Message Credits for Group Messages
Group messaging runs on a credit balance separate from your monthly plan. This guide shows you where to check your remaining messages, how to buy a package, how to set up automatic top-ups with a threshold and notification emails, and how to estimate what a campaign will use.
How message credits work
Group messaging runs on a credit balance rather than your monthly plan. Each message you send to a recipient uses credits from that balance, so a campaign to 200 people uses roughly 200 times what one message costs.
Credits never expire, and they are shared by every campaign in the account.
Check your balance
- Log in to your Zonitel Office Portal.
- In the left sidebar, expand Conversations and click Group Messages.
- Remaining Text Messages at the top shows what you have left.
While you are writing a group message, the composer also shows how many recipients you have and how many messages the send will use against your balance, so you can check before pressing send.
Longer texts count as more than one message. The composer counts up to 500 characters and tells you how many messages that becomes.
Buy more credits
- On the Group Messages screen, click Add Messages.
- Choose a package. Each one shows the number of messages it contains, the total price and the price per message, so you can compare before buying.
- Choose your payment method.
- Review the order and pay.
The credits are added to your balance and an invoice is generated for the purchase.
Set up automatic top-ups
Auto Purchase buys more credits on its own when your balance runs low, so a campaign does not stop halfway through.
- On the Group Messages screen, click Auto Purchase Config.
- In Plan to buy, choose the package to purchase each time the balance runs low.
- In Top-up threshold, set the number of remaining messages that triggers a purchase. The minimum is 300.
- Turn on Enable Auto Purchase.
- (Optional) Add notification emails so the right people are told whenever a top-up happens.
- Save.
You can turn Auto Purchase off at any time and your settings stay saved, so switching it back on later takes one click.
Review what you have bought
The Order History tab on the Group Messages screen lists your purchases, which is where to look when reconciling a charge.
Planning a campaign
- Multiply your recipient count by the number of messages your text will use, and compare that against your balance before you start.
- Top up in advance of a large send rather than mid-campaign.
- Set a top-up threshold high enough to cover your largest routine send.
- Remember that people on your opted-out list are not messaged, so your usable recipient count may be lower than your list size.
FAQ
Q: Do credits expire?
A: No. They stay on your balance until you use them.
Q: Are credits shared between my numbers and campaigns?
A: Yes. One balance covers every campaign in the account.
Q: Is this the same as my monthly plan?
A: No. Group message credits are bought separately from your regular service.
Q: What happens if I run out mid-campaign?
A: Sending stops until you add credits, which is what Auto Purchase is designed to prevent.
Need help?
Call/Text/WhatsApp: (833) 966-4835
Email: info@zonitel.com