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How to Text Your Contacts by SMS

Updated
Feature Availability User Permissions Time to Complete Skill Level
Launch, Grow, Scale and the free trial. 100 SMS per store each month Store owner, or a team member with Contacts access About 5 minutes Beginner

Summary

Overview: You can send a text message (SMS) to one contact or many contacts at once from Contacts. Each contact gets their own message, and merge fields such as First Name are filled in for each person. Messages can be up to 150 characters, and your store can send 100 SMS each month.

Prerequisites:

  • Contacts with a valid mobile number. See How to Manage Your Contacts.
  • SMS credits left for this month.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Choose who to text

To text several contacts:

  1. In the sidebar, click Contacts.
  2. Tick the checkbox of each contact you want to text. Use Search... or the filter button to narrow the list first.
  3. Click the speech-bubble icon (Send SMS) above the table.

To text one contact:

  1. Open the contact's profile.
  2. Click the speech-bubble icon next to their name (Send SMS on a phone).

If the contact has no valid mobile number, the icon is greyed out and its tooltip says No valid phone number.

Step 2: Write your message

The Send SMS window opens.

  1. To lists the mobile numbers of the selected contacts. You can't edit it here. Contacts without a mobile number are left out, and a number shared by several contacts is listed once.
  2. Type your text in Message.
  3. (Optional) To personalize the message, choose a field under Add Merge Field: First Name, Last Name, Email, Mobile Number or Last Order Date, and click Add. A placeholder such as <First Name> is added at the end of your message; move it where you want it. When the SMS is sent, each contact sees their own details in its place.
  4. Check the counter under the message, for example 42 out of 150 characters used. It counts the message after merge fields are filled in, for the contact whose message is longest. If it goes over 150, the counter turns red and Send is turned off. Shorten the message or remove a merge field.

Step 3: Send

  1. Click Send.

  2. You see Sending SMS (or Sending Bulk SMS for several contacts) with the message Your SMS message(s) request is in queue and will be sent soon. You can click Close to hide it. The result appears when sending finishes.

  3. You see one of these results:

    Result Meaning
    SMS Sent The messages were handed over for sending, for example "3 out of 3 SMS messages sent." Check each contact's Conversations tab to confirm delivery (see below)
    SMS partially sent Some messages were sent. The reason for the last failure is shown in red
    SMS not sent No message could be sent. The reason is shown, for example that you've used this month's SMS credits

  4. Click OK.

Step 4: Resend a failed SMS (optional)

  1. Open the contact's profile and click the Conversations tab.
  2. A failed SMS is marked Failed and shows the reason. Click See Details.
  3. The Resend SMS window opens with the same number and message, and the earlier error shown at the top. Edit the message if you need to.
  4. Click Send.

Verify It Worked

Success criteria:

  • On each contact's profile, the Conversations tab shows the SMS marked Sent, with the number it went to. This is the reliable check: a message can show in the SMS Sent count and still be marked Failed here if the phone network rejected the number.
  • Store owners: in the top bar, the lightning-bolt icon (Credits Usage) shows SMS Credits with the number of SMS used this month, out of 100.

Troubleshooting

Common errors

  • "This contact does not have a valid mobile number. Add or update the number in contact details.": edit the contact and add a correct mobile number first.
  • Send stays greyed out: none of the selected contacts has a mobile number, or the message is over 150 characters. Add numbers to the contacts or shorten the message.
  • "SMS message is required.": type a message. A message made only of merge fields that are empty for a contact also counts as empty.
  • "SMS message must not exceed 150 characters after merge fields are applied.": shorten the message. Long names or emails in merge fields can push it over the limit.
  • "Insufficient SMS quota for this month. … remaining, … recipient(s).": you don't have enough SMS left this month for everyone you selected. Text fewer contacts, or wait until next month, when your credits reset.
  • "SMS could not be sent. Please check your current limit or purchase more SMS messages.": no message was sent. Check SMS Credits under Credits Usage, then try again.

Limitations & considerations

  • Each store can send 100 SMS per month. Only messages that are sent successfully use a credit. Credits reset at the start of each month, Philippine time.
  • The SMS Top Up button isn't available yet, so you can't buy more SMS for now.
  • Messages are sent with Prosperna as the sender name.
  • Each message can be up to 150 characters after merge fields are filled in.
  • There are no saved SMS templates. Write each message in the window.

Next Steps & Related Resources

Need more help? For more information and assistance, please send an email to support@prosperna.com.

Last Updated: 10/20/2026