How do I set up SMS messages?

Set up SMS with your own sender name, change the name later, or disconnect — plus how texts retry and credits are refunded if one can't send.

Set up SMS from Settings → Customer notifications → How your messages are sent — you choose a sender name, and texts to customers then show that name instead of a phone number.

SMS messaging is Available on Plus plan and above, and included with every paid ResoFlow product (products include no monthly SMS allowance — sends come from purchased credit packs). SMS notification switches follow your role permissions. Connecting SMS, changing its sender name and disconnecting it are reserved for the account owner or a ResoFlow operator with SuperAdmin access.

Set up SMS

• Go to Settings → Customer notifications → How your messages are sent. The SMS card shows SMS not connected.
• Type a Sender name — up to 11 characters, letters and numbers only (spaces are allowed but count towards the 11). This is the "from" name customers see on their phone, so something close to your restaurant name works best.
• Click Set up SMS. Setup usually takes under a minute. If you see "already in use as a sender name", try a variation — add a letter or remove a space.
• Once the card shows SMS connected, switch on the texts you want in the relevant booking-message section — see Which confirmations and reminders do customers get?. Edit the wording separately in SMS templates.

If a text can't send straight away

You don't need to do anything — if a text fails to send first time, ResoFlow automatically retries it for around two hours. If it still can't be delivered after that, the text is given up on and the SMS credits it used are refunded to your allowance.

Did it arrive?

Once a text has gone, the mobile network reports back: the booking's text lines and Activity log → SMS show Delivered, or Failed with the reason (for example "Number not in service"). A text that failed before it left our text service has its credits returned automatically. A text the network accepted but couldn't deliver keeps its credits used, because the network still charges for it. See Why didn't a customer get an SMS?

Change the sender name

• On the SMS card, click Change sender name, type the new name and confirm.
• Changing the name briefly takes SMS offline (usually 5–10 minutes). A text that tries to send during that window fails first time, but the automatic retries (see above) pick it up once the new name is live — even so, a quiet moment is the best time to make the change.

Disconnect SMS

• Click Disconnect on the SMS card, then Disconnect SMS in the pop-up. You'll be asked to confirm your password.
• Texts stop immediately. Treat this as a one-way door: reconnecting means registering a fresh sender name, which goes through a new review that can take 1–2 days — so don't disconnect casually.

Credits

Each text uses one SMS credit from your monthly plan allowance (long or emoji-heavy texts use more — the template editor shows the cost). The SMS usage bar on the card tracks this; top-up packs that never expire are available in Account → Top-ups and credits.

Related: How do I edit SMS wording? · How do I buy credits or add-ons? · How do I check my usage against my plan's limits?