the one stage that adding people does not speed up. We plan email migrations backwards from sender warming for the same reason.

**BUY: Commit to a toll-free launch date when**

- The store is live, public and its catalog published, because Postscript's verification denies password-protected sites and unpublished catalogs ([Postscript Help Center](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563946-guide-to-the-toll-free-number-tfn-verification-process), October 2026).
- Registration details are ready: a valid business registration number, the full address with suite or unit, and a domain email address ([Postscript Help Center](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563946-guide-to-the-toll-free-number-tfn-verification-process), October 2026).
- Your existing list's opt-in source is documented, because uploading it certifies Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) compliance ([Postscript Help Center](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563831-upload-an-existing-sms-subscriber-list), October 2026).
- You count on the Postscript vs. Attentive record's illustrative estimate, live inside 1 to 2 weeks self-serve, only if toll-free verification passes first time ([Deploi Build vs. Buy](https://deploi.ca/shopify/build-vs-buy/postscript-vs-attentive), October 2026).

**WAIT: Hold the launch date when**

- You need a short code, which Postscript's pages put at about 4 to 7 weeks or about 14 weeks ([Postscript Help Center](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563949-comparing-short-code-and-toll-free-numbers); [short code timeline](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563947-timeline-for-a-dedicated-short-code), October 2026).
- Peak falls within four weeks of install, in Deploi's judgment.

## How long does Postscript take from install to first live campaign on Shopify Plus?

Postscript takes about 2 to 3 weeks from install to first live campaign on a Shopify Plus store in Deploi's planning, because three approval queues run on someone else's clock. [The Postscript and Attentive decision](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/postscript-vs-attentive-two-way-conversational-sms) comes first; this table times each step after install:

**Toll-free verification is the longest queue between installing Postscript and its first live campaign**

| Stage | Published duration | Who runs it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Install and store sync | Up to 15 minutes, depending on store size | You install; Postscript syncs |
| Toll-free number verification | About 3 to 10 business days, including up to 5 for Postscript's site review | Postscript, then its partner Twilio for US and Canadian carriers |
| Existing list upload | 3 business days, alongside verification | Postscript's team |
| First campaign review | Same day if sent 9am to 8pm Eastern on a weekday | Postscript's compliance team |

Sources: [Postscript Help Center, Guide to the Toll-Free Number (TFN) Verification Process](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563946-guide-to-the-toll-free-number-tfn-verification-process); [Postscript Help Center, Understanding First Campaign Approval Process](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563915-understanding-first-campaign-approval-process); [Postscript Help Center, Upload an Existing SMS Subscriber List](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563831-upload-an-existing-sms-subscriber-list); [Postscript Help Center, Getting Started with SMS on Postscript](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/15170636-getting-started-with-sms-on-postscript). Verified October 9, 2026.

These are Postscript's published durations, not a Deploi commitment. A denied verification adds up to 5 business days after you resubmit ([Postscript Help Center](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563946-guide-to-the-toll-free-number-tfn-verification-process), October 2026). So plan the date backwards from verification, the way [a Klaviyo migration is paced by sender warming](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/klaviyo-migration-timeline-from-mailchimp-activecampaign).

## Which Postscript onboarding steps can run at the same time?

List upload and toll-free verification can run at the same time, because Postscript says the two "are managed independently and can be handled simultaneously" ([Postscript Help Center](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563946-guide-to-the-toll-free-number-tfn-verification-process), October 2026). Nothing sends until verification finishes, so the order that compresses a Postscript launch is:

1. **Make the store reviewable first.** Verification denies a site that isn't live, is password protected or has an unpublished catalog.
1. **Have registration details ready on day one.** That means a valid business registration number, the full address with suite or unit, and a domain email address.
1. **Decide on Postscript's hosted terms early.** Postscript can host Messaging Terms and a Messaging Privacy Policy that it maintains and updates itself. They include an arbitration arrangement your legal team will want to read ([Postscript's hosted terms guide](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563815-dynamic-hosted-messaging-terms-and-messaging-privacy-policy), October 2026).
1. **Upload the existing list while verification runs.** Uploading certifies the list was collected in line with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) ([Postscript's upload guide](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563831-upload-an-existing-sms-subscriber-list), October 2026).
1. **Install about 10 days before switching off an old provider,** as Postscript suggests when you aren't bringing your number.
1. **Send the first campaign between 9am and 8pm Eastern on a weekday.** Outside those hours Postscript reviews passively, and a denial waits until business hours resume ([Postscript's approval guide](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563915-understanding-first-campaign-approval-process), October 2026).

## What does Shopify Plus change about Postscript onboarding?

Shopify Plus changes where Postscript collects opt-ins at checkout, not how long any queue takes, because verification, list upload and campaign review are carrier and compliance steps. On a Plus checkout built on checkout extensibility, a merchant adds Postscript's SMS (text message) opt-in, "SMS Opt-In at Checkout", as an app block in Shopify's checkout editor. A setting includes it in Shop Pay express checkout ([Postscript Help Center](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13564230-add-postscript-extension-to-shopify-plus-checkout), October 2026), and subscribers confirm with a one-time code sent by text.

Postscript's own plan changes the help you get. Its Professional and Enterprise plans include a "Dedicated Onboarding Specialist" ([Postscript](https://postscript.io/customer-service), October 2026). Postscript's live chat runs 9am to 8pm Eastern on weekdays, the same window as its campaign review, and [Postscript's support targets against Klaviyo's](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/postscript-vs-klaviyo-support-response-time) cover what happens outside it. The same two plans can port a toll-free number from Klaviyo: in as little as one day if Twilio hosts it, or about 3 to 5 weeks if not. Expect up to 3 hours of downtime on the transfer day ([Postscript's porting guide](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563830-transferring-your-toll-free-number-from-klaviyo-to-postscript), October 2026).

## How long does a Postscript short code take?

A Postscript short code takes about 4 to 7 weeks or about 14 weeks, depending on which Postscript page you read, so plan on the longer figure.

> **Postscript's own pages disagree on short code timing**
> - Postscript's comparison of short codes and toll-free numbers gives about 4 to 7 weeks "via application" ([Postscript Help Center](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563949-comparing-short-code-and-toll-free-numbers), October 2026).
> - Postscript's short code timeline says its aggregator and the carriers "take approximately 14 weeks to process short code applications", and a returned application can add up to 2 more ([Postscript's short code timeline](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563947-timeline-for-a-dedicated-short-code), October 2026).

Both articles show 5 February 2026. Either way a short code takes longer than the toll-free path, because the application waits on a compliance audit of every opt-in source. Postscript's own review of those sources takes 1 to 2 days. Postscript then asks brands not to launch new opt-in methods until 2 weeks after going live ([Postscript's timeline article](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563947-timeline-for-a-dedicated-short-code), October 2026). Postscript's short codes also send to the US only ([Postscript's comparison article](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563949-comparing-short-code-and-toll-free-numbers), October 2026).

## When should you not commit to a Postscript launch date?

Don't commit to a Postscript launch date while any queue's input is missing, because no escalation compresses a carrier review.

> **When not to do this**
> - **When the store is not live and public.** Postscript's verification fails on a password-protected site or an unpublished catalog.
> - **When you want a short code.** Postscript's pages give about 4 to 7 weeks and about 14 weeks, not 3 to 10 business days.
> - **When the list's opt-in evidence has not been located.** Postscript asks you to certify it at upload.
> - **When the catalog sells in a SHAFT (sex, hate, alcohol, firearms and tobacco) category other than alcohol.** Postscript says it cannot support those brands, and alcohol brands go through a separate onboarding ([Postscript's approval guide](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563915-understanding-first-campaign-approval-process), October 2026).
> - **Inside four weeks of peak.** In Deploi's judgment, a new sending number, a first-campaign review and a holiday freeze are three risks stacked on one date.

## Deploi's point of view

**Where we disagree.** Implementation quotes for SMS are written as configuration projects and priced in hours of platform work. The critical path is three approval queues that no agency controls. We would rather give a client the queue durations up front and be judged on the date than quote a two-week build and explain a carrier audit in week three.

**Our judgment, not a measurement.** The stage that slips is rarely the software. It is a privacy policy that needs legal sign-off, or a list whose opt-in source nobody can evidence, and both are discovered in the week they block the launch rather than the week they could have been fixed.

**What this page adds.** The parent picks between Postscript and Attentive; this page times each Postscript queue from install to first campaign on a Plus store, shows which queues run in parallel and what Plus and Postscript's own plans change, and sets out Postscript's two conflicting short code timelines.

## When this answer changes

- Postscript changes its toll-free verification window of about 3 to 10 business days, or carriers change their audit.
- Postscript reconciles its two short code timelines, about 4 to 7 weeks and about 14 weeks as of October 2026.
- Postscript changes its first-campaign review hours, 9am to 8pm Eastern on weekdays, or its 3-business-day list upload.
- Postscript changes which plans include a dedicated Onboarding Specialist or toll-free number porting from Klaviyo.
- Deploi re-scores its Postscript vs. Attentive record or revises its illustrative estimate of live inside 1 to 2 weeks.

## Sources

1. [Postscript Help Center, Guide to the Toll-Free Number (TFN) Verification Process](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563946-guide-to-the-toll-free-number-tfn-verification-process), checked October 9, 2026
2. [Postscript Help Center, Understanding First Campaign Approval Process](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563915-understanding-first-campaign-approval-process), checked October 11, 2026
3. [Postscript Help Center, Upload an Existing SMS Subscriber List](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563831-upload-an-existing-sms-subscriber-list), checked October 9, 2026
4. [Postscript Help Center, Comparing Short Code and Toll-Free Numbers](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563949-comparing-short-code-and-toll-free-numbers), checked October 9, 2026
5. [Postscript Help Center, Timeline for a Dedicated Short Code](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563947-timeline-for-a-dedicated-short-code), checked October 9, 2026
6. [Postscript Help Center, Getting Started with SMS on Postscript](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/15170636-getting-started-with-sms-on-postscript), checked October 9, 2026
7. [Postscript Help Center, Dynamic Hosted Messaging Terms and Messaging Privacy Policy](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563815-dynamic-hosted-messaging-terms-and-messaging-privacy-policy), checked October 9, 2026
8. [Postscript Help Center, Add Postscript Extension to Shopify Plus Checkout](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13564230-add-postscript-extension-to-shopify-plus-checkout), checked October 9, 2026
9. [Postscript, Customer Service](https://postscript.io/customer-service), checked October 9, 2026
10. [Postscript Help Center, Transferring Your Toll-Free Number from Klaviyo to Postscript](https://help.postscript.io/en/articles/13563830-transferring-your-toll-free-number-from-klaviyo-to-postscript), checked October 9, 2026
11. [Deploi Build vs. Buy, Postscript vs. Attentive: Which SMS Platform Fits Shopify?](https://deploi.ca/shopify/build-vs-buy/postscript-vs-attentive), checked October 11, 2026, Deploi research