Getting Started

This guide walks you through everything you need to do to get Mahana up and running - from creating your account to sending your first AI-powered reply. Most businesses are live in under 10 minutes.

Create Your Account

Head to the Mahana signup page and fill in four fields: your business name, your name, your email address, and a password. That's it - no credit card required at this step.

Once you submit, your account is created and you're signed in automatically. You'll land on the plan selection screen to continue setup.

Choose a Plan

Mahana offers four plans:

Starter - $29/month
500 messages per month, 2 users, 15 KB entries, 5 workflows. Perfect for solo operators or businesses just getting started.
Standard - $69/month
1,500 messages per month, 5 users, 30 KB entries, 10 workflows. Great for small teams with steady customer volume.
Growth - $129/month
3,000 messages per month, 8 users, 45 KB entries, 15 workflows. For busy businesses with higher message volume.
Pro - $249/month
5,000 messages per month, 10 users, 60 KB entries, 20 workflows. Built for growing businesses with larger teams.

After selecting a plan, you'll be taken to a secure Stripe checkout page to enter your payment details. Your subscription starts immediately after payment.

Not sure which plan to pick? Start with Starter. You can upgrade at any time from your billing settings, and unused messages don't roll over. See the Billing & Plans guide for a full breakdown.

Get Your Phone Number

As soon as your payment is complete, Mahana automatically provisions a dedicated toll-free number for your business. You don't need to pick a number or configure anything - it just appears in your account.

This is the number your customers will text. You can share it on your website, receipts, signage, or anywhere you want customers to be able to reach you.

Verify Your Number

US carriers require all toll-free SMS numbers to go through a one-time verification process before they can send outbound messages. Mahana submits this verification automatically on your behalf - you don't need to do anything.

Verification typically takes 3–5 business days. During that window, your number can receiveincoming texts right away, but outbound AI replies won't be delivered until your number is approved. Once approved, everything works normally.

Use the waiting period to build out your knowledge base so the AI is ready to go the moment verification comes through. Learn more about toll-free verification.

Set Up Your Knowledge Base

This is the most important step. The knowledge base is where you teach the AI about your business - your hours, services, pricing, policies, and anything else customers commonly ask about.

Start by adding entries for your most frequently asked questions. For each entry, write the question as a customer would ask it, then give a clear, complete answer. The better your knowledge base, the better the AI's replies.

You don't need to add everything at once - even 5 to 10 solid entries covering your most common questions will make a big difference.

Read the Knowledge Base guide for tips on writing effective entries and getting the best results from the AI.

Test It Out

Once your knowledge base has a few entries, text your business number from your personal phone. You'll see the message appear in your Mahana inbox almost instantly.

If your toll-free verification is already approved, the AI will reply automatically based on what you've added to your knowledge base. Try asking one of the questions you entered and see how it responds.

If the AI's reply isn't quite right, that's useful feedback. Go back to your knowledge base and refine the entry - a little extra detail in your answer usually makes a noticeable difference.