SMS notifications and credits
Twilio and SeeMe support, credit system, sender ID, pricing model
SMS notifications
SMS is the fastest channel but pricier than email. Credit-based: you buy the budget upfront, every send deducts.
Configuration
Platform-level (SuperAdmin)
- SMS provider: Twilio or SeeMe (or both with primary selection)
- Sender ID: 11-char alphanumeric (e.g., "Bookinda" or your salon name)
- Credit packages: e.g., 100 SMS / 5,000 HUF, 500 SMS / 20,000 HUF
- Per-SMS cost if over budget (usually higher)
- Low-credit warning threshold: e.g., email warning below 50 SMS
Tenant-level
Settings → SMS Credits page:
- Current balance (how many SMS you can send)
- Buy package (button)
- Transaction history (purchase, usage, refund, manual adjustment)
Settings → Notifications:
- SMS confirmation – toggle
- SMS reminder – toggle + hours
- SMS cancellation – toggle
Custom sender ID
Use your salon name as sender ID, so customers see who's writing. Twilio / SeeMe needs to whitelist the salon name (~1-2 business days).
How many SMS per message
One SMS = 160 characters (alphanumeric). Longer = more SMS:
- 1-160 chars: 1 SMS
- 161-306: 2 SMS
- 307-459: 3 SMS
Keep templates concise, otherwise you pay 2-3× per message.
When to use it
Scenario 1, reminder-only SMS confirmation: off (email is enough). SMS reminder 2h before: on. Customers don't forget, no-show drops drastically.
Scenario 2, premium service SMS confirmation + reminder. Customer sees salon name as sender ID. Premium brand feel.
Scenario 3, low-volume salon Skip SMS entirely, email is enough. Use SMS for marketing campaigns (rare, opt-in customers).
Scenario 4, marketing campaign Black Friday SMS: 200 customers × 1 SMS = 200 credits. Plan the budget.
Scenario 5, low-credit warning Monday morning email to owner: "You can send only 30 SMS, time to top up." Action.
When the system DOESN'T send
- No phone number on the customer record (obvious)
- Customer didn't opt in to SMS marketing (only transactional)
- Out of credits and you don't pay overage
- Wrong number format (e.g., not +36 prefix)
Twilio vs SeeMe
Twilio
- International
- Better quality and deliverability
- More expensive
SeeMe
- Hungarian provider
- Cheaper for Hungarian numbers
- Occasional deliverability issues
Platform auto-uses the primary provider and falls back to backup on failure.
Tips
- Plan SMS budget weekly, don't run out.
- Sender ID approval takes time, start early.
- Keep SMS short, 1 SMS = 160 chars. Longer = 2-3× cost.
- Don't send marketing SMS without opt-in, GDPR and Hungarian consumer protection violation.
- No-show reminder SMS has best ROI: 100 SMS = 100 reminded customers = ~10 saved bookings × 5,000 HUF = 50,000 HUF potential revenue.
- Let customers opt out: include "STOP" instruction in template, disable for them.