Emails don't use credits. SMS cost real money to send, so they run on credits. Here is exactly how the credits work.
What a credit is
One credit sends one SMS of up to 160 characters. A longer SMS goes in parts of up to 153 characters, one credit each. An SMS with an emoji or a special symbol in it fits fewer characters per credit, 70 instead of 160 and then 67 per part, because phones carry those messages differently.
Your business name goes at the front of every SMS, and it counts. "Your Business Name: Reminder, you're booked for 9:00am tomorrow (Tue 8 Sep)..." is what the customer reads and what is measured.
Every place you write an SMS shows the cost before it goes: Send a message, your message templates, and a campaign's cost line. Reminders and confirmations are short by design and usually cost one credit each. One that also asks the customer to fill in a form usually costs two. A note of your own added to either under Settings → Messages makes the SMS longer, and a longer SMS costs more.
What's included
| Plan | Credits a month |
|---|---|
| Solo | 50 |
| Team | 150 |
The month resets on the 1st, in your own time zone. Included credits don't carry over; purchased ones do.
The account owner is told when the month's SMS credits are running low, and again the first time an SMS can't go because they've run out, as a notification and an email with a link to buy more.
What uses credits
Every SMS, without exception: booking confirmations and reminders when you have those switched on, waitlist offers, deposit and card requests by SMS, a customer's package link, an invoice and its reminders sent by SMS, a form sent by SMS, an SMS from Send a message, an SMS campaign, and alerts to your own team. Emails never use credits.
What a failed SMS costs
Nothing. An SMS that doesn't reach the customer, because the number is dead or their phone rejects it, is not counted for the month, and any purchased credits it used come back. You pay for reached, not tried.
When you run out
Customer notifications go by email instead, to every customer you have an email for: confirmations, changes, cancellations, reminders, deposit and card requests and their reminders, form requests, the heads-up before a package expires, and waitlist offers. The meter under Settings → Messages says so. The one exception is a customer who chose SMS only for themselves. An SMS that would need more credits than you have left is never sent in part. SMS alerts to your team stop until you buy more; the bell and the app's notifications still reach them.
Buying more
Settings → Messages → Buy more SMS, for the account owner. Three packs: 100 credits for $12, 500 for $55, 1,000 for $99, in Australian dollars. Purchased credits are used after the month's included ones, never expire, and carry over month to month.
On the free plan
SMS is a paid-plan feature. On the free plan, customer notifications go by email instead. Your settings are kept, and any credits you bought stay on your account and are available again when you move back to a paid plan.
Why did one SMS cost two credits?
It ran past 160 characters, business name included, so it went as two. Trim the wording, or accept the second credit. The counter shows the number before you send.
Do reminders cost credits?
Yes, one each when they go by SMS. Each reminder has an email and an SMS switch under Settings → Messages, so you choose which reminders go by SMS. Email reminders cost nothing.
Do unused credits roll over?
Included credits don't: each month starts again on the 1st with your plan's 50 (150 on Team), and any left over from last month are gone. Credits you buy do: they're used after the included ones and never expire.
Can I see what I've spent?
The meter under Settings → Messages shows the included credits used this month against your allowance, the extra credits you have left, and when the month resets.