Customers & Automation
Creating SMS Campaigns
Last updated 19 May 2026
Creating SMS Campaigns
Send targeted SMS messages to your customers to promote offers, fill quiet days, and re-engage lapsed clients.
Where to find it - Web: Sidebar -> Campaigns -> Create Campaign.
Mobile: More -> Campaigns -> Create Campaign.
TL;DR
- SMS campaigns target customers in Australia and the United Kingdom only. New Zealand is not supported.
- Requires a Pro subscription, a provisioned dedicated phone number, and recipient SMS marketing consent.
- Pro includes 200 campaign SMS per month; overage is charged to the wallet.
- If the wallet runs out during delivery, the campaign pauses until the wallet is topped up.
Requirements
SMS campaigns require a Pro subscription, AU or GB market, a dedicated phone number, and recipients with SMS marketing consent:
- an active Pro subscription
- to be based in Australia or the United Kingdom
- a provisioned dedicated phone number
- enough wallet balance for any overage charges
- recipients who have opted in to SMS marketing
SMS campaigns are not available in New Zealand.
Create a campaign
Create an SMS campaign from the Campaigns section on web or mobile.
Web
- Open Campaigns.
- Click Create Campaign.
- Choose SMS.
- Enter a campaign name.
- Select an audience.
- Write the message, optionally using AI Draft.
- Choose Send now or schedule it.
- Review the audience and confirm the send.
Mobile
- Open More -> Campaigns.
- Tap Create Campaign.
- Choose SMS.
- Fill in the campaign name, audience, and message.
- Send now or schedule for later.
Audience preview, cost, and the cancel window
Before you send, the audience preview card shows:
- Total eligible recipients
- Sendable sub-count after opt-out, blocked, and recently-messaged dedup filters
- Sample first names ("Sarah, Tom, Maya and 12 more…")
- Per-send cost displayed inside the Send button:
Send to 47 clients · A$3.40
Audiences over 50 recipients require a hold-to-confirm gesture (~600ms press-and-hold) to prevent accidental blasts.
When you tap Send, the campaign queues for a 30-second cancel window with a countdown and Cancel button. If you close the tab or background the app, a server-side cron worker fires the send — your campaign goes out either way. Race tolerance: anyone who books between queue and fire is dropped from the audience automatically.
STOP and START compliance
Replies of STOP to any campaign SMS automatically opt the recipient out of all future marketing SMS. Subsequent campaigns silently exclude them.
START (or UNSTOP) re-opts them in.
The opt-out applies venue-wide, not per-campaign. Recipients can also opt out via the unsubscribe link in marketing emails — the suppression list is unified across channels.
SMS URL shortening (opnchr.com)
Long URLs in campaign messages are automatically shortened to the opnchr.com short-link service. This keeps message length down (avoiding multi-segment charges) and lets you track click-throughs without modifying your URLs.
GSM-7 sanitisation
Smart quotes (', "), em dashes, ellipses, and other non-GSM-7 characters are silently converted to their plain equivalents before send. Saves a segment per message and avoids the UCS-2 encoding penalty.
Message limits and usage
Pro includes 200 campaign SMS per month in AU and GB; messages over one segment count against the allocation more than once:
- SMS campaigns include 200 campaign SMS per month in AU and GB.
- Messages longer than one SMS segment consume multiple sends.
- At 80% usage, OpenChair shows an allocation warning.
- If usage continues past the included amount, overages are charged from the wallet.
If the wallet balance runs out during delivery, the campaign can pause until the wallet is topped up.
Troubleshooting
The following covers common issues with SMS campaigns.
| Issue | What to check |
|---|---|
| SMS tab not available | The venue must be on Pro, in AU or GB, and have a dedicated number. |
| No eligible customers | Recipients need a valid phone number and SMS marketing consent. |
| Campaign paused | Check wallet balance and top up if needed. |
| Test SMS did not arrive | Confirm the phone number and country code, then retry. |
FAQ
Why is the SMS tab not available when creating a campaign?
The venue must be on Pro, based in Australia or the United Kingdom, and have a dedicated number provisioned. SMS campaigns are not available in New Zealand, use email campaigns instead.
Why are no customers eligible for my SMS campaign?
Recipients need a valid phone number on file and must have opted in to SMS marketing. Review the client list to check each recipient's contact status and consent.
Why is my SMS campaign paused?
Check your wallet balance and top up if needed. Campaigns pause when the wallet runs out during delivery. You can resume the campaign after topping up.