How your SMS messages are sent
In short
Your texts go out through SMS Direct, paid with prepaid credits, with no phone or contract to set up. A message costs credits per segment, depending on the client's country and on its accents.
Out of the box, Scisso sends your texts through SMS Direct: no phone to keep charged, no operator contract, nothing to install. Each message is paid from your prepaid SMS credits.
- A segment
- 160 characters
- Or 70, if the message has a letter that needs it, like Romanian ă, ș or ț.
- In Romania
- 10 credits a segment
- Italy 16, Germany 27. The client's country decides.
- To get started
- 100 credits free
- For verifying your own phone number, about three Romanian messages.
- Per client
- At most 6 texts a day
- So a busy day never floods one person.
Why accents cost more
Most accents are free: à, è, é and ü all fit in a normal segment. A few letters are not, and one of them anywhere in a message drops every segment from 160 characters to 70. Romanian ș and ț are the usual culprits, which is why a Romanian confirmation often costs three segments where an Italian one costs one.
Values shown for an example shop.
Keeps your templates written correctly, but sends them without accents. Accented characters halve the size of an SMS, so this usually costs one segment instead of two.
Where to find it
Keep your shop name in every message
SMS Direct sends from a shared number, so your clients know who is writing only from the text itself. A message whose text does not include your shop name is not sent through it. The Provider chain card warns you if a template is missing it.
What a client receives
Hello Maria, you're booked in at Linden Hair Studio on Thursday 16 October at 14:30 with Ana. See you then!
An example. Every shop writes its own messages.
When credits run low
You are told before you run out: first a warning while you still have about a week of sending left, then a stronger one near the end. Running out does not lose messages. Confirmations, reminders, birthday and follow-up texts wait and go out once there are credits again, as long as they still matter: a reminder that could no longer arrive the day before is dropped.
Sending from your own number
If you would rather clients saw your own number, you can also send through an Android phone at your shop. It is optional, and SMS Direct can stay behind it for when the phone is offline.
Related
See it with your own shop
Start a free trial and set things up the way this guide describes.
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