SMS Account Setup

Account setup is quick and easy.

Click Programs > Options > SMS
Check the Enable Module check box, then click I Agree and Create Account.
Set your incoming SMS and forwarding options.
Add a Payment Method and charge $50 to your account.
Purchase a Phone Number

That's it for the initial set up.

Starting Aug 1, 2023, you must get your Brand and Campaign approved before being able to send text messages.. Please reach out to support@chabadms.com for assistance.

Once your account is set up, you're all ready to send SMS Text Messages.

Below are more detail on the above, and some screenshots.

Click Program Setup > Options > SMS
Check the Enable Module check box, then check "I agree to the Terms of Service" and click Create Account.
It's important that you read the Terms of Service. It explains how the service works, how you pay for it, and what your responsibilities are.

You will see a message that your account was created successfully. You will also see your Account ID numbers. Those are there for references purposes only. You won't need them anywhere.
At this point you have $0.00 balance in your account.
You can optionally enable incoming SMS to your account by checking the "Enable Incoming SMS" check box and enter a Forward SMS and/or a Forward Email address.

If you don't enable Incoming, any replies to your texts that you send out will not be received. When you check Enable Incoming SMS, you must specify at least one forwarding option. If you want to forward to your cell phone, enter the Forward to SMS number. You can also forward to an email address.
Check the "Include FROM number when forwarding" check box to include the sender's phone number. This is important so that when you receive a forwarded SMS to your cell phone, you'll have the phone number of the person who sent it.

IMPORTANT: If you add phone numbers after setting the incoming options (see below, step #5) you must redo them so that the incoming settings apply to the numbers you purchase.
To do this, simply uncheck the Enable Incoming and the Recheck it, and enter the Forward to SMS and/or Forward to Email info.
The next step is to add money to your Account Balance.
1. Click Billing and click New to add a new Payment Method.
2. Once the Payment Method has been added to your Account, click Add Money.
  The minimum amount to add is $50.
  
  Click Yes to the 'Confirm Charge' message and you'll get a confirmation that the card was charged successfully. The money is added to your account balance. In the Billing window, click Close.
Now we need to purchase one or more phone numbers.
Click Phone Numbers...
The "SMS From Phone Numbers" window comes up. This window has two sections. The top part, My Numbers, are the Numbers you own. The bottom part, "Available Numbers for Purchase," are the numbers you don't own but can purchase. When you purchase a number it is added to the My Numbers section. You need to purchase at least one number.

You might be wondering why you would need more than one number. The mobile carriers restrict you from sending bulk SMS to 200 messages per day per number. So if you have a roster of 400 names with mobile numbers that you want to communicate with once each day, you'll need to purchase 2 numbers. When the system sends SMS it tracks how many SMS were sent and when it was last used. Exceeding this limit is likely to get the phone number marked as spam and your message won't be delivered.
1. Enter your area code (or any area code you want the number for) and click Show Numbers. A list of numbers will come up.
2. Select the number you want and click "Buy"
3. Click OK to confirm the purchase. You will get a confirmation that the number was purchased and it will be added to My Numbers.

Article ID: 3724, Created: May 21, 2019 at 2:29 PM, Modified: July 24, 2023 at 3:27 PM

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