Thumbtack leads go to whoever answers well and answers first. The worst setup is the common one: leads arrive in the Thumbtack app on one person’s phone, replies happen from wherever that person is, and nobody else in the office can see the conversation.
This guide shows how to connect Thumbtack to Exoserva so every lead lands in the shared Inbox, what happens when a lead arrives, and how to turn a lead into a scheduled job.
What you need
- An Owner or Administrator account in Exoserva.
- Access to the Thumbtack business account you want to connect.
- Pop-ups allowed in your browser for the sign-in window.
Step 1: Connect
- Go to Settings → Integrations → Thumbtack.
- Click Connect via OAuth. A Thumbtack sign-in window opens.
- Sign in and approve access. If your Thumbtack account has more than one business, pick the one to connect.
- The page shows Connected to your business name.
You don’t copy any API keys. Exoserva registers the connection for new leads and messages automatically.
Two switches live under the gear icon (Integration Settings):
- Integration Enabled — the main on/off switch. Turn it off to pause the integration without disconnecting.
- Sync to Inbox — on by default. Keep it on so leads become Inbox conversations.
The same panel has a Test Connection row (its button says Test) and a Test Webhook row (Send Test), so you can confirm everything works before a real lead comes in. Changes here need Save.
Step 2: What happens when a lead arrives
With Sync to Inbox on, a new Thumbtack lead:
- creates a conversation in your Inbox, starting with a message headed “New Thumbtack lead — ” with the location, the dates, the customer’s answers to Thumbtack’s questions and any photos they attached. If that customer already has a Thumbtack conversation, the new lead joins it without a second details message;
- matches an existing customer — by Thumbtack customer ID first, then phone, then email, then an exact name if only one customer has it — or creates a new customer tagged “thumbtack”;
- adds a lead with source Thumbtack, so you can filter for it on the Leads page;
- sends a notification to your team: “New Thumbtack Lead” with the category, linking straight to the conversation.
When the customer writes back on Thumbtack, the message lands in the same conversation, with attachments. The Inbox tabs are All, SMS, Calls and Email — there is no Thumbtack tab. To see just these conversations, use View all in inbox on the Thumbtack settings page.
A note on phone numbers: Thumbtack often hides the customer’s phone number until you’ve paid for or accepted the lead, so early on you’ll usually be talking through Thumbtack messages rather than by phone.
Step 3: Reply from the Inbox
Reply in the conversation like any other chat. Your message is posted back to the lead on Thumbtack, not sent as a text message. Attachments are sent as links.
Because the conversation is in the shared Inbox, anyone on the team with Inbox access can pick it up — the lead doesn’t wait for one person to get back to their phone.
A few things that win Thumbtack leads, whatever software you use:
- Answer the actual request. Reference what they wrote in the service details, not a generic “Hi, how can we help?”
- Ask the one question you need to quote or book — model of the unit, how long the problem has been happening, a photo of the panel.
- Offer a concrete next step, like two specific time windows.
Step 4: Turn the lead into a job
In the conversation’s right-hand panel, the Thumbtack Lead card (visible to Owners and Administrators) shows the customer, the service request, location, schedule preference and details. From there:
- Mark Contacted, and then Mark Hired or Not Hired, records the outcome and tries to update the lead on Thumbtack too. Exoserva only holds read access to Thumbtack leads today, so if Thumbtack refuses the change nothing happens and no error is shown — set the status on Thumbtack as well.
- Create Job from Lead creates a job for that customer with the lead’s details, ready for you to schedule on the Schedule board.
You can also use the customer’s Create Job or Create Estimate buttons in the same panel.
Marking a lead Hired on the Thumbtack Lead card resolves its Inbox conversation, and Not Hired archives it. Status changes you make on Thumbtack’s own site don’t come back to Exoserva — the webhook carries new leads and new messages only.
If something stops working
- Expired sign-in: Thumbtack sign-ins expire. When that happens the settings page goes back to the Connect via OAuth screen — sign in again. (The separate Reconnect button appears only for a webhook error, and it re-registers the webhook.)
- No leads coming in: check that Integration Enabled is on, then use Send Test.
- Disconnect removes the connection and its settings. Existing conversations and leads stay in Exoserva.
How fast does your team usually answer a Thumbtack lead, and what do you say in the first message? Share what works for you below.