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SMS FAQ

Antony Campitelli
Updated

What is covered in this article? 

 

FAQ Overview

The purpose of this document is to provide answers to questions you might have when is comes to support for SMS.  If you have a question, please don't hesitate to raise a ticket and let us know.

What is the SMS Module?

In release 2.8, we have included initial support for sending SMS messages to contacts that expressed interest in receiving updates via SMS.  This feature is currently available under an early access program and includes several new features, such as new preferred method of communications field and sending a generic SMS message for any email that is sent from a form submission or Apply Forms screen/Student list screen. 

Why is SMS only available as part of an Early Access Program?

Since this is our initial step into supporting SMS, we want to be sure we have the right features set up for all of our schools.  The goal in this initial version is to get important feedback on what we have implemented as well as what features will be coming next, such as custom SMS composition.

Likewise, we want to understand usage and costs associated with SMS for our schools.

Is the SMS module mandatory?

The SMS module is an added optional extra at the moment, however, it will become a required part of the application as future features include making the contact's email address optional, plus we have a lot of powerful features planned for later this year.

How do I get started with SMS?

Please see the article on getting started with SMS or simply raise a ticket requesting to be contacted about turning on the new SMS features.

What costs are associated with SMS?

During the Early Access program, there will be no additional costs, however, once we do finalize the features and add more capabilities there will be new costs associated with SMS.

These will include adding more SMS segment packages to your account as well as additional annual fees.  The fees will be nominal but it is important to note that we have not had a procie increase in the 7 years we have been shipping Enquiry Tracker.  Any additional tiered pricing will be communicated well in advance and school's will have the option to partake or not.

How much does it cost for the messages and how many text messages do I get?

Any school partaking in the Early Access Program will be given 2000 segments. SMS are sent via segments. Message segments are how the SMS industry as a whole counts messages. When you send an SMS message containing more than 160 characters, the message is split into smaller messages for transmission. Large messages are split into 153-character "segments" and sent individually, then re-assembled by the recipient's device.

For the EAP we are loading up your account with 2000 segments for testing and evaluation.  School's will not be required to pay for these, however, once depleted, any new segments will be invoiced directly to the school.  The goal of this initial period is to understand usage, volume and costing.

These cost for SMS in Australia is estimated to be approximately 10c AUD per segment, but this may change.

How do I purchase additional messages?

Enquiry Tracker team will receive an internal notification if it appears you will run out of message quota and we can increase your quota.  Note that there will most likely be a charge for this increase, but we will make sure you are aware of those details before proceeding.  Once agreed, we will issue you an invoice.

In a future release, you will be able to manage your own quota.

How quickly will new message quota become available?

This will happen instantly.

How do I know how many messages I have left?

This will be available in a follow on release, version 2.9, where you will be able to see your current quota balance for messages/segments

Does message quota time out?

No, all your quota is yours to use.  They do not have any time limit associated for usage.

What happens if I run out of messages during a broadcast?

We will only send a broadcast out if you have available quota left.  If not, you will receive an alert in the app letting you know.  If this happens, please contact support immediately and we will increase your quota.

Can I tell if a contact has received a message?

Yes, you can easily know if an email was sent or if an SMS was delivered by reviewing the Message Status in the respective Comms Log for the contact.

What happens if a person to replies to a message sent as an SMS?

Replying to an SMS will not result in any message being sent or error back to the user.

Will a contact have a choice of email or SMS for preferred method of communications?

If SMS has been enabled for your school, then a new preferred method of communications will be added to your forms when the mobile phone number has been included.  See Getting Started with SMS to learn more about this feature

In the initial release, the contact's email address is still a required field but they can opt-in to also receive SMS messages.

In a future release, they will be able to choose ONE or BOTH after we relax the requirement for making email a mandatory field.

Can I bulk update existing contact's that have a mobile to receive SMS?

No, this is not possible as we require all contacts to actively opt-in to receive SMS as a preferred method of communication.

How do I send an SMS message to just those who wish to receive them?

School users can find contacts that have requested to receive SMS by using the More... filter on the Student List screen and clicking the Send Message button to send a message to those contacts. 

Note that in this initial release, they will receive both an email and an SMS.

What SMS does a contact receive?

In this initial release we are sending a generic message letting the contact know they have received a message from the school.  The message is personalised and includes the contact first name, the school name along with a link to the message that was sent.

In the next release you will be able to compose your own SMS message

How do I know which contacts have opted in to receive SMS?

School users can find contacts that have requested to receive SMS by using the More... filter on the Student List or Contact List screens.  Likewise, once SMS is enabled the contacts details screen will have a new toggle to Update via SMS next to the mobile phone

Can contacts opt out?

Yes, just like email, contacts can opt out any time they wish by simply replying STOP to an SMS message.

In addition, School users can manually opt a contact out by toggling the SMS update options on the contacts details screen

Can I compose my own SMS and send it?

In the initial release, you cannot compose your own SMS message. 

This will be available in a future release.

Where are messages for comms stored in ET?

All emails (except for Communications> Emails) and SMS messages are stored in the new History Log on the Contacts Details screen.

When you navigate to the contacts screen for a specific contact, you will notice there are now two tabs in the history panel, one for Activities and the other for Communications.

The Activity Log stores all activities and email comms from the comms module.

The Communications Log stores all emails and SMS sent from Student list, app list and respective detail screens along with automated emails for form submissions.

Will additional features be coming to the SMS module?

Yes we have many more features planned and will be releasing more updates every 2 months.

Can I turn off the SMS Module?

Yes, Enquiry Tracker System Admins, can disable comms and as a result, those new features will no longer be accessible. 

What happens to unused messages if I turn off the module?

Nothing really but you will no longer have access to them. There is no refund for unused messages

 

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