Send SMS Popup
How the Send SMS popup handles recipients, part-based credit checks, 4.5p SMS pricing, previews, and linked communication history.
The Send SMS Message popup is the shared text-message tool used around Work Planner. You can reach it from customer actions, job actions, debt and worksheet flows, and from Work > Communications when you choose New Message > SMS.
This popup sends through the dedicated Work Planner reply number for the current business. Replies are supported by default on the platform route, so the popup always uses that managed number.
On Work Planner's managed SMS route, outbound texts use SMS credits at 4.5p per message part. Replies are supported by default and do not use credits.
What Can Block The Popup
- Upgrade required: if the business does not have SMS access, the popup shows the upgrade route instead of the composer.
- Not enough SMS credits: if the business does not have enough remaining credits for the message parts that will actually be sent, the popup shows the shortfall and a Purchase Credits action instead of letting you send.
Recipient Fields
- To: use this when you want to type one phone number manually.
- Customers (optional): opens the selector popup so you can send to the saved mobile numbers on selected customers.
- Jobs (optional): opens the selector popup so you can send to the saved mobile numbers on the customers attached to selected jobs.
- Recipients: shows who will receive the message and which number will be used.
Important Recipient Rules
You must either type a manual phone number or select customers or jobs. The popup will not let you select both jobs and customers together. If a selected record does not have a mobile number, Work Planner warns you and leaves that record out of the send.
Message Fields
- Message: the text content being sent.
- Available Variables: inserts customer, job, and organisation details automatically into the message.
- Character and parts hint: shows how long the message is and how many SMS parts it is expected to use. This matters because longer or personalised messages can use more than one credit.
Preview And Send
The preview step is useful when you are using variables or sending to more than one recipient. When several records are selected, the preview can show several separate personalised messages so you can check the wording and the per-recipient message parts before the credits are used.
Once the send is queued, Work Planner writes the outbound text into communications history. If the customer replies later, Work Planner links that reply back to the original message where possible, then copies it onto the related customer or job so the conversation is visible from the right record. If a reply cannot be matched confidently, Work Planner sends it to internal triage instead of attaching it to the wrong business.
Related articles
- SMS Settings: the wider SMS setup and credit picture behind this popup.
- Communications: the page where outbound texts and inbound replies now appear together.
- Communication Actions: one of the main places this popup is used.
- Print, Email, and SMS Actions: another real workflow that uses the SMS popup.