Customers & Automation
SMS and Email Allocation and Limits
Last updated 19 May 2026
SMS and Email Allocation and Limits
OpenChair Pro includes monthly SMS and email allocations that scale with the number of seats on your plan, so your messaging capacity grows as your team does.
Where to find it. Web: Settings → SMS & Messaging (under the Communications section).
Mobile: More → Automations → tap the settings icon in the header.
TL;DR
- SMS allocations scale with seats: 100 base + 50 per seat, capped at 550 per venue per billing period. Australia and UK only.
- Email allocations are 1,000 per seat, capped at 10,000 per venue per billing period. Available in all markets.
- Transactional and campaign messages share the same pool, booking confirmations count against the same limit as campaigns.
- When usage reaches 80%, OpenChair creates an in-app notification. Overage is charged to the venue wallet at the regional rate.
Overview
SMS and email allocations are monthly messaging pools that scale with your seat count and are shared across all transactional and campaign messages:
- Send transactional messages (booking confirmations, reminders) and campaign messages (marketing, automations) from a shared monthly pool
- Scale messaging capacity automatically as you add team members
- Monitor usage and overage charges in the Usage This Period card on the SMS & Messaging settings screen
Note
All communications features require an OpenChair Pro subscription. SMS is available in Australia and the United Kingdom only. New Zealand venues have email allocations but no SMS.
Market availability
SMS is available in Australia and the United Kingdom only; email is available in all supported markets.
| Feature | Australia | United Kingdom | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| SMS allocation | Yes | Yes | Not available |
| Email allocation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dedicated phone number | Required for SMS | Required for SMS | Not available |
Included allocations
Allocations are calculated based on the number of active seats on your Pro plan. Transactional and campaign messages share a single pool per channel, there is no separate campaign limit.
SMS allocation (AU and GB only)
| Seats | SMS per period | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | Base allocation |
| 2 | 150 | 100 + 50 |
| 3 | 200 | 100 + 100 |
| 5 | 300 | 100 + 200 |
| 10 | 550 | Capped at maximum |
| 11+ | 550 | Maximum regardless of seats |
Formula: 100 base + 50 per additional seat, capped at 550 per venue per billing period.
Email allocation (all markets)
| Seats | Emails per period | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,000 | 1,000 × 1 |
| 2 | 2,000 | 1,000 × 2 |
| 5 | 5,000 | 1,000 × 5 |
| 10 | 10,000 | Capped at maximum |
| 11+ | 10,000 | Maximum regardless of seats |
Formula: 1,000 per seat, capped at 10,000 per venue per billing period.
Tip
Adding a team member to your plan automatically increases both SMS and email allocations. Check Settings → SMS & Messaging to see your current limits.
Shared pools
Transactional messages (booking confirmations, reminders, cancellation notices) and campaign messages (marketing sends, automations) draw from the same pool. There is no separate transactional or campaign limit.
For example, a 3-seat AU venue has 200 SMS per period. If 120 SMS are used for booking confirmations, 80 remain for campaigns and automations.
80% usage warning
When any channel reaches 80% of its allocation, OpenChair creates an in-app notification and shows a warning banner.
- Notification title: "[Channel] allocation at 80%"
- Notification message: "You've used 80% of your [type] [channel] allocation this billing period. Consider topping up your wallet for overage charges."
- Warning banner: "[Channel] allocation is 80% used this month. [remaining] of [limit] remaining. View usage →"
One warning is generated per channel per billing period. The warning does not repeat within the same period.
Overage charges
When usage exceeds the included allocation, messages continue sending and the excess is charged to your venue wallet at the regional per-message overage rate.
SMS overage rates
Overage rates vary by plan tier:
| Market | FREE plan | PRO plan |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | A$0.10 | A$0.08 |
| United Kingdom | £0.07 | £0.05 |
Email overage rates
| Market | Rate per email |
|---|---|
| Australia | A$0.002 |
| United Kingdom | £0.001 |
| New Zealand | NZ$0.003 |
Overage charges accumulate in fractional cents and are debited from the wallet when the total crosses a whole-cent boundary. For example, at A$0.002 per email, every 5th overage email triggers a 1-cent wallet debit.
If the wallet balance is insufficient, sends may pause until the wallet is topped up.
Viewing your usage
The Usage This Period card on the SMS & Messaging settings screen shows three rows:
| Row | What it tracks | Overage shown |
|---|---|---|
| Transactional SMS | Booking confirmations, reminders, and other system SMS | No |
| Campaign SMS | Marketing and automation SMS sends | Yes |
| Campaign Emails | Marketing and automation email sends | Yes |
Each row displays the current count against the limit (e.g., "440 / 550") with a progress bar. Overage charges appear below the count when the allocation is exceeded (e.g., "A$2.20 overage charged").
The card footer shows the period reset date (e.g., "Resets 9 Apr 2026"). Allocations reset at the start of each 30-day billing period.
Dedicated number states
SMS allocations require a provisioned dedicated phone number. The dedicated number can be in one of these states:
| State | What it means | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Venue is not on Pro | Upgrade to Pro |
| No number | Pro is active, but no number provisioned | Click Provision Number |
| Active | Dedicated number is live and receiving messages | Manage usage |
| Grace period | Number is pending release at end of billing period | Review subscription |
| Released | Number was previously released | Click Provision Number |
| NZ email-only | SMS is not available in New Zealand | Use email campaigns |
STOP / START opt-out compliance
When a customer texts your dedicated number with an opt-out keyword (whole-body exact match, case-insensitive, trailing . and ! stripped), they're opted out of all venue SMS:
| Opt out | Opt in |
|---|---|
STOP |
START |
STOPALL |
UNSTOP |
UNSUBSCRIBE |
RESUBSCRIBE |
CANCEL |
OPTIN |
END |
OPT-IN |
QUIT |
|
OPTOUT |
|
OPT-OUT |
|
OPT OUT |
Caution
CANCEL opts the customer out of SMS — it doesn't cancel a booking. The reminder reply-action for cancelling a booking is C (single letter), not CANCEL spelled out. If your customer texts back "CANCEL" expecting to cancel their booking, they'll be opted out of all your SMS instead. Reminder SMSes include the prompt "Reply Y to confirm, C to cancel, R to reschedule" — coach customers to use the single letters.
Per-venue scope
Opt-out is per (venue, phone) — opting out of one venue doesn't silence others. A customer can be opted in at Salon A and opted out at Salon B simultaneously.
Confirmation replies
- On STOP: a one-time confirmation reply goes out without the standard opt-out footer (avoiding the contradiction of asking them to STOP after they just did)
- On START: "You're resubscribed to SMS from {venue}. Reply STOP at any time to opt out."
Compliance posture
This keyword set satisfies:
- US TCPA carrier requirements
- AU Spam Act 2003
- NZ Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act (though NZ doesn't have SMS in OpenChair — email only)
- UK PECR
Phone numbers are E.164-normalised before lookup so format variations don't bypass the opt-out.
URL shortening (opnchr.com)
Long URLs in outbound SMS (campaign, reminder, win-back, receipt, manage-booking links) are automatically shortened to opnchr.com/{6char} codes when:
- The target host is an allowed OpenChair domain (security guard against open redirects)
- The feature is enabled (default on; can be paused at the platform level)
Benefits:
- Shorter SMS — a 90-char manage URL becomes ~25 chars, often dropping a 2-segment SMS back to 1 segment and saving money
- Click tracking — every shortened URL is a 302 redirect through our server, so the click is logged. Useful for understanding which campaigns drive engagement.
- Stable codes — 6-char codes from a 58-char alphabet (excludes visually ambiguous
0/O/1/l/I) — ~38 billion combinations
No operator action needed; shortening fires automatically as part of the send pipeline.
Troubleshooting
The following covers common issues with SMS and email allocations.
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Usage card not visible on SMS & Messaging screen | The Usage This Period card only appears for venues with active communications access (Pro subscription). Upgrade to Pro to see usage tracking. |
| SMS allocation shows 0 | SMS is only available in Australia and the United Kingdom. New Zealand venues have email allocations only. |
| Overage charges appearing on wallet | Usage has exceeded the included allocation. Review campaign send frequency, or add a seat to increase the allocation (up to the venue cap). |
| Warning says "80% used" but I haven't sent many campaigns | Transactional and campaign messages share the same pool. High transactional volume (e.g., booking confirmations during a busy week) reduces the remaining allocation for campaigns. |
| Allocation didn't increase after adding a team member | The allocation recalculates at the start of each billing period based on seat count. Mid-period seat changes take effect at the next period reset. |
FAQ
Why does the SMS allocation show 0?
SMS is only available in Australia and the United Kingdom. New Zealand venues have email allocations only, the SMS allocation row shows 0 because no SMS is available in NZ.
Why are overage charges appearing on my wallet?
Usage has exceeded the included monthly allocation. Review campaign send frequency or add a seat to increase the allocation (up to the venue cap of 550 SMS / 10,000 emails). Overage is charged at the regional per-message rate.
Why does the warning say "80% used" when I haven't sent many campaigns?
Transactional and campaign messages share the same pool. High transactional volume, for example, booking confirmations during a busy week, reduces the remaining allocation for marketing campaigns and automations.
Why didn't the allocation increase after I added a team member?
The allocation recalculates at the start of each billing period based on the current seat count. Mid-period seat changes take effect at the next period reset, not immediately.