Help Centre

EXTRA HELP AND TIPS! SMS Express Text Messaging Service.

Need urgent help? Call 1300 668 287.

The SMS Express platform has a dedicated HELP CENTRE which you can access at anytime within your account....just click the ? top right screen in your online account (Control Panel) to access on-site videos and detailed documentation.

But on THIS page we have added some EXTRA TIPS for you.

Q ACCOUNT TIME - How to change the CURRENT TIME in Account Settings.

Our platform uses Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Your Account Current Time defaults to Eastern STANDARD Time (QLD time) and does not auto-adjust for Daylight Saving or for other States' time zones or New Zealand local times, so you may need to change this in your Account Settings.

The Current Time is also shown at the top right of your control panel when you are logged in to the platform, so check before your broadcast to ensure the time is correct for your time zone.

The default Account Time is normally set to Server Time + 8 hours (480 minutes. Eastern Aus time).

If you are in Western Australia change your Time Difference to 360 minutes.

If you are in the North Territory change your Time Difference to 450 minutes.

If you are in South Australia change your Time Difference to 450 minutes. (510 in DAYLIGHT SAVING time)

For DAYLIGHT SAVING time for VIC, NSW, TAS, ACT change Time Difference to 540.

Don't forget to click the UPDATE SETTINGS BUTTON.

As an example, here's my account's default time (I'm in Melbourne, not Daylight Saving):

If you need us to do this for you please call 1300 668 287 or email kerryn@smsexpress.com.au

Q REPLIES: How to forward replies to your email

You can have any Replies received in your online account forwarded to an email address free.

You'll need to set this up in Account Settings and in REPLY FORWARDING screen. It's simple to do...see the below screenshot:

view replies to your text message in sms express account

You can also tweak the layout of these forwarded emails in Email Format below the Reply To Email box to only display the info you need in the email. Please ask us to help you do this as it's a little tricky.

If you want to have certain replies forwarded to different emails, or apply rules for handling replies, check out Sending > Reply Rules in your online account, or see next section below for a video.

Please note the Sender ID must be on REPLIABLE for replies to work. If you change the Sender ID, replies will NOT come back into your online account.

QREPORTING: What reports can I see in my Account?

When you sign up for an account with us, by default the system will email your Sent reports Daily and/or Weekly. You can change this frequency in your Account Settings.

Also you can login to your cloud account and view numerous reports at any time.

The quickest and easiest report is Sent/Queued which covers broadcasts JUST SENT, plus over the past 6 months.

NOTE if you search a future date it will show any queued/scheduled broadcasts and you can cancel any future broadcasts from here(it won't show BDay..to view BDay see Bday Maintain Numbers for broadcast dates)

Note: The Sent/Queued reports are online for 6 months, so we advise checking these regularly. Our server simply cannot hold everyone's' reports forever..we'd need a server the size of the moon to do this!

So what does it all mean?....

  • DELIVERED – was successfully sent out.

  • UNDELIVERED or NO NETWORK - Usually a wrong number

  • EXPIRED – Phones can be out of range or switched off. This error means the system has tried to send a few times but has given up.

  • SUBMITTED – means the message has been sent to that person’s telco (Voda, Optus, Telstra, Virgin) and SMS Express system is waiting for delivery confirmation from that telco. It's like sending a parcel to Australia Post and you're waiting for them to say "yes we sent it to the customer". If you check back in a little while, this may update to DELIVERED or (hopefully not) EXPIRED.

You also have access to other reports such as:

  • DATE RANGE – this is a downloaded or emailed report that goes back 30 days. It is fairly detailed and includes the network of the mobile number it was sent to (in the ZIP file this is the Line Item report).

  • NUMBER SEARCH - this will generate a report based on 1 number, and is handy to view the history of a mobile number. The report will show Group Summary and Sent Items for the last 6 months. You could use this report if you suspect a mobile number may not be getting texts. A history of UNDELIVERED would indicate the number is disconnected and needs investigating.

  • SUMMARY REPORT This will generate a zipped Excel report that's very detailed and can include messages, number of replies and optouts, the cost etc for the and you can get a detailed report of the messages, number of replies and optouts, the cost etc for the last 6 months.

  • REPLIES - Unlike the other Reports Replies are kept for many years (unless you have a custom Sender ID).

Q EXCEL TIPS: Excel keeps chopping off the 0 when I'm creating a list of numbers to import. Grrr!

You'll be relieved to know it does not matter. Zero begone!

As long as the mobile number is there in Column A, it does not matter if the 0 is chopped off. Once your list is imported, the system automatically converts the numbers to an international 61 anyway, so the zeros are superfluous.

So the numbers can be, for example 61444444444 or 0444444444 or 444444444.

If you're having issues with excel, Save As as CSV and reimport...or send it to us and we'll do it for you: info@smsexpress.com.au or call 1300 668 287

QDoes my mobile number get used for anything?
No. We only ask for your mobile number in case we need to call you about your account. But it does not appear on any SMS unless you specifically want it to.
QAre there any other fees I should know about?
Nope. No hidden tricks or surprises. Just pay as you go. Get as little or as many SMS credits as you need for your broadcast. Everything else is free
QCan my business name or mobile number appear as the sender?
Yes...and it's FREE! In your SMS Express account you can setup what's called a SENDER ID which allows 11 characters including spaces. For example you can have the SENDER ID as a number or a company name like ACME CO, and this will show up on the recipient's phone as ACME CO instead of one of our shared numbers. Beware though..if you change your Sender ID to a word people cannot reply to you. Please note that all Sender IDs will need to be approved before you can use them.
QWhy is SMS charged in "credits"?
Credits are kind of a currency in SMS-land. In Ye Olde Days, the length of a text message was limited to a 160 character 'standard SMS', which equals 1 credit. But with smartphones, we can now send longer text messages which are joined together by the phone (called multipart). Even though it arrives as 1 message on your recipient's phone, the telcos charge us/you more for sending SMS longer than 160 characters. On SMS Express platform you can send a maximum of 459 characters, which equals 3 Messages/Parts = 3 credits.

Here's a proper pricing breakdown for you:

  • 1 message up to 160 characters in length (1 standard SMS) costs 1 credit.
  • 1 message up to 306 characters in length (2 standard SMS / 2 joined messages) costs 2 credits.
  • 1 message up to 459 characters in length (3 standard SMS / 3 joined messages) costs 3 credits.

Price example:

Send 1 standard SMS (160 characters) to:

  • 1 person = 8.5c inc gst
  • 10 people = 85c. inc gst
  • 100 people = $8.50 inc gst
  • 1000 people = $85 inc gst...etc

QCan I send images via your platform?
No and yes! Images sent from phones is called MMS and is expensive to send. A much better way is to include a link in your message to a website or Facebook page or Instagram page etc. Most phones will pull in the images from the website to the recipient anyway at no charge to you! Phones are smart!

OR to send images and text, or video for the same price as SMS, use our LANDING PAGES. Check it out in your account! In essence it sends a mini-webpage to your recipients which will include your content that you add. It's a simple drag and drop interface, and you add the link to your Landing Page into your SMS when you are ready to send. And and you can track who tapped the link!
QI'm not quite ready to sign up. Do have a PDF flyer I can download and keep on file?
We wouldn't want you to leave empty handed. Our PDF INFO PACK contains pricing and basic info on our bulk SMS text messaging services for you to print or forward to colleagues for their viewing.